Content spam is low-quality content that uses manipulative or unethical SEO tactics to try to increase clicks, traffic, or conversions. Or, in extreme cases, to try to steal user info (usually through phishing).
Marketers, website owners, and even seemingly reputable sources can engage in content spamming practices to try to artificially boost website rankings. For instance, keyword stuffing is a common form of content spam.
And let’s say you worked hard on a blog post about healthy eating. A week later, you find the same post on another website, mixed with ads for weight loss pills and other products you would never promote.
That’s also content spam.
There are a bunch of different forms of spam content designed to deceive both users and search engines.
Here are some common examples:
Publishing spam or being a victim of content spam negatively impacts your brand.
Initially, publishing content spam might seem like a quick way to boost traffic and improve search engine rankings.
After all, Google Search Advocate John Mueller even admitted that, sometimes, it’s tough to determine original posts vs. plagiarized content—especially if the spam website is “higher quality” than the source.
But bottom line: content spam isn’t ethical or helpful. And it almost always backfires.
Here are some consequences of engaging in content spam:
- Google penalties: Google's algorithms and employees still can identify and penalize spammy content practices, flagging the website with a Manual Action. If this happens, your site will probably suffer a significant drop in rankings or get kicked of search results entirely.
- Loss of trust: Low-quality spam content impacts your brand credibility. And makes users less likely to return to or recommend your site.
- Fewer conversions: Even if spammy content does drives traffic to your site, it's unlikely to lead to meaningful actions (like purchases or sign-ups) if your content doesn’t meet user needs
On the other hand, if, say, your content has been scraped and re-published without your consent, it can lead to issues like:
- Diluted visibility: If search engines struggle to identify your site as the original source, your rankings can take a hit—especially if the spam site has higher authority than yours.
- Increased competition: When spam sites copy your content, they're also competing with you for the same keywords. This can impact your search rankings and make it harder for users to find your original conten
- Reputation damage: When users and search engines associate your content with low-quality or spam sites, it can indirectly harm your site's reputation.
While most spammers know exactly what they’re doing, it’s still possible to engage in spammy practices without realizing it.
For example, you might overuse keywords to the point where your content becomes difficult to read. Or duplicate content across pages to try to help it rank for more search queries.
You’re not trying to harm users—but you’re not actually helping them. And you can still get flagged for these practices, regardless of your intent.
Keep these best practices in mind to keep your writing clear of anything close to spam content:
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) is a concept included in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidlines.
Making sure your content reflects those elements is a good way to check that you’re providing real value to users.
And while E-E-A-T itself isn't a direct ranking factor, content that embodies E-E-A-T helps build user trust and brand credibility. Which, in turn, can positively impact your rankings.
- Experience: Does your content demonstrate relevant knowledge or hands-on learning about the topic? Have you shared clear examples or case studies that illustrate your work with the subject?
- Expertise: How are you demonstrating the accuracy of your claims? Do you cite reputable sources or include expert opinions?
- Authoritativeness: Is your content recognized by peers or authoritative figures in your industry? Do other experts reference your work as a trusted source of information?
- Trustworthiness: Does your site have a clear way for visitors to verify the accuracy of your information (e.g., contact information, citations)? Is your content free from factual errors and clearly distinguished from opinion pieces?
Additionally, use SEO Writing Assistant to make sure your content works for both users and search engines. The tool gives recommendations on how to improve your content’s readability, SEO, originality, and tone of voice.
Click on “SEO Writing Assistant” under “Content Marketing.” Then, click “Analyze my text.”
Here’s how to do it:
- Use Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool to research and select keywords that are directly relevant to your content's topic
- Incorporate keywords naturally within the text, titles, and meta descriptions, so that people and search engines that read your content smoothly
- Use keywords to support content creation, not dominate it. Come up with relevant content ideas, then integrate relevant keywords where they make sense contextually.
Like keywords, links should complement your content—not dominate it.
Focus on creating quality content that uses links to direct users to relevant pages. Whether on your site or on other credible sites.
Incorporating thoughtful internal and external links provides direct value to readers. And also puts you in a better position to organically earn backlinks from reputable sites.
Speaking of, don’t pay for backlinks.
Instead, use link building strategies like reaching out to relevant websites for guest posting opportunities. It’s OK to want to get links—but do so in a way where you’re still contributing helpful, useful information.
Whether you’re just surfing the web or trying to figure out why your rankings have suddenly crashed, it’s good to know the signs of content spam.
This way, you can take steps to remediate it. And help keep the web useful and safe.
Here are some quick tips:
- Check for relevance and quality: Spam often lacks depth and presents irrelevant or repeated information
- Look for excessive keyword use: An unnatural frequency of keywords can indicate keyword stuffing
- Evaluate the writing style: AI-generated or poorly written content that lacks a human touch or logical flow can be a red flag for spam
- Beware of suspicious content structures: Pages that are cluttered with ads, have hidden text, or lead users through unnecessary redirects may be using content spamming practices
If you’re still in doubt, use Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool to check the website’s credibility via its Authority Score (AS).
Enter the domain name in the search bar, and click the “Analyze” button.
- Link Power: The quantity and quality of backlinks
- Organic Traffic: How much organic traffic the website gets
- Natural Profile: If the site’s backlink profile has hallmarks of spam or organic backlinks
An SEO audit is used to review your website for any SEO issues, including ones impacting your backlink profile and content indexing—ones that can stem from spam content.
Use Semrush tools to check things out:
- Site Audit for checking technical or crawl errors
- Backlink Audit for identifying toxic backlinks
- Backlink Analysis for spotting significant changes in your or your competitors’ backlink profiles
- On Page SEO Checker for performing your website’s on-page SEO audit
If you perform these audits and nothing serious pops up, yet you continue to experience downward ranking spikes, you might be dealing with content spam.
- Check for sudden drops in search rankings
- Compare your site’s rankings drop with competitors
- Check to see if the drops align with Google updates
- Perform a site audit to find technical or crawl errors and an on-page SEO audit
- Use a backlink audit to identify toxic backlinks or changes in backlink profiles
Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant scans the web to find instances of duplicate content. So that you can check for plagiarism.
Hover over the eye icons under "Original source." To see which domains contain copies of the text you imported.
If they find the content violates their guidelines, they’ll take action to address it. Like decreasing the site’s ranking or removing the content from SERPs.
Fill out Google’s dedicated content spam form:
Then, hit “Submit.”
Select the Google product where you saw the spam content.
In addition to submitting with Google, you can also:
- Contact the publisher to remove the potentially plagiarized content
- Consult a legal professional or file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice. This notice allows you to ask the website’s web hosting company or a search engine to remove the plagiarized content.
Fill out Google’s “Report a Phishing Page” form.
Include the URL and describe why you believe it's a phishing attempt.
And we can expect more cybercriminals to take advantage of these capabilities as well.
The goal?
To create deceptive content that tricks users into submitting personal information.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to steer clear of content spam.
Stick to publishing relevant, high-quality content.
Report spam when you see it (and encourage others to do the same).