SEO News You Can Use: Google Releases December 2022 Link Spam Update

Google is rolling out yet another update; this time, it’s the December 2022 Link Spam Update. It was released on December 14 and is expected to be complete in two weeks.

This is an upgrade to Google’s spam detection system, SpamBrain, an artificial intelligence (AI) based system aimed at detecting spam and unnatural or bought links. SpamBrain can detect ingoing and outgoing links,

The update is expected to roll out over two weeks and will be applied to search results in all languages, meaning it could affect websites globally. Google has strict regulations pertaining to links used to improve website rankings solely.

When it comes to embedded affiliate links, for example, Google’s guidelines advise qualifying it with a rel=sponsored tag. Additionally, guest post links need to be tagged with rel=nofollow. 

Sites that don’t follow Google’s best practices will likely be affected.

Google’s guidelines relating to qualifying links are explicit and encourage the use of natural links that can be added over time. High-quality content supported by a great user experience (UX) will always produce better results than manipulated links.

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Editor’s Note: “SEO News You Can Use” is a weekly blog post posted every Monday morning only on SEOblog.com, rounding up all the top SEO news from around the world. Our goal is to make SEOblog.com a one-stop-shop for everyone looking for SEO news, education and for hiring an SEO expert with our comprehensive SEO agency directory.