June 2024 Google Spam Update Goes Live

Google has released a new spam update named the ‘June 2024 Google Spam Update’ which is expected to take one week to fully roll out.

The latest spam update from Google was announced through the Google Search Central X account:

The June spam update was also confirmed on the Google Search Status Dashboard with the following details:

Date: 20 June 2024

Time: 08:13 PDT

Description: Released the June 2024 spam update. The rollout may take up to 1 week to complete.

Why the June 2024 Google Spam is Significant

 The ‘June 2024 Google Spam Update’ is the first confirmed update from Google since the March 2024 Core Algorithm Update.

The March 2024 core update – which is now widely regarded as one of the most disruptive updates in Google’s history, made widespread changes to Google’s spam policies designed to address the evolving nature of search spam with “targeted action against scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse, and expired domain abuse.”

The fallout from the March 2024 core update which included updates to Google’s spam policies saw Google take a non-discriminatory approach to wiping out established websites that were leveraging Site Reputation to push unrelated (mainly affiliate) content. The details of Google’s site reputation abuse policy show Google’s hardline approach to reducing search spam in a continual bid to maintain the integrity of organic search results.

What Does the June 2024 Google Spam Update Target?

The only details that we have come from the X post which stated:

“It may take up to 1 week to complete, and we’ll post on the Google Search Status Dashboard when the rollout is done”

What exactly is being targeted under the spam update (content, links etc.) is not yet clear.

However, based on Google’s spam policies, we can say that the June spam update will be targeting one, some, or all of the factors that are outlined in Google’s spam policies including:

• Sites that buy links for the purpose of manipulating search results
• Content that is automatically generated to improve search results (think: AI content production)
• Content that is thin, duplicate, or low quality (think: programmatic SEO)
• Using other deceptive practices such as cloaking or redirects to ‘trick’ users into visiting a website.

From the perspective of an SEO agency, the biggest threat to the quality of search results is the sheer volume of AI generated content. From what we have observed, countless websites have gone down the rabbit hole of ramping up content production. Since the March 2024 core update, more websites have now been impacted and we would suggest that this update will continue along those lines.

Final thoughts

Once the update is complete, Google will provide an update on its Search Status dashboard which should provide some more clarity around what the latest spam update means. In the meantime, keep an eye on your rankings and traffic and (where possible) piece together any trends that may tell the story.