Google announced it will not enforce manual actions under the site reputation abuse policy in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to a mandate set by the European Commission, effective August 30, 2026. Google said searchers in the EEA will not benefit from Google's spam prevention for sites labeled for site reputation abuse.
Site Reputation Abuse Policy
Site reputation abuse is a tactic in which third-party content is published on a host site primarily because of that host's established ranking signals, which it has earned primarily from its first-party content. The goal of this tactic is for the content to rank better than it could otherwise on its own. Google's own defintion is over here.
As a reminder, Google came up with the site reputation abuse policy when it announced the March 2024 core update to fight against what we've called Parasite SEO. In January 2025, Google began enforcing its site reputation abuse policy in Europe.
We knew this might happen, but honestly, I am surprised. I really thought Google would stand up for its search quality and fight this decision. But I guess Google could not win this battle?
A First
This is the first time Google is applying different rules and outcomes for its spam policies based on the location of the searcher. So this seems like a big deal, where Google will not enforce a policy in one region versus another region.
I hope this does not encourage more abuse of this policy.
What Is Changing
Google wrote on its blog post how sites with manual actions applied under its site reputation policy will have a different effect for those searching in the EEA than outside of it. Google wrote:
- For users outside the EEA, a manual action regarding Google's site reputation policy will directly affect search results for the portion of the site affected. As before, the rest of the site won’t be affected.
- For users inside the EEA, the impact of the manual action will not apply. 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.
This does not mean that sites in the EEA won't receive a manual action for site reputation abuse in Search Console. They will. It just means that the manual action won't have any impact for searchers inside the EEA. It also means that the manual action will impact searchers outside of the EEA and thus, you should probably care that your site is not ranking as high as it could for searchers outside of the EEA.
Algorithmic Action Still In Place
That last sentence in the Google write-up (e.g. "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") explains the automated, not manual, part where Google's algorithms can treat a part of the site as its own site and not let the overall site's reputation help that portion of the site.
Google is saying this won't impact how Google is able to treat portions of a site as its own site when it thinks parasite SEO or site reputation abuse is going on. Again, Google wrote, "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."
Google also posted in its updated site reputation abuse policy:
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 wrote:
Site owners will continue to be notified within Search Console when a manual action is applied. If you believe an action was taken in error, you can submit a reconsideration request. Eligible sites will, following the reconsideration request, also have the opportunity to bring disputes to mediation. Because many pages are viewed by people globally, it’s possible that any given page might have a manual action taken on it, but that change will only affect search results shown to users outside the EEA."
A Google spokesperson told me:
"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."
"We are committed to our site reputation policy because it ensures a better, more reliable search experience for everyone," Google added.
Forum discussion at X.
Update: Google added all the EEA stuff to the help document, plus more examples and this FAQ section:
Will manual action taken outside the EEA affect the ranking of my site within the EEA? No. Manual actions involving the site reputation policy outside the EEA only affect results shown to users outside the EEA, and not those shown to users within the EEA. The fact that part of a site is subject to a manual action under this policy outside the EEA isn't used as a signal for ranking that content within the EEA.
There's no obligation to apply a noindex tag to content that is subject to a manual action outside the EEA and failure to do so isn't taken into account in ranking that content within the EEA. Nor is such failure considered an attempt to evade or circumvent this policy or a repeated violation.
A portion of my site was previously subject to manual action under this policy in the EEA. What happens now? Google will lift all previous manual actions taken under this policy for pages appearing in search results for users in the EEA. This means that those pages will no longer be demoted or subject to any kind of manual penalty in search results shown to users in the EEA.
Going forward, those pages may be categorized as separate from the main domain and ranked on their own merits, but this isn't automatic.
Our systems ensure that pages that were previously subject to a manual action under this policy rank fairly and aren't disadvantaged. The fact that a page was previously subject to a manual action under this policy isn't used as a ranking signal when ranking that page.
What happens when a part of my site is categorized as separate from the main domain for being out of line with this policy? This categorization tells our systems that the presumption that we generally apply globally — which is that individual pages (including new pages) match the overall quality of other pages on the domain — no longer applies.
This doesn't mean that the separate portion of the site immediately loses the ranking signals of the main site. Moreover, over time, our ranking systems learn to rank these parts of a site independently. This may lead to changes in the way that each part of the site ranks, including as a result of improvements in site-wide signals for one part of the site.
The fact that this categorization has been applied isn't used as a ranking signal.
What can I do if I disagree with the action taken on the domain? For websites in the EEA, we have implemented a new reconsideration request process through which we commit to answer requests within a short timeframe and provide more details on the reasoning.
In the EEA, you can also make use of alternative dispute resolution.
Update: This is now in effect as of September 8th:
Google rolls out changes to search results in the EU to comply with the DMA, saying they mark the largest reduction in quality of service in Search's history (Foo Yun Chee/Reuters)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
— Techmeme (@techmeme.com) September 8, 2026 at 7:30 AM
