In the December 2022 Google link spam update SpamBrain took on bad links for the first time. SpamBrain is Google's AI-based system for spotting spam. The update ran from December 14, 2022 to January 12, 2023, and it removed the ranking credit from bought and spammy links instead of punishing whole sites.

Google already used SpamBrain to catch spam pages. This update pointed it at links. Google said SpamBrain can "detect spam directly" and can spot "both sites buying links, and sites used for the purpose of passing outgoing links."

  • Bought links. Paid posts and paid placements that pass ranking credit.
  • Link sellers. Sites that exist mainly to pass outgoing links to others.
  • Neutralized links. Google said rankings "may change as spammy links are neutralized and any credit passed by these unnatural links are lost."
  • All languages. It applied worldwide, in every language.

"Neutralized" means Google simply ignores the link. The link stays on the page, but it no longer helps the target page rank.

Who lost traffic?

Google did not say how many searches changed. Sites that relied on paid or swapped links had the most to lose, because the credit from those links vanished. Typical examples:

  • Affiliate sites that bought guest posts on "write for us" blogs.
  • Blog networks set up to sell links to anyone who pays.
  • Local businesses that paid for cheap link packages.
  • Sites with thousands of links from auto-made pages and comment spam.

Sites with natural links had little to fear. If people linked to you because they liked your content, the update left those links alone.

I know these tactics from the inside. Before 2012 I submitted my sites to paid and reciprocal directories, paid for forum signature links, bought sitewide links, and used backlink generators and auto-approve blog comments. Back then, paid directories and sitewide links pushed rankings and PageRank up. After Google's 2012 crackdown I stopped all of it out of caution. I saw no visible drop, but I had no real metrics to confirm that.

Is it still running today?

The December 2022 link spam update was a one-off, and it finished on January 12, 2023. SpamBrain itself is still active. Google's ranking systems guide lists it among its spam detection systems, so it keeps working in the background.

This is a softer approach than early Penguin, which could hurt a whole site. Google has also run broader spam updates since 2022, such as October 2023, June 2024 and August 2025. A new spam update started on September 24, 2026, and it was still rolling out on October 7, 2026.

How to check if it affected your site

  1. Compare the rollout window. In the Search Console Performance report, compare December 14, 2022 to January 12, 2023 with the weeks before. Holidays change traffic, so also compare with the same weeks a year earlier.
  2. Watch positions, not just clicks. Check the average position of your main keywords. A steady slide during the window is a stronger sign than a holiday dip in clicks.
  3. Check Manual actions. Open the Manual actions report. A message about unnatural links means a person at Google reviewed your site, and that needs a separate cleanup.
  4. Review the Links report. Look at your top linking sites. Paid posts, link directories and odd foreign domains show where your old credit came from.
  5. Match drops to linked pages. See if the pages that fell were the ones with the most paid or swapped links. That points to lost link credit.

What should you do now?

Stop paying for links, and stop swapping them. Google ignores these links, so you don't need to panic over every strange link pointing at you. Put your time into links that people give freely.

  • Create link-worthy pages. Original data, clear guides and simple tools earn links on their own.
  • Claim unlinked mentions. Find sites that name you without a link and ask them to add one. Our unlinked mention cheat shows how.
  • Use internal links. Link your own related posts so ranking credit flows to your key pages.
  • Be patient. Real links grow slowly, but SpamBrain will not wipe them out.

The lesson of the Google link spam update SpamBrain era is simple. Links you buy or fake now count for nothing, while links people choose to give still work.

Frequently asked questions

Not in the old sense. Google said it neutralized spammy links, which means it stopped counting them. Sites lost rankings only because the credit from those links disappeared.

In most cases, no. SpamBrain already ignores spammy links, so they do not help or hurt much. A manual action for unnatural links is different, and you should handle it with a proper cleanup.

Is SpamBrain still active?

Yes. Google's ranking systems guide lists SpamBrain as part of its spam detection systems. It works all the time, and Google also runs named spam updates every year.