If your rankings moved this week and you have ever bought, sold or swapped links, you are probably wondering if the December 2022 link spam update is the reason. Here is the short answer. On December 14, 2022, Google started rolling out an update that uses SpamBrain, its AI-based spam system, to find sites that buy links and sites that sell them. Google says the rollout will take about two weeks.
This update does not hand out a classic penalty. Instead, the unnatural links stop passing any value. If your rankings were held up by those links, they can drop. In this article I explain what Google announced, what SpamBrain is, who should pay attention and what I would do right now.
What Google Announced on December 14, 2022
Google shared the news on the Google Search Central blog and on the Google Search Central Twitter account. The post is short, but it has a few clear points.
| Detail | What Google said |
|---|---|
| Start date | December 14, 2022 |
| Expected rollout | About two weeks |
| Languages | All languages |
| Main system | SpamBrain |
| What it finds | Sites buying links and sites used to pass outgoing links |
| Effect | Credit passed by unnatural links is lost, so rankings may change |
Google also asked people who spot inorganic link building (links built to game rankings rather than earned) to report it. Questions about the update can go to the Google Search Central help community.
Because this article is written the day after the announcement, the rollout is still in progress. I would not judge any ranking change until Google confirms the rollout is complete. Google usually posts that on its Search Central Twitter account and on its list of ranking updates.
What Is SpamBrain?
SpamBrain is Google’s machine learning system for catching spam in search results. Machine learning here means the system learns patterns from huge numbers of examples, instead of following a fixed list of rules written by a person.
Google talked about SpamBrain in its yearly webspam report earlier this year, mostly as a way to keep spammy pages out of results. With this update, Google has put it to work on links too.
The important change is what SpamBrain can now see. Google says it can now detect both sides of a link deal:
- Sites buying links to push their own pages up in search results.
- Sites used to pass outgoing links, meaning sites whose main job is to sell or place links pointing to other sites.
In my view, the second point matters more than people think. Link sellers often run networks of blogs that look normal at first glance. If SpamBrain can spot the seller site, every link it sends out can lose value at once. That is much faster than judging links one by one.
What the December 2022 Link Spam Update Targets
Google’s spam policies define link spam as links meant to manipulate rankings. The Google spam policies page lists the main types. Here are the ones I see most often in real backlink profiles:
- Paid links that pass ranking credit. Money, products or services given in return for a link, without the right link attribute.
- Excessive link exchanges. “You link to me, I link to you” deals done at scale, or partner pages that exist only to cross-link.
- Guest posts and sponsored articles with followed, keyword-rich links. One honest guest post is fine. A guest post campaign built only for exact-match anchor text is not.
- Automated links. Tools or services that create links for you in bulk.
- Low-quality directories and bookmark sites. Sites that exist mainly to host links.
- Hidden or stuffed links in widgets, footers and templates. For example, a theme or plugin that puts a keyword link on every site that uses it.
- Forum comments and signatures with optimized links.
What It Does Not Target
This update is not about normal links you earn. A local newspaper writing about your shop, a blogger citing your guide, or a supplier listing you as a stockist are all fine.
It is also not about paid links that are labeled correctly. Google has said for years that paid links are allowed if you mark them with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". These attributes tell Google not to pass ranking credit through the link. For links in comments and forum posts, rel="ugc" (user-generated content) does the same job.
Neutralized Links vs a Penalty: Why the Difference Matters
Many people hear “spam update” and assume their site will be punished. That is not how Google describes this update.
Google says the goal is to neutralize unnatural links. Neutralize means Google simply ignores them. Any credit those links passed is lost. The site is not pushed down for having them; it just stops getting a boost it should never have had.
Here is a simple example. Say a page ranked fifth for a product keyword, and much of its strength came from twenty paid blog links. If SpamBrain neutralizes those links, the page now competes only on its real signals. It may fall to page two. That drop feels like a penalty, but it is really a loss of artificial support.
This is also different from a manual action. A manual action for unnatural links is applied by a person on Google’s team. It shows up in the Manual actions report in Search Console, and you have to fix the issue and ask for a review. An algorithmic update like this one sends no message at all.
In my experience, this difference changes what you should do next. With a manual action, cleaning up and asking for review is the path. With neutralized links, there is nothing to “recover” in the old sense. You need to replace fake strength with real strength.
How This Fits With Google’s Earlier Link Spam Work
This is not Google’s first link spam update. In July 2021, Google ran a link spam update that also focused on nullifying spammy links. At that time Google reminded sites to label affiliate links and sponsored or guest posts with the right rel attributes.
The December 2022 link spam update builds on that. The new part is SpamBrain’s role and its focus on both buyers and sellers. Google also rolled out a broader spam update in October 2022, which I covered in October 2022 spam update: what it targets.
