Google spam update is rolling out over two weeks
Google turned on the September 2026 spam update and rankings started swinging the very next day. It takes about two weeks to finish, so any movement you see now is not final.
Read the whole week in one goThe spam update really landed over the weekend
Why your traffic moved
Google started a spam update that takes two weeks
Google announced the September 2026 spam update yesterday, a ranking change aimed at sites breaking its spam rules. Google's John Mueller confirmed it will take about two weeks to finish, longer than recent spam updates. Barry Schwartz says ranking movement is already spiking a day in, with Semrush's tracker running hot.
Day after the Google Spam update was unleashed, it looks like the Google volatility is indeed spiking
Who this affects: Everyone with a website, though most sites should see little or no change.
- Note today's rankings and traffic, then compare in two weeks.
- Our take: do not change the site mid rollout.
Getting into AI answers
ChatGPT is linking to YouTube far less than before
One analyst says YouTube has lost 91% of its share of ChatGPT citations compared with August, with Facebook down 88.1%, Wikipedia down 78.4% and Forbes down 71.7%. David Konitzny says the drop holds up even when measured in raw citation counts, across hundreds of thousands of tracked prompts.
YouTube isn’t just getting diluted by a larger citation pool. ChatGPT is actually citing YouTube substantially less often than it did in August.
Who this affects: Businesses relying on YouTube or social pages to get named by AI tools.
- Ask ChatGPT a few buying questions and note which sites it cites.
- Our take: keep the real answers on your own site.
Do not do this
Paying for mentions in AI answers may now backfire
One well known SEO says the new spam update could hit companies buying and selling mentions in AI search answers. Glenn Gabe, who just spoke on a panel about "inauthentic mentions", wonders whether Google will target the publishers selling that visibility, the brands buying it, or the brokers in between. This is his read, not something Google has said.
for those gaming AI search visibility, this should be a giant heads-up
Who this affects: Anyone who has been offered paid mentions or citations in AI search tools.
- Turn down offers to buy mentions or citations in AI answers.