Google Spam Algorithm Version 3.0 Launches Today

Jun 12, 2014 - 9:17 am 39 by
Filed Under Google Updates

pay day loansAs I reported last night out of the SMX Advanced keynote with Matt Cutts - the third version of the Google Spam Algorithm, also known as the PayDay Loan algorithm, is launching today.

Didn't we just have version 2.0 a couple weeks ago? Yes we did.

Matt Cutts explained that 2.0 was targeting specifically spammy sites, while 3.0 targets more spammy queries. So the algorithm looks more at the query versus looking at the site. You are smart SEOs, so you can figure out what that means.

Matt also explained that version 2.0 also added some negative SEO factors, to reduce the amount of negative SEO that can happen. If you believe that.

I do not believe this launched just yet, it may launch today sometime, or maybe tomorrow - but likely today, Matt Cutts said. Based on the lack of complaints in the black hat forums, I do not think it launched at the time I am writing this.

Reminder, this will look specifically spammy queries, such as terms like [payday loans], [casinos], [viagra] and other forms of highly spammy queries.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld, Twitter and Google+.

Update: It began rolling out 4:40pm EST:

 

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

Web Analytics

Dashboards Available In Google Analytics

Sep 11, 2026 - 12:32 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 11, 2026

Sep 11, 2026 - 10:00 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Search Console Indexing Report Missing Old June Data

Sep 11, 2026 - 9:17 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Degrades EU Search Quality, Losing Faith In Your Site, AI Mode Match Types & Google Maps Photo Scams

Sep 11, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google Ads

Google Shopping Ads X Days Left Attribute On Sponsored Ads

Sep 11, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Reporting Segments For Loyalty Program Members

Sep 11, 2026 - 7:41 am
Previous Story: Webmasters Complain Of Google Structured Data Items Dropping