Google Explains Why The Affiliate Programs Spam Documentation Were Removed

Jan 20, 2023 - 7:11 am 0 by

Google Compactor

Last October, Google revamped its Google Webmaster Guidelines into Google Search Essentials and one part of that was to consolidate the previous pages on thin content and affiliate programs into the overall documentation. Lizzi Sassman from Google explained a bit more on why this was done.

Lizzi said on Twitter, "the spam policy covers our current guidance on thin affiliates (hence the redirect)." "We simplified since some things are now covered by newer docs (ex: search essentials, creating helpful content, product reviews, etc) & aren't necessarily specific to affiliates," she added.

Lily Ray asked about this, and showed a screenshot of the archive of the old document:

Lizzi is saying that when Google reviewed the old documentation, they found there was no need to call out the affiliate aspect specifically. In short, it is not about a site being an affiliate but rather the tactics used for SEO purposes.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: June 30, 2025

Jun 30, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Supports Fewer Structured Data, Not More Like Promised

Jun 30, 2025 - 7:51 am
Bing Ads

Microsoft Removed Over One Billion Ads & 475,000 Advertiser Accounts

Jun 30, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Tests AI Mode In Chrome Search Bar (Desktop & Android)

Jun 30, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google

PSA: Fan Out Queries Are Not In Google Search Console

Jun 30, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

New Google Ads Broad Match Experiments Testing

Jun 30, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Space Helmet Date Wall At Google Hyderabad Office