Skip to content

SEO ·

Google stops enforcing site reputation manual actions in the EEA

The one thing

From 30 August, site reputation abuse manual actions no longer suppress results for searchers inside the EEA, after the European Commission's investigation forced Google to adjust enforcement. Outside the EEA nothing changes. Inside it, Google instead separates the third-party section so it ranks independently of the parent domain over time - the borrowed authority goes away even though the demotion does not apply.

The practical read: parasite-SEO enforcement now differs by market. If you compete in EEA SERPs, they will not match the US picture from 30 August.

Quiet but watch it

  • This is the first case of a Google spam policy being enforced differently by region under regulatory pressure. Whether other policies follow the same pattern is the thing to watch, not this one change.

1 story in full

high impactact on it

Update to the Site Reputation Policy

Google Search Central Blog ·

TLDR

  • From 30 August 2026, a site reputation abuse manual action no longer suppresses results for searchers inside the EEA, following the European Commission's investigation into the policy.
  • Outside the EEA nothing changes: the offending section is demoted, the rest of the site is untouched.
  • Inside the EEA, Google instead separates the third-party section in its systems so that, over time, it ranks independently of the parent domain.

Why it matters

The parasite-SEO crackdown now has a geographic hole in it. A publisher renting subfolders to affiliate content keeps EEA visibility even under a manual action - but the borrowed authority is what gets removed, so the section has to rank on its own merits rather than the host domain's.

What to do

  • If you compete against parasite subfolders, re-check EEA-market SERPs from 30 August; rankings there may not match the US picture.
  • If you host third-party content, stop assuming the parent domain's authority carries it in any market - Google is now splitting those sections apart by design.

Also covered by Search Engine Land (with the fullest detail), Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Journal.