Google released an update to its spam detection system between December 19 and 26, 2024. Named the December 2024 Spam Update, the update arrived a day after the December 2024 Core Update abruptly ended and was completed within a week.
Google’s Official Announcement
Google announced the December 2024 Spam Update in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Today we released the December 2024 spam update.
It may take up to 1 week to complete, and we'll post on the Google Search Status Dashboard when the rollout is done: https://t.co/L7n9n3Nh6X
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 19, 2024
Google also announced the December 2024 Spam Update on LinkedIn.
What Are People Saying?
Several bloggers and SEOs responded to the release of the December 2024 Spam Update. Some responses were posted directly to Google’s announcement, while others were posted as standalone posts.
Bloggers and SEOs Respond to Google’s Announcement
Mustafa Elnagar replied to Google’s post on LinkedIn. He was unimpressed with the release of the December 2024 Spam Update and likened the never-ending Google updates to spam.
Venkata Pagadala voiced the same concern, stating that instead of informing everyone that an update was available, Google should inform everyone whenever there was no update.
Both SEOs raised the issue because the December 2024 Spam Update is just one of multiple back-to-back updates from Google. It was released a day after the December 2024 Core Update was completed and about two weeks after the November 2024 Core Update was completed.
Volatilities Observed by SEOs
Barry Schwartz shared some analytic reports of sites experiencing severe volatility on search results pages on X. He added that the December 2024 Spam Update was heated and problematic for many bloggers.
The Google December 2024 spam update has burned through Christmas – it is so heated, so volatile and causing so much heartache for many https://t.co/9LIbv92qoz pic.twitter.com/FqMBrmcGzP
— Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) December 26, 2024
In response to Barry’s post, Glenn shared the reports of a site that initially lost traffic to the December 2024 Core Update before losing even more traffic to the December 2024 Spam Update.
It hasn't officially completed yet, and there have been some big drops… See one below that started with a drop with the Dec core update, and then tanked with the Dec spam update… https://t.co/MezlKl5tCV pic.twitter.com/MmOISumhtN
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) December 26, 2024
Once the December 2024 Spam Update was completed, Glenn Gabe shared more analytic reports indicating that it caused some spammy sites to receive more traffic from Google. This led him to suggest that the update did not completely achieve what Google intended.
For example, this site surged and will earn some serious money from the increase in rankings (although they would have earned much more if this happened a month ago). 🙂 But… when you dig into the content surging, it's not great. And looks like AI content as well for some of… pic.twitter.com/SxdzKJvV47
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) December 26, 2024
Volatilities Observed by Bloggers
Multiple bloggers complained about losing traffic to the December 2024 Spam Update. One blogger complained on the Google Search Console Help Center about losing all his traffic between December 19 and 20, 2024, immediately after the update was released.
Another blogger voiced a similar complaint about losing his traffic right after the December 2024 Core Update was released on December 19, 2024. He went from receiving up to 500 visitors daily to less than 10 visitors daily.
Previous Spam Updates
The December 2024 Spam Update is the third spam update of 2024 and just one of the multiple spam and link spam updates that Google has released over the last few years. The others include:
- June 2024 Spam Update: June 20 – June 27, 2024
- March 2024 Spam Update: March 5 – March 20, 2024
- October 2023 Spam Update: October 4 – October 20, 2023
- December 2022 Link Spam Update: December 14, 2022 – January 12, 2023
- October 2022 Spam Update: October 19 – October 21, 2022
- November 2021 Anti-Spam Update: November 3 – November 11, 2021
- Link Spam Update: July 26 – August 24, 2021
- Anti-Spam Update II: June 29, 2021
- Anti-Spam Update: June 23, 2021
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
The December 2024 Spam Update had a significant effect, with multiple affected sites losing their rankings within a day of its release. While some spammy sites appear to have ranked, many others lost traffic. Some SEOs have even suggested that it may have been Google’s most extensive spam update ever.
You should monitor your site with Rank Math Analytics to confirm whether this update affected your site. If you observe a drop in traffic, review your site for spam and follow the guide below for tips on recovering from an algorithm update.
