Google's Hacked Sites Algorithm Only Impacts Spammy Queries

Oct 9, 2015 - 8:38 am 12 by
Filed Under Google Updates

Google Hacked Sites Algorithm

The new Google Hacked Sites Algorithm which launched this week, we think, is said to impact about 5% of search queries. It aims at removing sites that are hacked in the search results, to keep the search results safe.

Last night at PubCon, I spotted a tweet from Jennifer Slegg on Twitter where she quoted Gary Illyes from Google saying on stage that this algorithm only impacts "spammy" flavors of search queries.

Here is her tweet:

So Gary said that the algorithm only impacts sites that are (1) hacked AND (2) are in the spammy queries realm.

That seems like something I should double check on because sites in all areas can be hacked and impact searchers across the board. So maybe this was a misunderstanding or maybe the vast majority of hacked sites are in the "spammy" area?

Forum discussion at Twitter.

Update: Gary Ilyes from Google confirmed it directly on Twitter:

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Google Search Volatility

More Details

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 17, 2026

Jul 17, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google 7/11 Update, Bing Penalties, Google Images, AI Overviews AI Images, Google Ads Updates, ChatGPT Ads Features & Apple Maps

Jul 17, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Making Broader Smart Bidding Updates? Google Says No.

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Maps

Did Google Maps Turn Off OpenTable Reservations?

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Renamed NotebookLM Useragent To Google-GeminiNotebook

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google StoreBot Accessibility Issues Help Document Updated

Jul 17, 2026 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Google's Gary Illyes: Make Thin Content Thicker OR Use NoIndex