Google’s spam update follows a weekend of search-result movement

An update still rolling out

Google released its September spam update on September 24. The official notice says it applies worldwide, across all languages, and may take up to two weeks. The status record had no completion date when checked on September 28.

Today, Barry Schwartz published a Search Engine Roundtable roundup of movement observed over the weekend. This is reporting on industry signals, not proof that every individual traffic drop has the same cause.

John Mueller clarified the timing

Responding to Barry Schwartz’s question about a possible typo in the timeline, John Mueller said on Bluesky that the rollout would likely take longer than some previous updates.

Open John Mueller’s original post.

What to check before changing a site

For a brand publishing news or guides, a useful response starts with its own records. Compare pages and queries over equivalent periods. Record when a change began and what else changed on the site.

Avoid attributing a decline to the update simply because the dates coincide. An indexing problem, a changed URL and a shift in demand require different checks.

Our editorial recommendation is to review whether each article provides identifiable information, sources and an answer that fulfills its headline while you gather evidence. Adding repetitive pages to occupy more queries makes that review harder.

The missing milestone

The official completion notice will help define the observation period. Each site will still need assessment using its own data. This announcement does not establish a blanket penalty for using AI or explain what happened to any particular website.