Google Has Finished Rolling Out the December 2024 Spam Update

The December 2024 spam update is now complete. The update, which was released just 24 hours after the completion of the December 2024 core update, took seven days, starting on 19 December and finishing on 26 December 2024.

The news initially came as a big shock to those in the SEO community, who had joked about whether the company would release another core update so close to the festive period.

The update also came at a time when many industry experts were discussing the effectiveness of the company’s ability to fight spam, following a year of aggressive spam-fighting measures.

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What Was the December 2024 Spam Update? 

The December 2024 spam update was the latest in Google’s attempts to fight unhelpful content, spam content, and spam links. No specific details have been provided regarding which type of spam this update targeted.

Generally speaking, Google’s spam updates penalise websites that violate the company’s spam policies. Although the company’s spam detection systems operate constantly, the company does regularly make improvements to the systems.

In 2024, the company launched a number of spam-fighting measures, including the June Spam Update and the March Core Update, which targeted policy-violating websites and aimed to reduce “unhelpful” content by 40%. In fact, this is the seventh Google search algorithm update we’ve seen in 2024, including four core updates and three spam updates.

Over the course of the past few years, Google has regularly released spam updates: 

• June 2024 spam update
• March 2024 spam update
• October 2023 spam update
• December 2022 link spam update
• October 2022 spam update 
• November 2021 spam update
• July 2021 link spam update
• A two-part June 2021 spam update (June 23 and June 28)

Any site that is found to be in violation of Google’s policies following an update may either rank lower in the search engine results pages or may not appear at all. 

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What Was the Effect of the December 2024 Spam Update?

Whilst the update only lasted one week, it hit hard and fast and many feel this was the biggest spam update seen for quite some time. Some sites saw huge drops in traffic and rankings and many have speculated that the update seemed to be promoting spam instead of penalising it. 
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Four days into the update, SEO Consultant, Glenn Gabe, shared some insights on the update’s ongoing effects via X:

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Several unhappy website owners took to X to share their frustrations on the completion of the rollout.
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ChaliyaBoy commented on Google Search Central’s announcement: 

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Also in response to Google Search Central, Hafiz Muhammad Usama Ali replied: 

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Glenn Gabe, shared his final thoughts on the spam update:

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With the spam update commencing a day after the completion of the December 2024 core update, it’s not always 100% clear which update people have been hit by - unless you have been actively spamming. 
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As with most updates, there was high volatility in the SERPs both during and after the rollout. 

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Image credit: Search Engine Roundtable 

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What to do if You’re Affected

If you have seen a noticeable change in traffic or rankings post spam update, you should review Google’s spam policies and ensure that you’re compliant.

If you need help navigating the current ranking fluctuations or need advice about how to stay compliant with Google’s spam policies, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our SEO and content experts. We’d love to help you. 

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