October 9, 2026 · Daily Radar
"Done" is a bit of a bold word for this update. Google announced that the rollout of the September 2026 spam update was completed on October 8; the process that started on September 24 took 13 days and 17 hours. This year's other spam updates had finished in one day, two days, three days. So this time, waiting patiently really was a strategy.
Last weekend I wrote about this update's first wave and said "make your content decisions once the update is over." The update is over. Now it's time to make good on that: what you should look at, and what you shouldn't.
Quick answer: Google announced that the September 2026 spam update was completed on October 8; the rollout took 13 days and 17 hours from September 24. It concerns sites that violate spam policies, such as scaled content abuse, expired domain abuse and site reputation abuse. If your traffic dropped between September 24 and October 8, first confirm in Search Console that there's no manual action, then review the pages that dropped one by one; don't do mass deletions.
The Google Search Status Dashboard lists the update as starting on September 24, 2026, and the duration field says "13 days, 16 hours" [A] (Google Search Status Dashboard). By Search Engine Roundtable's count, it ended on October 8 at 04:37 Eastern time (11:37 in Turkey), for a duration of roughly 13 days and 17 hours [A/C] (Search Engine Roundtable). The one-hour difference is most likely due to rounding; I won't dwell on it.
Google Search Central announced the completion on X, and on LinkedIn wrote, "This is a normal spam update, and it will roll out for all languages and locations." [A] Barry Schwartz's objection to that sticks with you: calling something that took two weeks "normal" is a bit odd. I agree.
Once again, Google didn't explain what it was targeting. We know it didn't target link spam and that it didn't share the share of affected queries. That's it.
First, the duration. The March update finished in 19.5 hours, and the June update in about two days [B] (ppc.land). September's taking two weeks suggests Google did something different this time. I don't know what, and I won't speculate.
Second, the impact days are scattered. Schwartz writes that movement was seen on September 25–27, September 30 and October 4–6; but he himself can't confirm that all of those dates belong to the spam update, or that nothing else changed at the time [C]. So if you see a dip in your traffic chart on October 1, don't automatically pin it on the spam update.
Third, recovery. Google tells affected sites to review their compliance with spam policies, and says recovery can take months and that it will run periodic refreshes [A/C]. The word "months" is critical: if you fix something today, you won't see the result tomorrow.
There's also Schwartz's own take: some observers compare the impact to a core update, and he writes that he wouldn't be surprised to see a core update soon [C]. That's a guess, not information from Google.
On the policy side, ppc.land lists the existing rules the update enforces: expired domain abuse, scaled content abuse, site reputation abuse, doorway abuse, back button hijacking, and fake or hidden incentivized reviews. Enforcement isn't done through manual actions but through an algorithmic system called SpamBrain [B].
There's another signal from the same days, but I don't want to overstate it. Marie Haynes and Daniel Foley Carter wrote that requests for help with manual actions have risen in recent weeks; Schwartz also reviewed 12 threads from the Google Webmaster forum, most of them about "major spam issues," thin content and scaled content abuse [C]. But this is anecdotal. Google didn't confirm that it increased the number of manual actions, and ChatGPT and Gemini, which Schwartz had scan the forums, didn't find a dramatic jump either.
| Situation | Where to look first | Should you rush? |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic didn't drop | Quality control checklist | No |
| There's a drop, and a manual action in Search Console | Manual Actions report, reconsideration | Yes, fix the problem first |
| There's a drop, no manual action | The common template of the pages that dropped | No, collect 1-2 weeks of data |
| Lots of mass-produced content | Page-by-page review | Moderate |
The one thing to do today: Open the Performance report in Search Console, compare September 10–23 with September 25–October 8, and write down the URLs of the top 10 pages whose clicks dropped the most. Don't delete pages, don't change posts; just pull the list and note what those pages have in common (same template, same author, same production method). You don't need to buy anything.
| News | Why people are talking about it | Who it concerns |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion Lift in Google Ads can now be set up self-serve, with a minimum of 1,000 observed conversions and a $5,000 budget (SER) | Previously, Search and Performance Max required a Google rep | Large-budget Google Ads accounts; small accounts don't meet the threshold |
| Merchant Center may disapprove products whose price or stock changes too often instead of updating them (SER) | The help page was updated on September 27; no threshold number is given | E-commerce teams managing feeds, digital marketing |
| In Local Services Ads, a missed call can be charged if the caller stays on the line for more than 20 seconds during business hours (SER) | Credit decisions are now tied to an automated quality assessment, with a 30-day review window | Local service businesses using LSA, Google Ads; the official source doesn't state its coverage in Turkey |
| Google UGC Fresh Data Program: forums and social platforms will be able to send their content directly to Google (SER) | There's an application form, responses take 6-8 weeks, and acceptance isn't guaranteed | Forum and community platforms; not directly relevant for a typical small business, but something to watch from an SEO management perspective |
| New AI Max columns arrived in Google Ads (SER) | Brand inclusions, locations of interest, commission and optimized targeting can now be reported | Advertisers using AI Max, Google Ads |
Because the rollout ending doesn't mean the impact has ended. Google says recovery can take months and that there will be periodic refreshes. Reviewing the pages that dropped and fixing the real problem matters more than waiting.
You can't know for sure; Google didn't disclose its target. Look at page-level drops in Search Console between September 24 and October 8, and check whether there's a common template, production method or section. Because the impact days are scattered, it may be mixed up with another change.
Using AI isn't a violation on its own. The problem is pages produced at scale without editorial oversight that offer no added value. In my view, manual review before publishing is no longer up for negotiation.
If you want to work out together why your traffic dropped, take a look at our SEO management and web design services. To see your site's overall state: START YOUR FREE ANALYSIS
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