Google continues to refine its search algorithm to provide the most relevant, trustworthy, and user-friendly results. On August 26, 2025, Google announced its latest change — the August 2025 Spam Update.
This update is part of Google’s broader effort to combat low-quality tactics and ensure that search results reward websites that create helpful, people-first content. While it is still rolling out over the coming weeks, many site owners have already noticed changes in impressions, clicks, and keyword rankings.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- What the August 2025 Spam Update is all about
- What changed and why Google made this move
- A practical checklist to ensure your site complies
- How AI-assisted content (grammar fixes, expansion, etc.) fits into the guidelines
- Steps you can take right now to protect and grow your search visibility
Let’s dive in.
Table of Contents
- What is the Google August 2025 Spam Update?
- Why Did Google Launch This Update?
- How the Update Affects Websites
- Google Spam Update Compliance Checklist
- AI Content and Google’s Guidelines: Common Questions
- How to Respond if Your Site Was Affected
- Case Example: Positive Engagement Despite Declines
- Final Takeaways
What is the Google August 2025 Spam Update?
The August 2025 Spam Update is a global algorithm update aimed at enforcing Google’s spam policies more strictly. It affects all languages and all regions. Google has stated that the goal is to reduce spammy or manipulative practices that degrade search quality.
Spam in this context doesn’t only mean scams or harmful sites — it also includes tactics that try to manipulate rankings without providing real value to users.
Practices targeted by the update:
- Auto-generated or thin content that adds no real value
- Keyword stuffing and unnatural text
- Link manipulation such as buying/selling backlinks or publishing spammy guest posts
- Cloaking and sneaky redirects that mislead users and search engines
- Misleading structured data or fake markup
- Sites distributing malware, deceptive ads, or harmful downloads
This update follows Google’s long-standing trend of rewarding E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) while devaluing shortcuts and manipulations.
Why Did Google Launch This Update?
Google’s mission is to deliver the best possible results to users. But over time, low-quality tactics like AI-spun articles, link schemes, and clickbait have cluttered search results.
The August 2025 Spam Update was designed to:
- Clean up low-value results that frustrate users.
- Reward genuinely helpful content, especially expert-driven or experience-based pages.
- Prevent manipulation, ensuring that high rankings are earned by trust and relevance, not loopholes.
For businesses, this means that quality and authenticity matter more than ever.
How the Update Affects Websites
If your site has seen declines in clicks, sessions, or engagement in August, it may be partly due to this update. Many businesses have reported:
- Drops in organic sessions (6–10% on average for low-value pages).
- Increased volatility in keyword rankings.
- Shifts in user engagement metrics, with “surface-level browsing” declining but “meaningful actions” (like form submissions) improving.
Example: A website may have fewer total page views, but if contact form submissions increase, this suggests that Google is sending fewer—but more qualified—visitors.
In fact, this matches what some websites are reporting: traffic quality improving even as raw traffic numbers dip.
Google Spam Update Compliance Checklist
To stay compliant and protect your rankings, use this step-by-step checklist to audit your site.
1. Content Quality
- Write content that is original, helpful, and people-first.
- Use AI responsibly — no mass AI-spinning without human oversight.
- Avoid keyword stuffing. Keywords should appear naturally.
- Regularly audit for duplicate or thin content.
2. User Experience
- Ensure pages match search intent and deliver on their promises.
- Avoid cloaking or showing Google different content than users.
- Don’t use sneaky redirects to irrelevant pages.
- Prioritize mobile-friendly design and fast loading speeds.
3. Links
- Don’t buy or sell links for ranking purposes.
- Audit backlinks for spammy or irrelevant sources.
- Use No-follow or sponsored attributes for paid placements.
- Keep internal linking logical and user-friendly.
4. Structured Data & Technical Health
- Use schema markup accurately (no fake reviews or misleading info).
- Secure your site with HTTPS.
- Maintain strong site health — fix warnings and notices.
- Ensure your site is indexable with clean sitemaps.
5. Trust & Authority (E-E-A-T)
- Highlight author expertise with bios and credentials.
- Include an About Us and Contact Page to build trust.
- Fact-check all content.
- Avoid deceptive ads or misleading CTAs.
By following this checklist, you reduce the risk of penalties and create a foundation for long-term SEO growth.
AI Content and Google’s Guidelines: Common Questions
With AI tools becoming more common, many website owners wonder how AI-assisted content fits into Google’s rules. Let’s answer some of the key questions.
1. Is it okay if content is written originally but AI helps fix grammar?
? Yes. Grammar fixes, style improvements, and clarity adjustments with AI are completely safe. Google does not penalize this because the core content is still original and human-driven.
2. What if the content is short, but AI helps make it longer?
? Also fine — if the expansion adds value. Use AI to provide more details, examples, or explanations, not filler. Longer isn’t always better; usefulness is what counts.
3. Can I publish AI-generated content?
? Yes, but only if it is:
- Edited and fact-checked by a human.
- Helpful, accurate, and relevant.
- Free from fluff, errors, or misleading information.
AI-generated content that is published without oversight is risky, but AI-assisted content that is reviewed and improved by humans aligns with Google’s focus on quality.
How to Respond if Your Site Was Affected
If you noticed traffic declines after the August update, don’t panic. Instead, take a proactive approach:
- Audit your content: Remove or rewrite thin, duplicate, or low-quality pages.
- Focus on intent: Make sure your content actually answers the user’s search query.
- Strengthen E-E-A-T: Add author credentials, cite sources, and demonstrate expertise.
- Review backlinks: Disavow spammy or irrelevant links.
- Improve user engagement: Encourage actions like contact forms, sign-ups, or downloads.
The key is to focus on quality over quantity. Even if raw traffic dips, stronger engagement and conversions can make your site healthier in the long run.
Case Example: Positive Engagement Despite Declines
One site reported the following after the update:
- Page views dropped by 68.6%.
- Session starts declined by 36.5%.
- Scroll depth decreased by 37.2%.
But at the same time:
- Click events rose by 8.3%.
- First-time visits increased 36.5%.
- Contact form submissions grew by 33.3%.
This demonstrates Google’s goal: fewer, but more qualified visitors. In this case, the site actually gained stronger business leads, even though traffic looked weaker on the surface.
Final Takeaways
The Google August 2025 Spam Update is another step in Google’s mission to reward high-quality, people-first content. While some websites may see short-term dips in traffic, those that invest in usefulness, trust, and transparency will benefit in the long run.
AI can be part of your content workflow — for grammar, clarity, or expansion — as long as the final output is reviewed, accurate, and valuable to readers.
Stick to the checklist, audit your site regularly, and focus on meaningful engagement. By doing so, you won’t just survive this update — you’ll thrive in future algorithm changes as well.