March 2024 Spam Update
New spam updates launched alongside the March core update, targeting scaled content, site reputation abuse and expired domain abuse.
Key points
- Spam updates launched at the same time as the March 2024 core update.
- Three targets: scaled content, site reputation abuse, expired domain abuse.
- Entire sites were deindexed for abusive content.
- The end of tolerance for parasite SEO and mass content.
Analysis
This anti-spam wave formalizes three long-exploited practices: producing content at very large scale, renting or exploiting the reputation of a third-party domain, and buying expired domains to recycle their authority. Google moved from demotion to outright deindexing for the most blatant cases.
Site reputation abuse targeted in particular sections hosted by trusted publishers but produced by third parties for purely SEO purposes. The message is clear: a domain's authority no longer covers parasitic content.
What to do
- Audit partnerships and third-party sections hosted on the domain to avoid any reputation abuse.
- Ban mass content production without editorial oversight or intrinsic value.
- Check the history and topical consistency of any expired domain before reusing it.
Entire sites were deindexed for abusive content. The end of tolerance for "parasite SEO" and mass-produced content.