Google just deleted the AI notebook spam pages
"It's over for the NotebookLM black hat SEO tactic," says Gagan Ghotra, after Google pulled every shared AI notebook page out of search. If anyone sold you that trick, it is dead.
Read the whole week in one goThe spam update really landed over the weekend
Getting into AI answers
Links inside Google's AI answers may be growing again
A new report says links out to websites inside AI Overviews (the AI written answer at the top of results) have spiked again. Glenn Gabe says he is seeing more inline links inside answers too, though he added he does not know if the reported increase is accurate. Nothing to change today.
I don't know if the increase being reported is accurate, but I am seeing more
Who this affects: Anyone whose pages get quoted or cited in Google's AI answers.
- Do nothing, this is a Google display change, not a penalty.
Maps and your listing
You get four days to block edits to your Google listing
Google Business Profile (your free listing on Maps and Search) lets anyone suggest changes, and you have four days to accept or reject them. Glenn Gabe quotes Google saying that if you do not respond in four days, Google may publish the change anyway if other public sources back it up. Turn on the notifications so you see them.
If you don’t respond within 4 days, Google may automatically publish the update if it is supported by other publicly available information, such as your business website.
Who this affects: Any business with a Google listing showing hours, address or phone.
- Check your profile email and notifications at least twice a week.
- Reject wrong suggested edits within four days of the notice.
Do not do this
Google deleted the spammy AI notebook pages from search
Google has removed the shared notebook pages from its AI notebook tool out of search results entirely, after spammers filled them up. Glenn Gabe, who tracked the spam all week, said Google "finally nuked the shared notebook directory from the SERPs (which contained a ton of spam)". If someone pitched you publishing these pages to rank, stop paying for it.
and it's over for the NotebookLM black hat #SEO tactic
Who this affects: Anyone sold a shortcut that involves publishing public AI notebook pages.
- Stop any work that publishes shared notebook pages for rankings.
- Our take: ask any SEO contractor what tactics they actually use.