SEO this week: Google spam update done, fake authors, Search Console delays

The common thread this week is trust. Google finished a long spam clean-up and hardened its position on made-up authors. At the same time, the numbers SEO relies on became less dependable. Here is what happened and what to check on your own site.

Google: September spam update finished on 8 October

On 8 October Google confirmed that the September 2026 spam update has finished rolling out. It started on 24 September and ran for 13 days and 16 hours according to Google's status dashboard. Search Engine Roundtable notes that this is much longer than recent spam updates, which took about two days. The update applies globally and to all languages.

According to the same source, this update does not focus on link spam and does not cover every spam policy. Affected sites should check that they comply with those policies. Google says recovery can take many months.

The same week, SEO consultants reported more manual actions, mostly for thin content and content produced at scale. Consultant Marie Haynes says most of the affected sites are legitimate, long-standing businesses. Google has not commented officially.

Google: made-up authors count as deception

Google extended its guide on helpful content (the page was last updated on 5 October). The section on who created the content now says to avoid deceptive authorship information. The example it gives is fabricated creator profiles: AI-generated headshots, made-up names and false credentials. Google calls this a form of deception and a signal of a low-quality page.

The same guide now defines main content as any part of a page that directly helps the page achieve its purpose.

Search Console: multi-country filter and a delayed report

Google announced that the filter in the Search Console performance report now accepts several countries at once. A company selling in Germany, Austria and Serbia can see combined search traffic for those markets in one view.

The same report ran badly behind for a few days. On 11 October Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Roundtable recorded a data delay of more than 64 hours. A day later he reported that it looked normal again. Google did not comment. The delay affects how data is displayed, not rankings.

Rank tracking tools are showing unreliable data

On 12 October Search Engine Roundtable reported an analysis by the tool vendor Nozzle: since late September Google has at times served altered results to tools that read search results automatically. Nozzle found such results in 8.0% of its checks. Sistrix, DataForSEO, SE Ranking and Advanced Web Ranking have all reported problems. Google has made no statement.

A WhatsApp button in local results

A WhatsApp button has been spotted in the local panel in Google Search, next to call, directions and website. It is tied to the WhatsApp number stored in the Google Business Profile. Google has not confirmed a launch, so it is unclear in which countries the button appears.

What it means for your business

1. Check Search Console before you react. If traffic fell between 24 September and 8 October, open the manual actions section and compare the periods before and after the update. A drop that only your rank tracker shows may be a measurement error in these weeks.
2. Put real people behind your content. Name real authors on blog posts and service pages, with a real name, photo and experience. Text drafted with AI should be reviewed and signed off by someone in the company who knows the subject.
3. Tidy up your Google Business Profile. Check that phone, opening hours and WhatsApp number are correct. It takes ten minutes and makes it easier for a customer to reach you straight from search.

If you want to know how your site came through this update, see our SEO service or get in touch.