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Scaled content abuse

Scaled content abuse is generating many pages mainly to manipulate search rankings rather than to help users, a practice that breaks Google's spam policies.

How it works

Google announced this spam policy on 5 March 2024. It builds on the older rule against automatically generated content and covers pages made by software, people or both. Google judges purpose and value, not the tool: the target is masses of unoriginal pages that give users little.

Google’s examples include:

  • generative AI used to produce many pages without adding value;
  • feeds, search results or other content scraped into many pages, including through synonym swapping or translation;
  • pages that make little sense to a reader but contain search keywords.

Sites that break the policy may rank lower or drop out of results. Google finds them with automated systems and, where needed, human review, which can lead to a manual action.

Google says generative AI can help with research and with structuring original content. It asks that all AI-generated content be fact-checked, including page titles and structured data. Where the line runs for a store: cloaking and scaled content in ecommerce.

Where you see it

  • Search Console: a spam manual action arrives as a notice in the site’s account. After fixing the problem, the site owner can request reconsideration.

Not to be confused with

TermHow it differs
CloakingShowing Googlebot different content from what people see. With scaled content abuse, both see the same pages.
Duplicate contentOne page at several addresses, often from sorting, filters or tracking parameters. Google calls some duplication within a site normal, not spam.
Structured titleThe Merchant Center attribute for AI-written product titles: a labelling rule for the feed, not a Search spam policy.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “AI wrote our product descriptions, so Google will treat them as spam.” Right: the policy judges purpose and value, not the tool. AI use falls under it when it produces many pages without value for users.
  • Wrong: “Our team writes every page by hand, so the policy does not apply.” Right: since March 2024 it covers content made by people too.
  • Wrong: “Machine-translating a supplier’s descriptions makes them original.” Right: Google lists translation among the techniques of scaled content abuse when the resulting pages give users little value.

Sources