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You are here: Home / Google / Why Some Google Spam Reports Are Not Acted On

Why Some Google Spam Reports Are Not Acted On

March 16, 2016 at 4:42 am PST By Jennifer Slegg

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spam reports not actedHave you ever filed a Google spam report on a site yet never seen any impact on their search rankings after that, and wondered why?  There are a few different reasons why Google may not act on a spam report.

Not Enough Information

If you are submitting a spam report, include as much information as possible.  Submitting a link with just a description of “spam” is not that helpful, especially if dealing with some more elaborate spam or a new type of spam that is showing up in the search results.

Instead, be as detailed as possible, including what the spam is, why you feel it is spam and what you see the impact of the spam is.

Low Priority Site or Page

Sometimes Google doesn’t take action because the reported page isn’t a high enough priority because it has such a low number of impressions.  So while you might be doing vanity searches for a super long tail keyword that brings up a page you see as spammy, there just might not be enough impressions to make it a high enough priority when there are other sites or pages with a much higher search impression who are spamming.

Just Not Spam

While you might be sure something a competitor is doing is spam, sometimes it is just really good SEO.  In fact, 20% of the spam reports just aren’t spam at all.  For example, a spam report could be submitted by someone just because they had a bad customer service experience with a site.  So even while you might think a site sucks, that doesn’t mean it is a spam issue.

So next time you file a spam report, make sure it is a real spam issue and be as detailed as possible to increase the likelihood it will be acted on.  And it doesn’t hurt to be someone who submits many high quality spam reports, since those reports get a higher priority in the spam report queue.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.
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Latest posts by Jennifer Slegg (see all)

  • 2022 Update for Google Quality Rater Guidelines – Big YMYL Updates - August 1, 2022
  • Google Quality Rater Guidelines: The Low Quality 2021 Update - October 19, 2021
  • Rethinking Affiliate Sites With Google’s Product Review Update - April 23, 2021
  • New Google Quality Rater Guidelines, Update Adds Emphasis on Needs Met - October 16, 2020
  • Google Updates Experiment Statistics for Quality Raters - October 6, 2020

Filed Under: Google, SEO

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Comments

  1. Joy Hawkins says

    March 16, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    I’m wondering how successful people have been at reporting spam? I’ve reported a couple sites with extremely clear violations and never saw any action taken. Here is one that came up at discussion last week at Local U: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/webmasters/D03aHpSzRVM

Trackbacks

  1. SearchCap: Google mobile-friendly boost, DuckDuckGo directions & more says:
    March 16, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    […] Why Some Google Spam Reports Are Not Acted On, thesempost.com […]

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