Short answer
Google's September spam update finished after using almost all of the two weeks the company had announced. Google has not said what the update targeted. Because the rollout is over, you can compare your Search Console performance before, during and after it, but do not blame the update for sudden drops in third-party rank trackers without checking.
Highlights
- The update began on 24 September and finished on 8 October, taking about 13 days and 16 hours.
- The year's three earlier spam updates took between 19 hours 30 minutes and 2 days 16 hours.
- Rank trackers showed sudden changes from 26 September that searchers did not see, according to SEOmonitor.
2 min readAuthor: UNIT Journal EditorEditor-in-chief: Uğur Deniz İlhan
According to Search Engine Journal, Google's September 2026 spam update finished on 8 October. The Google Search Status Dashboard lists the rollout as complete as of that date. A spam update is a notable improvement to the automated systems Google uses to detect spam.
How long did the update take?
Google said at launch that the rollout could take up to two weeks, and it used nearly all of that time: the ranking update history lists 13 days and 16 hours. This year's three earlier spam updates took 19 hours and 30 minutes in March, 2 days and 1 hour in June, and 2 days and 16 hours in August. Google's documentation does not say why this one took longer or what it addressed.
What do early data and rank trackers show?
Diib published early data on 29 September from 32,569 websites. The median share of visits from unpaid Google search fell from 34% to 31%, and 10% of sites saw that share drop by half or more. Diib calls it "an early read, not a verdict" and notes it does not show which sites Google treated as spam.
SEOmonitor says many rank trackers showed sudden ranking changes from 26 September that people searching Google did not see, because Google returned incomplete and inaccurate results to automated searches. Real spam-update changes usually hold over several days and show in Search Console impressions and clicks.
What should sites in Turkey do now?
The steps below are interpretation; the source only advises checking Search Console and reviewing Google's spam policies.
- Compare the 24 September to 8 October window in Search Console with the periods before and after it; take a drop seriously if it lasts several days and shows in impressions and clicks.
- Check any sudden rank-tracker drop after 26 September in Search Console first; do not report to clients from tracker data alone.
- If you think you were affected, review Google's spam policies page by page; Google says it can take months for its systems to recognise compliance.
- Log the drop and your fixes with dates while you wait for results.
Frequently asked
- My traffic dropped. Was it this update?
- You cannot tell from timing alone. If Search Console shows a drop in impressions and clicks lasting several days, check Google's spam policies next.
Sources
- Search Engine Journal ·
Follow UNIT Journal
What's new in search, AI and technology, in your feed every day.
