Google has run two core and four spam updates in 2026

Google has run seven ranking updates in 2026, according to its Search Status Dashboard as of October 13. Two were core updates, four were spam updates and one was a Discover update. The latest, the September 2026 spam update, finished October 8 after about two weeks, far longer than the year’s earlier spam updates.

Every Google ranking update in 2026 so far

The dashboard lists each update’s start date and how long it took to roll out Google Search Status Dashboard .

Update	Start date	Rollout time
February 2026 Discover update	February 5	21 days, 17 hours
March 2026 spam update	March 24	19 hours, 30 minutes
March 2026 core update	March 27	12 days, 4 hours
May 2026 core update	May 21	11 days, 21 hours
June 2026 spam update	June 24	2 days, 1 hour
August 2026 spam update	August 18	2 days, 16 hours
September 2026 spam update	September 24	13 days, 16 hours

The two 2026 core updates followed the December 2025 core update. That one began December 11, 2025, and took 18 days and 2 hours Google Search Status Dashboard . The dashboard shows start dates and durations. It does not show what share of searches each update changed.

Google makes smaller core updates too. It does not announce them, saying they are not widely noticeable Google Search Central .

The September spam update ran longer than usual

Google said the September update “applies globally and to all languages” Search Engine Roundtable . It began September 24 at around noon Eastern time and finished October 8 at 4:37 a.m. Eastern, according to Search Engine Roundtable. Google called it “a normal spam update” with a rollout of up to two weeks.

Earlier 2026 spam updates moved faster. The March update took under a day. The June and August updates each took two to three days.

Long spam rollouts are not new. The August 2025 spam update began August 26, 2025, and took 26 days and 15 hours, according to the dashboard. Rollout length alone does not show how many sites an update hit.

Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz wrote that he would not be surprised by a core update soon. That is his view, not a Google announcement. The dashboard listed no new core update as of October 13.

What core updates change, and what they do not

Google describes core updates as broad changes to its search systems, made several times a year. It says they “don’t target specific sites or individual web pages” Google Search Central . A page that drops is not necessarily a bad page, Google says. For a small drop, it says “there’s no need to take drastic action.”

Timing matters for any analysis. Google recommends “waiting at least a full week after a core update completes” before checking a site in Search Console. Then it suggests comparing that week with a week before the rollout began.

Recovery is slow. Google says it can take several months for its systems to confirm that a site has improved. Sometimes the change waits for the next core update. Google adds that there is no guarantee changes will bring a noticeable impact in search results.

What spam updates target

Spam updates work differently. Google’s automated spam systems, including an AI-based system called SpamBrain, run all the time. Google calls notable improvements to those systems spam updates Google Search Central . Google says sites that break its spam policies “may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all.”

Several of those policies cover work that agencies sell Google Search Central :

• Scaled content abuse: many pages made mainly to manipulate rankings, not to help users. Google’s examples include using generative AI tools to produce many pages without adding value for users.
• Link spam: buying or selling links for ranking purposes. Paid links are allowed when they carry a nofollow or sponsored attribute.
• Site reputation abuse: third-party content placed on a host site mainly to benefit from that site’s ranking signals.
• Expired domain abuse: buying an expired domain and reusing it mainly to manipulate rankings.

Bought links carry a lasting cost. When Google stops counting spammy links, it says any ranking benefit they produced “cannot be regained.” For other spam problems, Google says its systems learn over a period of months that a site now complies.

What this means if you pay for SEO

Ranking swings after an update are normal. They do not prove by themselves that an agency failed or succeeded. What counts is whether the agency can show which update hit which pages, and what it plans to do next.

Good records make that possible. Ask your agency to keep a dated log of every change it makes to your site, from new pages to redirects. Then a traffic drop can be checked against two timelines: Google’s dashboard and your own site’s changes.

A drop during a spam update deserves the closest look. Ask whether any past work used bought links, mass-produced pages or content placed on other sites. Those are the practices Google’s policies name.

Be wary of anyone who promises a fast recovery or claims to know exactly what an update targeted. Google says recovery can take months and that core updates do not target specific sites. Our guide to marketing agency red flags covers other warning signs.

Updates are one reason search traffic moves. For how AI Overviews affect clicks, see our report on four click studies. For firms scored on SEO work, see our SEO agency shortlist.

Questions to ask your agency

1. Did our traffic change line up with a Google update? Ask for a chart marked with the dashboard’s start dates and rollout times.
2. Did you wait a full week after the update ended before drawing conclusions? Google recommends that wait for core updates.
3. Which pages lost the most clicks, and why? Look for page-level answers, not a general claim about the update.
4. Has any past work used bought links, mass-produced pages or content placed on other sites? Get the answer in writing.
5. What is the recovery plan, and how will we track it? Expect a plan measured in months, with clicks and leads as the yardstick.