Google Link Spam Update 2023 & How It Will Affect Your SEO

Google is known for its frequent algorithm updates, mostly aimed at improving the quality of the search results. One of such Google algorithm updates (released in March 2023) is an algorithm called “Google Link Spam Update”, which is designed – you guessed it – to combat link spam.

This update targets websites that use spam links or purchased links to drive their search rankings. Once caught red-handed, such a website will automatically receive a ‘low quality’ marking, which will negatively affect its ranking.

Here in this article, you’ll learn about the new Google link spam algorithm, what changes it may bring, and how to avoid deranking in search results.

What Are Spam Links? What Links Does Google Consider Spam?

Spam links are links created specifically for the purpose of manipulating search engine rankings. Google considers such links to be of low quality and have zero value to its users.

The company’s goal has been to improve search results as well as protect users from misleading or potentially harmful content.

So, what is spam (according to Google)? Here are a few common definitions:

1. In terms of content: any links in blogs and articles that don’t add any value to users
2. Links in the comments that are not relevant to the topic of the article and – again – don’t add any value
3. Backlink spam – links leading to your website from other sites that have zero value and/or are not related to your products/services
4. Links from sites that fell under the sanctions of the Google search engine
5. Hidden links that are invisible to the user but present in the code
6. Paid links (which is totally against Google's policies). A link exchange means that two websites have agreed to link to each other in exchange for redirects
7. Link farms (created solely for the purpose of cross-linking).

Now that you know the answer to the “What is link spam” question, let’s talk about how to deal with it.

What is Google SpamBrain?

Google SpamBrain is an AI-powered spam prevention system. It works by scanning websites for suspicious or unnatural behavior, which may include keyword stuffing, irrelevant links, or duplicate content.

When the SpamBrain algorithm identifies a website with spam links, it automatically assigns a ‘low quality’ mark to such a website. All this can lead to the website being de-ranked on the Google search results page.

For the owners of such resources, it’s a sign that it is time to change their own SEO policy. At the same time, this ensures that users always have the most relevant and useful content.

How the Update Impacted Our Clients

Being digital marketing and SEO specialists ourselves, we, at Zwebra, have also felt the impact of Google's latest update.

Immediately after its release, some sites literally sank (in terms of ranking, the number of key phrases, and, as a result, traffic). Fortunately, this was a temporary thing: some donor sites began to recover, which allowed them to return to their previous positions in terms of site ranking and traffic to client sites.

As of now, there’s no reason to panic. Sure, some links from donor sites are no longer working. However, it’s still better than the complete absence of external links to the site: some of them still “work” and do their job. 

Plus, the good news is that Google simply stops taking into account the links that it finds on the sites that sell them (or that are obtained through crowd marketing). It does not impose search sanctions on your site, which may result in the complete removal of pages from search results.

Keep in mind that the algorithm has also affected other businesses as well, so for many companies, this is a great opportunity to get a crack at the top.

How Do You Know If the Update Affected You?

How do you know if the Google Link Spam update has affected you? Well, if you’re reading this article, it probably already has – to what extent, depends on how you link to other pages or how you receive links.

Here are the signs that something went wrong:

• your website has lost its ranking for certain keywords;

• some keywords dropped out of the index;

• search traffic has dropped noticeably.

How to Check Spam Backlinks
 

• One of the ways to check spam backlinks is to use backlink auditing tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. They can provide a comprehensive report on your website's backlinks and identify spammy backlinks.
   
• Another way is to manually review each link. Look out for links from sites with low domain authority, irrelevant content, and excessive links to other websites. Also, be careful about backlinks from suspicious resources such as adult (18+) and gaming websites, as well as link farms.

What Should You Do If You Detected Spam Links to Your Website?

To ensure the integrity of your site profile and improve your search engine rankings, you should check your backlinks for spam and remove them or block these links from indexing through the Google Search Console panel.

That’s why it is so important to remove backlink spam before it could negatively affect your positions in search results.

How to Remove Spam Backlinks

Once you find any backlinks that contain spam, you should do the following:

1. Contact the owner or administrator of the site and ask them to remove the backlink
2. If you can't contact the website owner or if the link can't be removed, use Disavow Links Tools in Google Search Console. Using this tool, you can ask Google to disregard a particular link
3. Remove any malware or viruses that may be associated with spam links
4. Remember to redirect any broken URLs to valid, matching pages on the site
5. Improve site security by monitoring and maintaining it regularly
6. Submit a review request to Google outlining the steps you took to clean up your link profile
7. Monitor your website and update your promotion strategies

Not sure if you fully understand how to delete or block spam backlinks? Order SEO services from Zwebra: our experts know how to detect spam links and quickly restore (and improve) your website ranking!