August 19, 2026
On 21 August, the August 2026 spam update completed its rollout.
This was the third spam update of the year, following the June 2026 spam update and the March 2026 spam update, and the sixth algorithm update of the year.
Google stated that this was a normal spam update that applied to all languages and locations. These updates are designed to improve Google’s search spam detection systems, which target websites that are in violation of Google’s spam policies.
Google releases spam updates periodically, although we’ve definitely seen an increase this year.
Here’s a timeline of spam updates released in the last few years:
In theory, spam updates should only have an impact on websites that are engaging in any tactics used to manipulate the search engine into ranking content highly, such as cloaking, hidden text, scraping, and link spamming.
That being said, some sites are temporarily affected by volatility, and others claim to be affected despite not engaging in any spammy tactics.
Responses to Google Search Central’s post on X announcing the completion of the update were, on the whole, negative.
Ahsan Ahmed commented:
Omgcarrent thailand also replied:
Journalist Barry Schwartz posted on X about the completion of the update, and responses were similar here.
Erric Ravi shared is negative experience:
And CapyToolkit responded stating that this spam update didn’t affect their website, but only because they are still suffering from the previous one.
People are also predicting that a core update will drop soon.
Ioanna Illiadi replied:
The best thing you can do is carefully review all your content to ensure you’re not in violation of any of Google’s spam policies, remove any content that is, and continue creating genuinely helpful, high-quality content. Some websites may see some improvement as volatility calms down. However, it can take many months for sites to recover.
If you have been impacted by this spam update, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.
