October 2023 Spam Update

Google rolled out an update to its spam detection system on October 4, 2023. The update took 15 days to roll out and was completed on October 20, 2023. With this update, Google aimed to reduce the visible spam in search results, particularly cloaking, hacked, auto-generated, and scraped spam.

Though the update applied globally, it was expected to improve the coverage in Turkish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages.

Google’s Official Announcement

Google announced the update in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Google added that they would update their Search Status Dashboard once the update is completed. 

We'll post in the Google Search Status Dashboard when the rollout is complete: https://t.co/hgjEkfpbA2

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) October 4, 2023

In a follow-up post on October 20, 2023, Google revealed that they had completed the rollout.

The rollout was complete as of October 20, 2023.

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) October 20, 2023

What Are People Saying?

A follower asked if the update was limited to sites published in the languages Google mentioned in their documentation. Google responded, saying the update would affect all sites, regardless of the language in which they are published. 

Yes, all languages.

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) October 4, 2023

Barry Schwartz provided further insights on this update on X.

Google October 2023 spam update volatility charts – more at https://t.co/f1m3gL4h8I pic.twitter.com/tc1yrVyJow

— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) October 5, 2023

What’s Next – Dealing With This Update

You should begin monitoring your site with Rank Math Analytics. However, if you notice an improvement in your rankings, keep in mind that it may be the result of your site recovering from the September 2023 Helpful Content Update. 

Any traffic drop may also result from the October 2023 Core Update, which ran side by side with the October 2023 Spam Update. Nevertheless, if you suspect you are affected by either update, watch the video below for tips on recovering from a Google update.