Google's August 2025 Spam Update Leaves Sites With Significant Ranking Losses
Google has recently concluded its August 2025 Spam Update, leaving many sites grappling with significant ranking losses. The update, which ran from August 26 to September 22, targeted sites violating Google's spam guidelines, particularly those engaged in practices like cloaking and keyword stuffing.
The update, which did not involve backlink signals, caused a drastic decline in traffic for affected sites. Google's automated spam updates do not result in penalty messages, even when sites are impacted. Recovery is possible after addressing the cause(s), and it's not dependent on a core update.
The update's impact was initially felt within the first week, with click losses spanning nearly a month. It coincided with Google's cancellation of the '&num=100' query parameter, causing some confusion in assessing the update's impact via Search Console. Google's Search Central portal offers further insight into the company's spam policies.
Google's August 2025 Spam Update has had a notable impact on sites violating its spam guidelines. Affected sites should focus on fixing the underlying issues to recover. Google's spam updates are automated and do not result in penalty messages, but they can cause significant traffic declines. For further reference, Google's spam policies are available on its Search Central portal.
