Google’s SearchLiaison affirmed that the initiation of Google’s site reputation abuse update commenced on Monday, May 6th, with manual actions set to precede algorithmic measures in the future. Websites across the internet swiftly removed pages that could be construed as hosting third-party content solely to enhance search engine rankings.

Manual Actions Precede Algorithmic Measures SearchLiaison emphasized that the algorithmic phase of the Site Reputation Abuse policy is imminent, with current enforcement exclusively manual. Manual actions involve human intervention by Google personnel who scrutinize websites to determine eligibility for a manual action, often resulting in removal from search indices.

Site Reputation Abuse Tactics A resurfacing strategy involves marketers leveraging another website’s authority to boost their own content’s search engine ranking. This practice can be likened to a publisher hitching onto another publisher’s website.

Some marketers have awkwardly termed this tactic “parasite SEO.” However, this characterization is inaccurate, as parasites thrive on unwilling hosts, whereas this strategy relies on mutual agreement rather than predatory behavior.

This is not merely a tactic for novice affiliate marketers but is also employed by prominent brands, particularly in fields like credit cards and product reviews.

Google’s Crackdown on Third-Party Content This particular spam policy targets websites hosting third-party content with minimal involvement or oversight from the host publisher. However, mere hosting of third-party content does not automatically trigger spam designation.

Google defines site reputation abuse as:

“Third-party pages published with little or no first-party oversight or involvement, aimed at manipulating search rankings by exploiting the first-party site’s ranking signals. Such pages may include sponsored, advertising, partner, or other third-party content, typically independent of the host site’s primary purpose or produced with minimal oversight, and offer minimal value to users.”

Google’s SearchLiaison confirmed via a tweet that the policy enforcement commenced on the specified date.

The tweet read:

“Enforcement begins today. While the policy rollout began yesterday, enforcement actions are being significantly ramped up today.”

Some prominent brand websites have recently removed sections featuring product reviews lacking evidence of the reviewer’s interaction with the products. These reviews lacked original product imagery, measurements, and testing outcomes.