Web Spam
Web spam is a tactic used by webmasters to manipulate search engines in order to perform better within search results. This may be through spam links, hacked content or malware from third party tags, amongst many other unnatural methods. Our SEO Office Hours notes below cover how Google handles what they deem as spam, along with advice for avoiding it.
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Reconsideration Requests May be Overlooked if Many Sent in Short Space of Time
The Webspam Team may ignore a reconsideration request if many have been submitted in a short space of time regarding the same issues to give the site some time to see what its final state will be.
Google Aims to Neutralise Spam by Being as Specific as Possible in Action Taken
Google take action against spam in different ways. Sometimes they will neutralise a spammy technique and other times they may remove a site completely from the index. In general Google try to be as specific as possible when dealing with spam as it isn’t always a case of intentionally trying to abuse Google’s algorithms.
Web Spam Team Takes Action Based on Patterns Found in Spam Reports
Google’s Web Spam Team goes through spam reports regularly and take action looking at larger patterns rather than taking manual action based on individual reports.
Remove Hacked Content Quickly to Remove Any Confusion for Google on Site’s Natural Topic
You can request a reconsideration for hacked content in GSC where Google will manually check the website and remove any manual action. If hacked content is left on a site for too long though Google may think that’s the site’s focus topic area.
Keyword Stuffing in Footer May Impact Page’s Ability to Rank For Those Keywords
If Google’s algorithms detect keyword stuffing in the footer, like article-type content, they will be careful about how that page is ranked and this might impact how relevant that page is seen to be for those keywords.
The Disavow File is Only Needed for Manual Action Penalties
The disavow file should mainly be used when there is a manual action to help with the reconsideration request. For sites that don’t have a manual action, Google will try to ignore any manipulative links automatically.
There Are No Lingering Effects Once a Manual Action is Lifted
Manual actions don’t have lingering effects, once it is lifted this is final.
Some Ranking Manipulations are Ignored by Google
Some incidents of ranking manipulation are ignored by Google, like keyword stuffing, and may rank these pages anyway.
Website Developer Links are Ignored by Google
Google ignores website developer links in a footer regardless of whether they are followed.
Keyword Stuffed Content Will Be Ignored
If you have significant re-use of the same keywords on a page, Google will ignore that content.