Google 2026 spam update has finished rolling out. It started on September 24 and was completed on October 8, 2026, at 4:37 AM ET.
Google had already said the rollout would take about two weeks. The update applies globally and to all languages, and it targets sites that violate Google’s search spam policies.
The longest rollout is the most notable part. Previous spam updates took about two days to roll out, and this one took almost two weeks.
There was noticeable ranking volatility during the rollout, with significant movement reported around these dates:
- September 25 to 27
- September 30
- October 4 to 6
Some SEOs have said this update felt like a core update. That is their observation. Google has not called it a core update.
Since the rollout is now complete, site owners can compare their Search Console data from before and after September 24 to see if their site was affected.
Did your site see ranking changes during this update?
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