Google announced it will not enforce manual actions under its site reputation abuse policy in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to a mandate from the European Commission, effective August 30, 2026. This means searchers in the EEA will not benefit from Google's spam prevention for sites flagged for site reputation abuse.
Site Reputation Abuse Policy
Site reputation abuse is defined as a tactic where third-party content is published on a host site primarily to leverage that host's established ranking signals, which were earned through its own first-party content. The objective is for this third-party content to achieve a better ranking than it would on its own.
Google introduced the site reputation abuse policy alongside the March 2024 core update to combat what is commonly known as Parasite SEO. Enforcement of this policy began in Europe in January 2025.
A First
This marks the first instance where Google will apply different rules and outcomes for its spam policies based on the searcher's location. This regional differentiation is a significant development.
What Is Changing
Google has outlined the changes in its enforcement approach for the EEA:
- Outside the EEA: Manual actions related to the site reputation policy will directly impact the affected portion of the site's search results, while the rest of the site remains unaffected.
- Inside the EEA: The manual action will not have a direct impact on search results. Instead, the affected section of the site may be systemically separated, allowing it to rank independently over time.
While sites in the EEA will still receive manual actions for site reputation abuse in Search Console, these actions will not affect search results within the EEA. However, they will still impact searchers outside the EEA, meaning sites should still be concerned about their ranking performance globally.
Algorithmic Action Still In Place
Google's algorithms can still treat portions of a site as separate entities if parasite SEO or site reputation abuse is detected. The company stated, "The affected section of the site may be separated in our systems so that, over time, it ranks independently from the rest of the site."
Regarding the EEA, Google's updated site reputation abuse policy states:
Within the EEA: When pages appear in Search results shown to users within the EEA, the relevant pages may be categorized as separate from the main domain but won't be subject to the impact of manual action. This will allow the different parts of the site to rank independently of each other, on their own merits. This ensures that content is ranked in a consistent way against other content of the same nature (for example, casino content ranks against other casino content), so that users get the best possible results for their query.
What Google Said
Google confirmed that site owners will continue to be notified in Search Console about manual actions and can submit reconsideration requests. Disputes can also be taken to mediation. A Google spokesperson stated:
"Our European users are no less frustrated by parasite SEO and other deceptive, pay-to-play tactics that degrade search results, and we stand by our Site Reputation Policy. While we remain concerned about efforts to weaken our spam policies, we've agreed to make changes to our enforcement approach for users in Europe and clarify our policies to address the European Commission's concerns."
Google reiterated its commitment to the site reputation policy for a better search experience.
