Google's September 2026 Spam Update: Did Your Site Get Hit?

TL;DR — Google's September 2026 spam update ran ~2 weeks in three waves, and Google has openly said it now uses AI to catch AI-generated scaled spam. If your traffic dropped recently, check Search Console per-page before panicking, then run the "competitor brand swap" test on your weakest pages.

For online store owners and marketers, the last two weeks weren't just "another update."

Google started rolling out the September 2026 spam update on September 24, according to the official Google Search Status Dashboard. But unlike previous spam updates that typically finished in about two days, this one was different.

What made this update different?

Barry Schwartz reported on Search Engine Roundtable that Google said this rollout would take about two weeks, with multiple waves of impact: the first wave of sites getting hit around September 25-27, things heating up again on September 30, and a third wave running October 4-6. Volatility may not be fully over yet.

More important than timing is what it targeted. At the Search Central Live Deep Dive event in Barcelona, Google explained why it has shipped so many spam updates in 2026 — as recapped by Search Engine Roundtable:

• A high percentage of new content is spam, and that's what the updates target
• Google is now using AI to help catch more spam
• AI slop is increasing, including in the Discover feed
• Gary Illyes shared that Google filters out 40 billion spam pages a day

And the key warning: "scaled content is now becoming more of a problem than link spam."

What do the policies say?

Google's official spam policies page defines scaled content abuse explicitly: generating many pages primarily to manipulate rankings, "no matter how it's created." Official examples include:

• Using generative AI tools to produce many pages without adding user value
• Scraping and stitching content from other sites without adding value
• Pages that make little sense to a reader but are stuffed with search keywords

There was also a policy change this year worth knowing: in late August, Google updated its Site Reputation abuse policy — per the official blog post, starting August 30, manual actions under this policy apply differently inside the EEA, with a mediation option for eligible sites. If your site hosts third-party content, read it.

How to check if your site was hit

Breathe first. Then look at data, not feelings.

| Search Console symptom | Most likely cause | |---|---| | Drop coinciding with Sep 25-27, Sep 30, or Oct 4-6 waves | This spam update | | Drop confined to specific pages, not the whole site | Those pages are commodity/duplicate content | | Flat drop across all queries | Technical issue or competition — check tech first | | No change at all | You're fine; keep publishing |

A point Google repeated at the Barcelona event: core/spam updates work at the page level, not the domain level. That's why some of your pages may rise while others fall — compare a pre-update window against post-update in Search Console, page by page.

The test you can run right now

The most practical takeaway from the Barcelona event (as shared by Aleyda Solis and Nacho Mascort): if you swapped your brand for a competitor's, would this page still be just as useful?

If yes, that page is commodity content — exactly what these updates hit hardest. What AI can't replicate is what only you can add: real experience, transparent pricing, your own product photos, answers to your actual customers' questions.

• [ ] In Search Console, compare Sep 1-23 against Sep 25-today, page by page (not just the aggregate)
• [ ] List the 10 pages with the biggest drops and run the "competitor brand swap" test on each
• [ ] Delete, merge, or rewrite pages that only rephrase others' content — Google itself says to exclude such content from Search
• [ ] Audit your top pages: do they contain real experience, your own photos, specific details?
• [ ] If you host third-party content, review the updated Site Reputation policy
• [ ] Keep monitoring for the next two weeks — the rollout may not be fully finished

What to expect next

Google's message from Barcelona was blunt: "Expect more spam updates. Google is dealing with a growing flood of AI slop. Scaled, low-effort content is the risk."

Translation for your business: mass-producing AI articles to fill a blog is no longer just useless — it's an active risk. But AI tools aren't banned; the policy targets content "without adding value," regardless of how it was made. Ten deep pages grounded in your real experience beat a hundred generic ones — and right now, they're also the algorithmically safer play.

Not sure which of your pages are at risk? Get in touch — a 15-minute content audit will show you what to fix first.

FAQ

Q: How long does recovery take after fixing content?

Spam and core updates roll out in waves over weeks — this one ran two weeks across roughly three waves. After fixing, compare Search Console data against the next updates. Don't expect overnight recovery; Google's evaluation is per-page and applied across subsequent rollouts.

Q: I use AI to write articles — will my site be penalized?

Google's policy doesn't target the tool — it targets "scaled content abuse": many pages without added value, "no matter how they're created." If you rewrite AI drafts with real experience, data, and your own perspective, you're fine. If you're mass-publishing generic output, yes, you're exposed.

Q: My rankings dropped but I'm not sure it's the update. How do I tell?

Match the wave dates — Sep 24-27, Sep 30, Oct 4-6 — against your ranking drops in Search Console. If the drop lands exactly on those windows and concentrates on specific pages, it's very likely the update. If it's scattered or started earlier, check speed, indexing, and technical issues first.

Sources

• Google Search Status Dashboard — Ranking incidents
• Google Search Central — Spam policies
• Google Search Central Blog — Update to the Site Reputation Policy
• Search Engine Roundtable — Final Phase Of Google September 2026 Spam Update Rollout
• Search Engine Roundtable — Google Search Spam Updates Use AI To Find AI Spam