Google has announced that it is rolling out an update to its spam detection system, known as the December 2022 link spam update, a week after Google releasing the December 2022 helpful content update.
This update will focus on improving the ability of Google’s AI-based spam-prevention system, SpamBrain, to identify and nullify unnatural links, as well as detecting domains that are used primarily for passing links to other sites or for buying links.
“SpamBrain is our AI-based spam-prevention system. Besides using it to detect spam directly, it can now detect both sites buying links, and sites used for the purpose of passing outgoing links,” said Google.
Google has warned that the update may cause changes to search rankings and will affect results in all languages, potentially having a widespread impact.
To avoid being negatively affected by the update, it is important to follow Google’s guidelines on obtaining and qualifying links. This includes avoiding obtaining links primarily to boost search rankings, and ensuring that affiliate and guest post links are properly qualified with the appropriate tags.
If these guidelines are followed, it is unlikely that the update will have a negative impact on a site.
The December 2022 link spam update is a significant development in Google’s efforts to combat spam and improve the accuracy of its search results. While it may cause some changes to some website’s rankings, following Google’s guidelines on link acquisition and qualification can help to ensure that a website is not negatively affected.