Fast Facts About Google’s December 2022 Link Spam Update and Its Impact on SEO

Published by Sofia , Last updated On : Jun 06, 2023

The December 2022 Link Spam Update by Google has sparked significant interest and concern among website owners and SEO professionals. This update aims to combat link spam and its manipulative impact on search rankings. In this article, we shall explore fast facts about this update, including its release date, rollout duration, penalties, and the implementation of Google’s AI-based spam detection system, SpamBrain.

Fast Facts About December 2022 Link Spam Update

Here’s a short list of the most important things we know right now:

• Name: Google Link Spam Fix for December 2022
• Release Date: It started going out on December 14.
• Roll Out: The whole thing could take up to two weeks.
• It goes after both sites that buy links and sites used to pass outward links.
• Penalty: This will “neutralize” links that it finds to be spam, which means links will deem negligible, and scores may go down.
• Not done by hand: This isn’t a manual move, so if you get hit, Search Console won’t let you know.
• Worldwide and in every language: This is a start for the whole world that affects all languages.
• SpamBrain: This is the first time that Google used SpamBrain, its AI-based spam detection system, to stop link spam.

Read more: December 2022 Link Spam Update

Google’s Advice on December 2022 Link Spam Update

The Google Search Central Blog updates with the latest information about the latest algorithm change in Google’s ongoing fight against link spam. Here are the most important things we can learn:

The fix will be complete in about two weeks.

• As we came across Google algorithm changes some major effect shall happen in the first two to three days after making it public.
• The update can find sites that buy links and sites and sell links.
• It is “unnatural” to get links to boost search results.
• The goal of the change is to make unnatural links less impactful and not to punish them.
• The update is a new way that Google is trying to stop link spam from being used to manipulate search results.
• Google uses its algorithm and manual actions to stop spammers, but this change goes one step further and tries to find spammers before showing up in SERPs.

Back in July 2021, Google released an update to deal with link spam. In November 2021, they released another update to deal with spam in general. The first spam report for 2022 that we know for sure.

Getting Rid of the Effect of Spam Links

It’s important to remember that Google implies this to cancel out the effects of spammy links:

Removal of bogus links and the credit vanishes, and further ranking may change. From what we can tell, this means Google’s AI-based spam-fighting system SpamBrain will no longer punish websites that use links but will instead dismiss their effects. For example, if the website has been doing well in search results all of a sudden organic traffic drops & rankings fall( implies the website is hit by a penalty). Instead, managers should see this as the end of the benefits have been receiving from spam links earlier.

What to Do if it Happens to You

If Google’s December 2022 Link Spam Update algorithm affected you, here are a few things to do now:

• Use the Google Search Console to check your links. Look at your backlink profile to see if any links could be hurting you. Many people like to use third-party SEO tools like Ahrefs or Semrush that keep a watch on their backlinks. However, you should see them directly through the Google Search Console. Many of the fake links any site gets may have stopped third-party tools from crawling their sites. It means that you may not know your backlink profile.
• Compare your ranks and traffic. The best way to see how the latest algorithm update has changed things over the next few weeks is to know what “normal” looks like.
• Look at who else is out there. If you notice competitors have done well (improved rankings or overall search visibility) or badly since this update, it’s a good idea to look at their backlink profiles to figure out what they are doing.
• Don’t change things a lot. As we said at the beginning, this fix shall roll out in two weeks. Don’t make noticeable changes to the text or backlinks on your website during that phase. The less you change, the more likely you will understand what the current algorithm update means.
• Talk to a specialist. SEO is hard enough as it is, so if your website’s rankings and traffic have dropped because of this change, you might want to talk to an SEO company or expert.

Final Words:

As Google continues its relentless battle against link spam, the December 2022 Link Spam Update brings new hope for a cleaner and fair search landscape. While the update may lead to fluctuations in rankings and traffic for some websites, it is essential to understand its purpose is to neutralize the effects of spammy links rather than penalize legitimate websites. By using the Google Search Console, monitoring backlinks, and analyzing competitors’ strategies, website owners adapt and navigate on behalf of SEO services. You can consult with an SEO specialist for valuable insights and guidance during this transitional phase.