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August 2025 Spam Update

August 26, 2025 Confirmed
« All Google Updates

Google released an update to its spam system between August 26 and September 22, 2025. Google did not mention a specific end date at the time of release, and the rollout ultimately took 27 days to complete. 

With that said, note that this was a spam update targeting spammy results on search engine results pages. It is not a link spam update. (Google releases updates to its link spam system separately.) 

Google August 2025 Spam Update

Google’s Official Announcement

Google announced the August 2025 Spam Update on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, Google mentioned that the spam update will cover all languages and regions.

Google announces the August 2025 Spam Update on X

What Are People Saying?

Many bloggers had reservations about the August 2025 Spam Update.

Some raised concerns about Google’s preference for directing traffic to forums like Reddit. Others expressed concern about the expansion of Google’s AI products, such as AI Mode and AI Overviews, which they blamed for diverting their traffic.

On August 27, 2025, a day after the update was released, Glenn Gabe suggested the update may be targeted at AI-generated content that appears in sources Google considers for AI Overviews. 

He added that Google may release a broad core update once the spam update is completed.

Early Volatiles Observed by SEOs

The August 2025 Spam Update demoted multiple websites and content within the first day of its rollout. This volatility was immediately apparent to bloggers and SEOs, who reported considerable changes in their traffic within 24 hours of its release.

On August 28, 2025, Glenn Gabe shared analytic reports of some sites that had lost considerable traffic within the first two days of the spam update. 

The same day, Brian Jeacoma shared analytic reports showing his site had lost traffic to the update. 

Later Volatilities Observed by SEOs

The severe volatility continued days into the August 2025 Spam Update. On September 10, 2025, Barry Schwartz shared analytic reports of the extreme volatility it was causing on Google results pages. 

Two days later, on September 12, 2025, Glenn Gabe shared additional reports of multiple sites that had lost traffic to the update. Interestingly, some sites recovered after a few days, while others continued to drop. 

The August 2025 Spam Update had been running for 17 days (approximately two weeks and three days) at this point, which led Gabe to raise concerns about its timeline, which he considered unusually long for a spam update. 

Google later completed the update on September 22, 2025. In response, Glenn Gabe pointed out that bloggers can recover by fixing the issue that triggered the spam update and ensuring the improvements remain on their site for a few months. 

A Noteworthy Event That Occurred During the Update

Google ended support for the &num=100 parameter while the August 2025 Spam Update was rolling out. The specific date Google ended support is unclear, but most bloggers report that it was sometime between September 10 and 12, 2025, which was midway through the spam update. 

This event severely reduced the impressions of many sites. Therefore, keep this in mind when reviewing your analytics. 

Previous Spam Updates

The August 2025 Spam Update is Google’s first spam update of 2025. Here are a few other spam updates Google has released over the years:

What’s Next – Dealing with This Update

The August 2025 Spam Update only affected sites that published spammy content. Therefore, be sure to monitor your site with Rank Math Analytics to determine if you were affected.

However, while reviewing your analytics, remember that Google ended support for the &num=100 parameter while the spam update was running. This means you may notice a reduction in impressions after September 10, 2025. 

With that said, if you lost traffic due to the update, review the affected content to ensure it complies with Google Search Essentials spam policies. Once done, you may likely recover your traffic in a few months’ time. 

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