There is one more thing to keep in mind. The December 2022 helpful content update started on December 5, 2022, and was still rolling out when this link spam update began. If your traffic changes this month, it could be either update, both, or something else, such as seasonal demand. I would not blame links until I have looked at which pages and queries moved.
Which Sites Are Most Likely to Notice a Change
Most sites will see nothing. If you have never paid for links, never joined a link scheme and never used a cheap link service, this update is unlikely to touch you.
The sites I would expect to notice something are:
- Sites with years of paid guest posts carrying exact-match anchor text.
- Affiliate sites that grew mostly through link buying or private blog networks (PBNs, groups of sites built only to link to a money site).
- Sites that sell links, especially “write for us” blogs that publish any paid post with a followed link.
- Local businesses that bought cheap link packages from SEO sellers without checking what was built.
That last group worries me most. I usually see small business owners who had no idea what their old agency bought. If that sounds like you, now is a good time to look at your link profile.
How to Check If the December 2022 Link Spam Update Affected Your Site
Google sends no notice for this update, so you need to look at the data yourself. This is the order I follow:
- Wait for the rollout to finish. Google expects about two weeks. Rankings often swing during a rollout, so early changes can reverse.
- Check the Manual actions report first. In Search Console, go to Security & Manual Actions, then Manual actions. If it says “No issues detected”, you are dealing with an algorithm change, not a manual penalty.
- Compare dates in the Performance report. Compare a period after the rollout ends with the same length of time before December 14. Look at clicks and average position by page and by query.
- Find the pages that lost the most. Note which pages and queries dropped. A link-related drop often hits the pages you built links to most heavily.
- Open the Links report. Check the top linking sites and top linking text for those pages. I explain this report in detail in my guide to the Search Console Links report.
- Match the patterns. If the pages that fell are the ones with the most paid or exchanged links, the update is the likely cause. If the drops are spread across thin or unhelpful pages instead, look at the helpful content update.
When I review a link profile, I look for patterns, not single bad links. Every site gets some junk links from scraper sites. What matters is a clear pattern, such as many links with the same commercial anchor text from unrelated blogs.
What to Do Now
The right action depends on which side of the link deal you are on.
If You Bought Links in the Past
- Stop buying links that pass credit. Paying for more of them now is likely money wasted, since SpamBrain is built to find them.
- Ask for a
rel="sponsored"attribute on paid placements you want to keep for traffic or brand reasons. A sponsored link can still send real visitors. - Remove links you control. If you placed links on your own other sites or in partner footers, take them down or qualify them.
- Don’t panic about the rest. If Google neutralizes a link, it is already being ignored. Removing it changes little.
If You Sell Links or Publish Sponsored Posts
This update speaks to you directly, because Google says SpamBrain can find sites used to pass outgoing links. If you publish sponsored posts, add rel="sponsored" to every paid link. Label the post as sponsored for readers too.
My honest opinion is that a site whose main income is selling followed links is on borrowed time. If Google decides your site exists to pass links, the links you send may stop counting. Your value to advertisers can then fall quickly.
Should You Use the Disavow Tool?
The disavow tool lets you tell Google to ignore certain links pointing to your site. Google has said most sites do not need it. It is meant for sites that have a lot of spammy, artificial or low-quality links and either have a manual action or expect one because of paid links they built.
For this update, I’d skip mass disavowing in most cases. If SpamBrain has neutralized a link, disavowing it adds little. Disavowing good links by mistake can hurt you. I only use it when I find a clear, large paid link scheme the site owner built and cannot remove.
Link Building That Stays Safe After This Update
The question I get most after link spam news is: “So how do I get links now?” The answer is to earn them with things people actually want to link to. Here is what I focus on:
- Useful resources. Guides, tools, calculators or checklists that answer a real question in your niche.
- Original data. Simple surveys or findings from your own business data. Journalists and bloggers like fresh numbers.
- Real relationships. Suppliers, partners, local groups and industry associations often link to businesses they work with.
- Digital PR. Pitch a real story or expert comment to relevant media, not a paid placement.
- Fixing lost links. Find pages that used to have backlinks but now return errors, and redirect them to the best live page.
Guest posting is still allowed when it is done for readers. Write for sites your customers read, and accept that the link may be nofollow or sponsored. If the only reason you want the post is a followed keyword link, that is the kind of link this update targets.
I also recommend watching your anchor text. Natural links usually use your brand name, the page title or plain words like “this guide”. A profile full of exact-match money keywords is a red flag to Google and to me.
Conclusion: What the December 2022 Link Spam Update Means for You
The December 2022 link spam update uses SpamBrain to find both link buyers and link sellers, and it removes the credit those links pass. It started on December 14, 2022, applies to all languages and is expected to take about two weeks. For most sites that earn links naturally, nothing will change.
If you have bought or sold links, wait for the rollout to finish, then compare your data and check the Manual actions report. Your next step: open the Links report in Search Console this week and review your top linking sites and anchor text. That short check tells you how much of your link profile you can trust going forward.
