Google’s Site Reputation Abuse Policy Update: Everything You Need To Know

Updates to Google’s Site Reputation Abuse Policy

Go to the top

Google has made updates to its site reputation abuse policy in November 2024, adding further clarification for website owners:

“We’re making it clear that using third-party content on a site in an attempt to exploit the site’s ranking signals is a violation of this policy – regardless of whether there is first-party involvement or oversight of the content. Our updated policy language, effective today, is: Site reputation abuse is the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site in an attempt to abuse search rankings by taking advantage of the host site’s ranking signals.”

The revised policy targets websites practicing parasite SEO, but SEO professional Lily Ray has also flagged on LinkedIn that “Google is also sending manual actions to sites with affiliate/partner content *even if that content is entirely written by the staff at the publication.*”

What Does This Mean for Your Website?

Go to the top

Unlike an algorithm update, Google will review websites on a case-by-case basis. This means Google will manually take action to punish sites that go against the site reputation abuse policy. If your site has been impacted, you’ll receive a manual penalty notice in your Google Search Console account.

And, Google’s not waiting around.

Large publishers, such as Forbes Advisor – previously accused of using parasite SEO tactics by Lars Lofgren – have already been removed from their top positions in the SERPs due to Google taking manual action against the site.

Glenn Gabe highlighted the manual action on LinkedIn:

“Huge heads-up! The manual actions for ‘Site reputation abuse’ have already started going out based on the policy update. Jason Kilgore first pinged me on LinkedIn that Forbes Advisor is not ranking for what it once was (not even for the query ‘Forbes Advisor’)… and it looks like the directory has been deindexed. Then I checked CNN Underscored. Same deal. And then WSJ Buyside. Same deal.”

However, the SEO community has flagged that sites deemed abusive by the updated policy, such as Forbes Advisor, are still being shown in Google’s AI Overviews.

But, what does this mean for smaller publishers and businesses? Does this free up more room in the SERPs? With manual actions only just rolling out, it’s too soon to really tell. That said, it’s reassuring to see Google finally take action against sites that many have complained about for years.

We’ll likely see more opportunities in the SERPs going forward, with sites not impacted by the Google policy regaining traffic and rankings – even if it’s just by a few all-important search ranking positions.

Watch this space – I’ll be sure to keep our newsfeed updated with the latest developments.