Google completes its unexpected December spam update

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TAs promised at launch , Google has completed its December spam update in just one week . Remember that this algorithm update came just after the end of its lightning-fast core update from earlier this month , which lasted just six days. In this way, and taking into account the previous core update in November , Google is closing (we hope) an end of the year full of SEO volatility and adjustments to its search results.


If we look at indicators such as the Semrush Sensor , one of the industry's benchmark tools, we can see how SEO volatility has remained at very high levels since mid-December, coinciding with the deployment of the aforementioned core update. The spam update in December has followed this trend, and it is likely that many websites will see major changes in their organic positioning.

Semrush SEO volatility chart

Let's remember that this is the second spam update of 2024, after the one carried out in June. In previous updates, Google explained that it had included a series of important new features to reduce the amazon database of spam and improve the quality of search results: to better understand whether web pages are useless, offer a bad user experience or seem to be created for search engines rather than for people.

This same mission was extended to other core updates of the year, such as the one in March 2024, when Google introduced measures typical of a Spam Update. Among them, they focused on combating the massive generation of low-quality content, produced both automatically and with human intervention, with the aim of manipulating search rankings. Specific actions were also announced against the abuse of the reputation of trusted sites, where third parties publish poor content, and against the misuse of expired domains reused to artificially improve the ranking of low-quality content.

The importance of spam updates for the health of the algorithm
Each Google spam update is intended as a specific update designed to strengthen the search engine's capabilities in detecting and penalizing practices that seek to manipulate search results in unethical or deceptive ways. This type of update is part of Google's ongoing efforts to ensure that the pages appearing in its results meet the quality standards expected by users.


In practical terms, a spam update focuses on identifying content that violates Google's webmaster guidelines, such as excessive keyword stuffing, automated generation of irrelevant content, and manipulated link tactics. The main goal is to minimize the visibility of sites that employ these strategies and prioritize content that is useful, relevant, and targeted to users' needs.

Additionally, these updates often include improvements to algorithmic systems to address new forms of spam detected over time. This includes efforts to identify content created automatically by artificial intelligence without quality oversight , as well as the abuse of more sophisticated techniques, such as the manipulation of expired domains.