Google has changed some of its spam policy in Europe after concerns from European Union regulators. It also has to answer the question of whether its search rules have hurt publishers and websites that work with commercial partners.
The change is linked to Google’s site reputation abuse policy, which targets websites that publish third-party content in an attempt to manipulate their rankings on Google Search. It is often referred to as “parasite SEO.”
Starting August 30, 2026, Google will stop applying manual demotions under this policy to websites for users in the European Economic Area, which includes 27 EU member states and Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
But the change will only be applied to the EEA. Google’s policy will remain unchanged in other parts of the world.
Why did Google change its policy?
The change follows European regulators’ concerns when publishers flagged Google’s spam policy as they found it to be damaging to their websites.
Google's site reputation abuse policy was introduced to tackle websites that use their existing reputation to rank third-party content more highly in search results.
For instance, a website with good search rankings might host unrelated commercial content from another company. Since the main website already has authority in Google’s search system, the third-party pages could potentially benefit from that reputation.
Google considers this a type of search manipulation and has taken action against websites involved in such activities.
But European publishers told us that the policy could also affect legitimate commercial partnerships.
The European Commission’s monitoring revealed that Google’s policy could displace news media and other publisher websites when they hosted content from commercial partners. This raised questions as to whether Google’s rules were fair.
What is Site Reputation Abuse?
Site reputation abuse refers to the situation where a website publishes third-party content mainly to take advantage of the current ranking power of the site.
The idea is relatively simple.
Imagine a website that has built up a very good reputation with Google over time. It allows another company to publish so much unrelated content on the website.
Because the main domain already has strong authority, those pages may have a better chance of appearing in search results than they would on a new website.
This practice can be used to manipulate rankings and is commonly referred to as parasite SEO.
Google has developed rules against this because it wants search results to be useful and relevant information and not pages that are made purely to make use of another site's reputation.
The point is that there are no third-party partnerships that will necessarily help to manipulate search results.
Publishers may legitimately work with commercial partners and host sponsored or specialised content as part of their business model.
And that is where the disagreement with EU regulators has come to the forefront of the dispute.
The European Commission has investigated Google's approach
The European Commission opened an investigation into Google’s approach under the Digital Markets Act, or DMA.
The DMA is a major piece of EU legislation designed to regulate large technology companies and prevent them from using their market power in ways that could limit competition.
Google is classified under the DMA as a gatekeeper because of the importance and scale of Google Search.
European regulators have increasingly taken into account how Google’s search ranking systems affect other businesses, publishers and competitors.
That has been another issue for regulators.
The Commission was concerned that Google's site reputation abuse policy could result in publishers being penalised simply because they work with commercial partners.
Google’s decision to stop applying manual demotions under the policy in the EEA seems to be an attempt to address those concerns.
What Does Change Mean For Publishers?
Such changes would bring publishers in Europe more flexibility.
News organisations and other websites that publish third-party or commercial content will no longer face the same manual demotions under Google's site reputation abuse policy in the EEA.
That would be particularly relevant for publishers with firms and other commercial organisations.
But this does not mean that all third-party content will automatically rank high on Google.
Google will still use its broader search quality and spam systems. Websites still need to follow Google's broader search policies and provide useful content.
The change is about manual enforcement in the EEA for the site reputation abuse policy.
What Does It Mean for SEO?
The policy change would also attract attention from SEO professionals.
Site reputation abuse is important in SEO because Google’s actions against it have impacted websites hosting third-party content.
For SEO professionals working with European websites, the change will mean that they will need to pay close attention to how Google applies its rules in the EEA.
It also highlights a bigger problem in modern SEO: Google’s search policies can have a major impact on how businesses build and monetise websites.
A change in one policy can influence publishers, affiliate businesses, advertisers and companies that rely heavily on organic search traffic.
For now, the change is fairly small geographically. Websites outside the EEA will remain under the current policy.
Google faces Wider EU pressure.
Google is already under significant regulatory pressure in Europe.
In July 2026, the European Commission fined Google a total of €890 million for two separate violations of the Digital Markets Act. The Commission concluded that Google had favoured its own services in search and had restricted businesses from directing customers to other purchasing channels through Google Play.
The Commission ordered Google to make changes to remedy those violations.
The latest spam policy issue is separate from those July fines, but it shows the broader regulatory attention surrounding Google's business practices in Europe.
In the EU, there has been more and more emphasis on fair and transparent environments for large technology platforms.
Will Google suffer a bigger Fine?
The policy change is immediate so that the EU’s concerns can be addressed and the risk of additional fines is diminished.
Companies that do not comply with obligations will be liable for severe financial penalties under the Digital Markets Act. Such fines can reach 10% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover in serious cases.
That is why companies like Google have to work with European regulators when they are concerned.
Google’s latest decision doesn’t mean that the larger regulatory spat has all but ended.
The European Commission will follow up on whether Google's changes address its concerns.
What happens next?
The new approach will take effect in the EEA from August 30.
Google will continue to apply the existing site reputation abuse policy outside of the EEA, so websites in other regions will not see the same change.
For European publishers, the move could reduce the risk of manual demotions related to the site reputation abuse policy. Publishers will also need to keep up with Google’s other spam and quality guidelines.
And this also demonstrates how closely regulators are now watching technology companies.
Google holds a large share of the search market, and even a small change in its ranking can have major implications for publishers and businesses that depend on search traffic. I think Google will need to avoid genuine search manipulation, without penalising the legitimate businesses and publishers. And for European regulators, it is about making sure that Google's huge influence over online search does not create unfair conditions for other businesses.
So the latest policy change is more than just an SEO update. It is yet another example of how Google’s search rules, publisher businesses and European competition regulation are increasingly connected.
