The spam update really landed over the weekend
Google's spam update looked quiet on Friday, then one analyst watching about 1,500 sites saw big drops across the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany over the weekend. If your traffic fell, here is what was being hit.
Why your traffic moved
Big ranking drops landed over the weekend, not Thursday
Google's September spam update (a ranking change aimed at sites breaking its spam rules) showed little on Friday and then hit hard over the weekend. Glenn Gabe, who tracks around 1,500 previously hit sites, saw big drops in the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany, and says what he is seeing is mostly "scaled content abuse", programmatic pages and thin affiliate sites.
I shared on Friday about the update starting to show itself, but this weekend it *really* showed itself.
Who this affects: Everyone with a website, especially sites with lots of near-duplicate or auto-built pages.
- Compare last week's Search Console clicks with the week before
- Our take: wait for the rollout to finish before changing anything
You can finally see traffic from people searching with photos
Google Search Console (Google's free tool for site owners) now splits web traffic into text-based and multimodal, meaning searches that start with an image or screenshot. That covers Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads and the Chrome "Search this image" option.
Who this affects: Anyone selling products, parts, plants, artwork or anything people point a camera at.
- Open Search Console, click Performance, then the Search type filter
- Check if Multimodal appears yet, it is rolling out gradually
Getting into AI answers
Google's AI answers now link out in over a quarter of cases
Google sharply increased the number of links to outside sites inside AI Overviews (the AI written answer at the top of results). Connor Showler says direct links now appear in more than 25% of answers, up from far fewer. Not everyone thinks it helps: Patrick Stox doubts anyone clicks them, while Lily Ray's response to the change was simply "Good!".
Oh look, more links that no one will click on.
Who this affects: Any site that gets traffic from Google searches where an AI answer appears.
- Check Search Console's AI performance report for clicks from AI answers
Maps and your listing
Strangers can change your business listing in four days
Anyone can suggest an edit to your Google Business Profile (your free listing on Maps and Search), and you get four days to accept or reject it. Google notifies you by email or in the product, and if you say nothing it may publish the change anyway when other public info, like your own website, seems to back it up.
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: Every business with a Google Business Profile.
- Turn on Business Profile email notifications and check them weekly
- Fix wrong hours or addresses on your own website today
The short list
Rank tracking tools are showing the wrong results again
One SEO says the major rank trackers are bugging out versus real search results, filling page one with forum posts and videos, possibly because Google is blocking scraping again.
Google is testing buy buttons inside its AI chat
Google is testing a Buy button on Flipkart product listings inside Gemini and AI Mode in India, with checkout happening without leaving the chat.
Frequently asked questions
When did Google's September spam update actually hit websites?
Google announced the update on Thursday, but it showed little impact on Friday and then hit hard over the weekend. The update rolled out over two weeks.
What types of sites got hurt by the September spam update?
Sites with scaled content abuse, programmatic pages, and thin affiliate sites saw big ranking drops across the US, UK, France, Italy and Germany.
How do I see traffic from image searches in Google Search Console?
Open Search Console, click Performance, then use the Search type filter to see multimodal results, which covers Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and image search options. This feature is rolling out gradually.
What should I check if my Google Business Profile listing changed?
Anyone can suggest edits to your listing and you get four days to accept or reject them. Turn on email notifications and check them weekly to catch unwanted changes before they publish.
Are Google's AI answers sending traffic to websites?
Direct links now appear in more than 25% of AI answers, up from far fewer before. You can check your traffic from these links in Search Console's AI performance report.