If your metrics took a weird dip this month and you’re scratching your head wondering why—you’re not alone. Google just finished rolling out its August 2025 Spam Update, and let’s just say it wasn’t gentle.

This one wasn’t your typical core update that quietly reorders rankings in the background. Nope, this was Google going after specific behaviors that cross the spam line. If your site relies on location-based pages that all say the same thing, copycat content, or keyword stuffing, you might want to grab a coffee and stick with us for a few.

What Did the August Spam Update Target?

Google didn’t rewrite its spam policies—it just got way better at enforcing them. Here’s what the update focused on:

Doorway Pages (Yup, Especially Location Stuff)

If you’ve got multiple pages where the only difference is the city name, like:

• yoursite.com/plumber-sacramento
• yoursite.com/plumber-modesto
• yoursite.com/plumber-fresno

…Google now considers those “doorway pages” if they don’t offer anything unique. 

Location pages should provide details specific to each location, including local hot spots, popular events, and other key pieces of information that will be easy for buyers in that area to identify your brands authentic awareness of their community.

Thin or Mass-Produced Content

Pages made quickly and without much care are getting caught in this update just as they have in previous ones. Say it with us, “Helpful content is the best content.” That includes:

• AI-generated pages with no editing – Don’t copy and paste directly from AI, and please, for the love of all things marketing, fact check. 
• Dozens of service pages that sound identical – All of your services aren’t the same, so the content shouldn’t be. 
• Blog posts filled with vague, surface-level tips – Your brand is the best there is and is the authority in your industry, so prove it. Show that you can be trusted and are the one and only source by providing what your buyers are looking for or needing.

If a page was created solely to fill space, without being helpful or serving a purpose, Google probably caught on.

Keyword-Stuffed Pages

If your content still reads like this: “Looking for the best Modesto roofer in Modesto, CA for Modesto roof repairs?”… it’s time to stop.

This update filtered out pages that overuse keywords in unnatural, clunky ways. Here’s a good test: read it out loud. If you wouldn’t say it that way to a human, don’t write it that way for Google.

Pro-tip: Focus on your target audience and then review the content for entity SEO and your centerpiece annotation. If you are working on a campaign, build out your content based on the buyer funnel, but don’t forget who your target is: your buyer (not Google). 

Scraped or Copied Content

Whether you pulled it from another site or just reworded the same thing everyone else is saying, Google’s not impressed. Pages that don’t add anything new are being pushed down or removed from the index entirely.

Look, if all you’re doing is regurgitating what is already out there on the internet (scraping content), you’re not going to stand out. Now, more than ever, your unique style and branding are what is needed to set you apart from all the others out there. 

Tap into your quirky ways. Don’t be afraid to add some levity to your content. Be a neon crayon in a world of shades of grey. 

Parasite SEO

If you’re publishing third-party content on your site just to help someone else rank (and that content isn’t great), that’s Parasite SEO. 

Google officially called this spam back in 2024. Be choosy about guest content. You’re responsible for what goes live on your domain.

Where You’ll See the Impact After the August Spam Update

This wasn’t a “take down the whole site” kind of update, like we’ve seen with previous Google updates. The real damage often shows up in other ways..

Here’s what to keep an eye on:

• Search Console – Look for a spike in “Crawled but not indexed” or sharp drops in impressions on templated pages.
• Google Analytics – Watch for decreased traffic on your blog or lower-funnel pages.
• Average Position – If a few good pages are suddenly doing better, it might be because others got filtered out.

Additionally, Google hit spammy links hard. This means that you’ll probably see a drop in traffic just because of that alone if your website traffic is on the lower end. A bigger website might not notice this as much with organic traffic driving larger numbers.

What Happens Next? Here’s What We Expect

The update may be done, but the story’s not over. Here’s what we think is coming next:

Heavier Enforcement on Third-Party Content

Google is paying close attention to what kind of content lives on domains—especially if it’s there just for ranking power. If it feels spammy, it’s probably on borrowed time.

Better Spam Detection for Scaled Content

Google’s not going to ban AI-generated content, but it is getting sharper at knowing the difference between thoughtful and lazy. I know, we’re a broken record over here at Be the Page, but human content is the best content. Even more, accurate content is better! (Fact check your AI-generated stuff, people!)

Longer Recovery Windows

Just because you fix something doesn’t mean Google will forgive and forget right away. Rebuilding trust takes time. 

We see this a lot with Google Business Profiles, especially. It can take a couple of days for some, but it has taken months for others. Just don’t risk it. 

EEAT + Entity Signals Are Rising

Who wrote your content? Are they credible? Are you consistently covering one subject area? I know we blog about this all the time, but we do it because it’s important. 

These things matter more now—especially for niche or local sites.

Indexing Changes, Not Just Rankings

Some pages won’t just drop—they’ll disappear from search altogether. If this happens, don’t even try to rewrite the content and resubmit to Google. Start from scratch. 

Rewrite a whole new blog and do it the right way. Then redirect the old URL to the new URL and submit it to Google for indexing via Google Search Console. 

Core + Spam Updates Might Merge

We may see future updates blend quality signals with spam detection. Kind of like we saw with the August spam update, and then we had the September algorithm update while the spam update was rolling out. 

So even if you’re doing well on the quality front, small spam flags could still hurt you.

Neglected Content Might Fade

Pages that were good once but haven’t been updated in years? They might start slipping, too. If it’s not helpful, people-first content, Google doesn’t want it in their search results. Keep your content fresh, relevant, and for buyers. 

AI Search and Snippet-Centric Rankings

With AI-powered answers taking up more space in search results, the pages Google pulls from those answers might become more valuable over time. Structure and clarity are key, but those FAQ sections are still the chef’s kiss. 

Add FAQ sections to your pillar pages and/or have a main FAQ page. FAQs are the secret sauce to not only AI search but also those “People Also Ask” sections on the search results pages. 

What You Can Do Now (Without Panicking)

• Audit your content. Especially those location-based pages. Make sure each one earns its keep.
• Fix the fluff. Unhelpful content doesn’t help you or anyone else. Get rid of those pages that are thin on content (unless they are truly valuable) and get some content pages that are hardy and add value to your website and for your buyers. 
• Cut the keyword stuffing. Look, we’re not in the 90s anymore. Your content should sound natural, not robotic. Have a conversation with your readers. The only difference between the blog you’re reading and if we were talking in person is that you’d hear a few more, ehm, colorful words thrown in every now and then. Aside from that, this is me having a conversation with you.
• Clean up your guest content. If you wouldn’t publish it under your name, it probably doesn’t belong on your site.
• Track what’s indexed. There are so many website owners who don’t know you can see what is indexed, what’s not indexed, what searches your website is showing up for, and so much more with Google Search Console. Use Search Console to see what’s being left out. (Another amazing tool is Bing Webmaster Tools. You can even do full audits and keyword research—and it’s free!)
• Highlight real people. Use bylines, bios, and credentials. Show your website visitors that you’re real people. 
• Focus on topics, not just terms. Build authority around what you actually do. Show your website visitors how amazing your brand is.

No, Google’s not out to get you. But it is done tolerating shortcuts.

If you want help spotting weak links on your site or turning your location pages into something worth reading, let’s talk. We’re not here to shame your content—or nickel and dime you to death. We don’t charge for consultations or website audits. 

We really do just want to help.