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What Google changed in March 2024
On March 5, 2024, Google announced a March core update alongside new policies against expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse and site reputation abuse. Google said the combined ranking changes and earlier efforts were expected to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in Search by 40%. The company updated that figure on April 26, after the changes finished rolling out on April 19: Google said Search showed 45% less such content than before. The 40% figure was the original expectation; 45% was the later result reported by Google, not an independently verified measurement. Google’s announcement and rollout update.
Google warned that the March core update could take up to a month and might cause more ranking fluctuation than an ordinary core update while its systems were updated and reinforced. Its advice to creators at the time was that there was nothing new or special to do if they were already making satisfying, people-first content. That was guidance for the 2024 update, not a promise about current ranking outcomes. Google Search Central’s March 2024 creator guidance.
What the three spam policies target
The policies address different ways of trying to gain an unfair Search advantage. A low-quality page is not automatically evidence of any one of them: the relevant question is what is being exploited and whether the content was primarily made to manipulate rankings rather than help users.
#1 Best Overall
| Policy | What is being exploited | Core issue |
|---|---|---|
| Scaled content abuse | Production at scale | Many pages are made primarily to manipulate rankings, without helping users. |
| Site reputation abuse | A host site’s established ranking signals | Third-party pages are published mainly to benefit from the host’s reputation in Search. |
| Expired domain abuse | An expired domain’s past reputation | A domain is repurposed primarily to manipulate rankings with low-value content. |
Scaled content abuse: many pages, little user value
Google defines it this way: “Scaled content abuse is when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users.” The policy turns on scale, purpose and user value—not simply on whether a page was produced by a person or a machine. Google says scaled production can involve automation, human effort or a mixture of both. Google’s current spam policy documentation.
Google’s examples include using generative AI to produce many pages without adding value; scraping and transforming feeds or search results with little added value; stitching content together without adding value; creating multiple sites to hide the scale of production; and publishing keyword-filled pages that make little or no sense to a reader. The last example is the closest match for “gibberish” in the title.
Rank #2
AI-generated content does not violate the policy just because AI was used. It can violate the policy when many pages are generated primarily to manipulate rankings rather than help users. Conversely, a person can produce scaled content abuse without obvious automation. The practical test is not “Was AI involved?” but whether the site is producing content at scale for Search manipulation without meaningful user benefit.
Site reputation abuse: exploiting a host’s ranking signals
Google’s current wording, published November 19, 2024, defines site reputation abuse as “the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site in an attempt to abuse search rankings by taking advantage of the host site’s ranking signals.” In other words, a separate entity’s content is placed on an established site chiefly to benefit from that site’s Search reputation. Google’s policy update and FAQ.
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Rank #3
Google’s March 2024 explanation focused on low-value third-party content produced mainly to exploit a host’s reputation without close oversight by the site owner. It gave the example of payday-loan reviews published on a trusted education site. The later clarification says that first-party involvement or oversight does not, on its own, make the practice acceptable if the content is still published to exploit the host’s ranking signals.
Third-party content by itself is not a violation. Google lists syndicated news, forums and comments, editorial columns and articles, reader-facing native advertising or advertorials, and properly treated affiliate links or ad units as examples that are not inherently site reputation abuse. Google also says freelance content alone is not a violation, and affiliate content is not the target of this policy. That does not guarantee that any particular affiliate page complies with every Google policy; the issue for this policy is whether pages are hosted chiefly to exploit the site’s ranking signals. Google’s site reputation abuse FAQ.
Expired domain abuse: repurposing an old domain to manipulate rankings
Expired domain abuse means buying an expired domain and repurposing it primarily to manipulate rankings with low-value content. Google’s example is a former medical site turned into a low-quality casino site in an attempt to benefit from the domain’s previous reputation. Using an old domain for a new, original site designed to serve people is allowed; the domain’s age or history alone is not the violation. Google’s March 2024 policy explanation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happens when Google identifies spam
Google says sites that violate its spam policies may rank lower or disappear from Search results. A ranking decline by itself does not establish that a site violated a spam policy or received a manual action. If Google issues a spam manual action, it notifies the site owner through the registered Search Console account; the owner can then submit a reconsideration request. Google’s spam policies and enforcement information.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →- Check Search Console. Look for a manual-action notification in the account registered for the site.
- Address the cited issue. Review the policy and the affected pages, then make changes that resolve the stated violation.
- Submit a reconsideration request. Use Search Console after the issue has been addressed; a request is the formal route Google documents for reconsideration of a manual action.
Site reputation cases and the EEA
Google’s current policy documentation describes different handling for site reputation cases by geography. Outside the European Economic Area (EEA), relevant pages may receive a manual action when they appear in Search results for users outside the EEA. Within the EEA, relevant pages may instead be categorized separately from the main domain and rank independently on their own merits, without the effect of that manual action. This distinction is specific to site reputation abuse and the geographic handling described in Google’s policy documentation, last updated August 28, 2026 UTC. Google’s current spam policy documentation.
Why Google says it is enforcing the policy
In a November 2025 post responding to an announced EU investigation, Google described the site reputation abuse policy as a way to protect users from deceptive, low-quality content and scams. Google argued that paid placement of low-quality content on a publisher’s site can exploit the publisher’s ranking signals and mislead users. That is Google’s stated position; it is not a neutral finding about the investigation. Google’s November 2025 statement.
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