On 28th August, Google updated its site reputation policy, which it announced through a blog.
These new provisions have also been adjusted in its official spam policy document.
The updates were made after Google’s discussions with the European Union and are especially concerned with the changed provisions related to Manual Actions and their impact in the European Economic Area.
All About Google Site Reputation Abuse
Google released a document titled “Update to the Site Reputation Policy” mentioning the changed provisions.
The key updates concern the distinct effect of Manual Action in the European Economic Area.
Fact Bits: A manual action is a response by a human reviewer at Google to webpages that don’t comply with Google’s spam policies.
The 2 updated provisions that were enforced on 30 August are:
- The manual action will not work for users in the EEA. However, the affected section of the site will be separated in Google’s system and will rank independently irrespective of the performance of the rest of the site.
- If the searcher is outside the EEA, the manual action will apply to the concerned section of the site, and the remaining site will remain unaffected.
Knowledge Snippets: The European Economic Area includes 30 countries, which are Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, France, Malta, Finland, Czechia, Croatia, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Germany, Cyprus, Poland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, Liechtenstein, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Norway, Greece, Luxembourg and Slovenia.
These new provisions simply mean that manual actions won’t make any impact on searchers in the EEA but will affect searchers outside the EEA; i.e., ranking will be affected only for those searching from outside the EEA.
Hence, if your site performance doesn’t meet your expectations, consider resolving Mutual Action issues.
Google has also added a new section to the site reputation policy section of the spam policy document (mentioned below).
This means:
| Google detects a portion of the site violating its spam policies |
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| That portion will undergo a human review |
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| If a violation is found, the site’s appearance in results will be affected based on the user’s location |
Earlier this year, the German Court’s Verdict Questioning AI Citations and AI Overview Authenticity was also seen as a much-needed step to bring more accountability.
The warnings and alerts about the manual action will be communicated through Google Search Console Message Centre and in the Manual Actions report.
The affected sites can either submit Reconsideration Requests in Google Search Console, or eligible sites will get mediation opportunities for dispute resolution.
Suggested Read: Google’s June 2026 Spam Update: Does it Mean AI Manipulation Is Now Officially Spam?
How To Fix Google’s Manual Action?
Fixing manual actions requires following a few-step processes.
You can get the manual action notifications through the mediums mentioned below:
- Through email to the account linked to Google Search Console. The email will have a link that will redirect the user to the Manual Action Report.
- On the dashboard/Overview of Google Search Console.
- Click on the bell icon (Message icon) in the top right corner of the GSC dashboard to see the Manual Action notifications.
All of these will take you to the Manual Actions page of the GSC. Then follow the steps provided below.
Step 1: In Google Search Console, go to the “Manual Actions” tab on the left side and click on “Request Review”.
Step 2: Type the steps you have taken to resolve the issue and click on “Submit Request”.
What Digital Marketers Have Opined?
Cyrus Shepard has mentioned the Google Site Reputation Abuse updates in his X post and explained the speculated rationale behind them. He said:
“Google is also creating a workaround to seemingly circumvent EU regulations. Instead of dropping those pages from search results, Google will *separate* the penalized sections from the main site, so they will be forced to rank on their own, which they likely won’t do.”
Glenn Gabe has also talked about it and admitted that Google is making changes to counter regulators’ pressure while still going its own way. See his conversation below.
Lily Ray has also applauded these updates and called them a “massive victory for the publishers involved”
Wrap up
Google Site Reputation Abuse amendments are a major development after the recent Google August 2026 Spam Update and have been touted as a response to pacify the EU’s crackdown to bring equity and equality in search response. However, many digital marketers are apprehensive about how these changes will be applied. So let’s wait and watch.
Next Read: What Changed After Google August 2026 Spam Update Rollout Completion?
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