Link spam update
Also called: link spam, link spam algorithm, SpamBrain link update
A link spam update is a Google spam update that uses its AI system SpamBrain to find and nullify unnatural, manipulative links at scale, so those links pass no ranking value. It devalues spammy links rather than penalizing the whole site, though the lost ranking benefit does not come back.
Google defines link spam as creating links to or from a site mainly to manipulate rankings. Its spam policy lists the usual culprits: buying or selling links that pass PageRank, excessive link exchanges, automated link building, advertorials without disclosure, low-quality directory or bookmark links, and keyword-rich links baked into widgets or forum signatures.
SpamBrain does the catching
The December 2022 link spam update folded link detection into SpamBrain, Google’s AI spam system. It targets two sides of the trade at once: sites buying links, and sites built to pass outgoing links (private blog networks, link farms). When SpamBrain flags a link, that link is neutralized. It stays on the page but passes no value.
The recovery trap is the part most people miss. A link spam update devalues links rather than issuing a manual action, so there is no message in Search Console to clear. But Google is blunt about it: once the effect of spammy links is removed, “any ranking benefit the links may have previously generated for your site is lost” and cannot be regained. Cleaning up does not restore the boost, because the boost was never earned.
For legitimate paid or user-generated links, mark them so they are not counted as endorsements: use rel="sponsored" for paid placements, rel="ugc" for user content, and rel="nofollow" for general untrusted links.
How it affects your traffic
If you bought links or ran aggressive anchor-heavy campaigns, a link spam update can quietly erase the ranking lift those links gave you, and disavowing them later will not bring the traffic back. The risk compounds if your own site is being used to pass outgoing links, since that can drag down its standing too. An SEO consulting engagement audits your backlink profile, isolates the patterns SpamBrain targets, and shifts you toward links that earn value instead of borrowing it.
Get SEO Consulting that moves the needle
We turn terms like this into ranked pages and qualified pipeline. Start with a free Initial SEO Strategy.