Google Search, which has long been criticized for the vast amount of SEO and AI-generated clickbait spam it has been showing, is finally set to fix that problem soon. Google has announced that it is going to address the issue of algorithmically generated spam and the proactive measures it will be taking against it.
In a newly shared blog post, Google has announced changes to its spam policy crafted to counteract the infiltration of AI-generated clickbait within its search results. Lily Ray, senior director of SEO at the marketing agency Amsive says: “It sounds like it’s going to be one of the biggest updates in the history of Google. It could change everything.”
The said policy changes are slated to reduce “low-quality, unoriginal content” on Google search by up to 40%, adds the company’s blog post. The company is prioritizing efforts to combat what it labels as “scaled content abuse.” This phenomenon occurs when malicious actors saturate the internet with copious amounts of articles and blog posts meticulously crafted to exploit search engine algorithms.
Google’s vice president of search, Pandu Nayak says: “A good example of it, which has been around for a little while, is the abuse around obituary spam.”
Obituary spam is a worse type of spam which involves ill actors scraping and reposting death notices on platforms including YouTube. This issue has gotten far worse lately with the widespread of generative AI, making it a lot easier for spammers to create such content and dump it everywhere. But Google is looking to address exactly this issue with its revamped spam policies. If implemented correctly, these changes are anticipated to bolster efforts in mitigating the emergence of this type of spam in online searches.