In an updated help guide, Google now mentions a new type of platform in its help guide to prevent user generated spam. The new page, titled ‘Prevent user-generated spam on your site and platform’ now includes tools to allow users to publish shared pages, generated content and web applications. Search Engine Roundtable reported the change on October 26.
In addition to adding some new words, there are two new sections added. Firstly, they have added a new section to mention what content to index and secondly, there is more advice given on how to monitor for abuse. Below you can see what changes have been made and what the SEO community have said.
What Changed In The Document
The update notes that the guidelines apply to tools users can use to publish collaborative pages, user-generated content or web apps. The note also states that this applies to the platforms and tools users can use to create these types of pages.
This is key as the original document mentioned comment forms and other similar methods. Google’s help page opens with ‘spammers often take advantage of open comment forms to add user generated content to inject spammy content onto your unsuspecting site’. The update now broadens this to include more products.
On their search updates page, Google have stated that this change has been made so that platforms can stop user created pages not intended for Search, from being indexed. They also noted that it will help them detect spam quicker. Google’s changelog states that they have added guidance on how to block indexing of link-shared content and monitoring abuse in Search Console.
Three Types Of Content Named In The Update
The updated text states – Your content can be in the form of pages shared, content created or web applications. Each of these can have unique URLs that may be discovered by search engines.
Pages shared refer to pages that are created by you and shared with others. Content created refers to content that your tool creates for you. Web applications refer to interactive tools that you create or share. All three should be considered as content and whether it should be exposed to Search should be decided by the platform.
An image was also published by Search Engine Roundtable that shows how the new content compares to the old version. This shows the new text alongside the old text so you can see what has changed.
The New Section On Indexing
Another key addition is the Only index content for Search section, which Search Engine Roundtable says is a great addition. This section asks platforms to ensure they are ‘only indexing content that is intended to be discovered.’
This section refers to when a user creates a page or output or tool for sharing, and asks platforms to consider if that content is for search or just direct linking.
If they are being shared directly then this guidance outlines that you should use the noindex directive by default. This can be set using Robots Meta Tags, X-Robots-Tag HTTP Headers or preventing crawling via robots.txt. As outlined in the document:
This is essentially asking that any pages created to be shared directly (via a link) with a collaborator, or simply to be useful rather than for search should be marked as not intended for Search. Any pages published for the open web should be intended for Search. As outlined in the new section, platforms should consider these pages not intended for Search unless decided otherwise.
Monitoring For Abuse
This update includes monitoring recommendations. Google recommend verifying your site or subdomain through Search Console so you can receive alerts when Google takes manual actions or detects security issues.
They also recommend regularly reviewing the Page Indexing report and Search performance report to identify any unexpected increases in indexed pages, impressions and queries that don’t align with your platform’s purpose.
Platforms should also monitor your own metrics around pages created and indexed. Set up alerts for any unusual activity such as a sudden increase in new public pages created, or a small number of users creating a high proportion of indexable URLs. This could indicate that a small number of accounts are creating pages at scale.
What The Earlier Guidance Already Said
There are already steps within the document. Some more points to consider would be using the noindex robots meta tag as suggested within the Google’s guidance for new users who don’t have any reputation yet. Once a certain amount of time has passed and they gain some reputation then they can be allowed to be indexed.
Within the page, it suggests allowing manual approval for any suspicious activity. This will add extra work for moderation however can be extremely effective for preventing spam. Adding in reCAPTCHAs (or similar) to registration forms will prevent automated scripts creating lots of sites on your hosting service. Using the site: search operator or Google Alerts can help to identify issues.
This section works along the same lines as the previous point about using noindex for new users. Any content that shouldn’t be found via search can be hidden by default and then decided by the owner at a later date.
Reaction From SEO Professionals
The update raised questions around what Google is targeting. Marie Haynes asked on X asking if this means new manual actions will arrive for AI tools and app building platforms.
Lily Ray posted on X that her first thoughts were Claude artefacts, ChatGPT pages and websites, Facebook content and other social or AI tools that make it easy to create large amounts of indexable, user-generated content. She said it was another hint that Google is having to deal with new kinds of spam at scale so have had to update their documentation. It could also be a hint to what they will be targeting moving forwards.
These tweets aren’t official statements from Google. Both are personal opinions or questions. Google haven’t mentioned any specific products in the guidance.
Where The Report Comes From
This report is written by Barry Schwartz and was published by Search Engine Roundtable. Barry quotes the help document as part of his report. He also includes a link to Google’s updates page where they have listed this change.
If you want to see the exact text used you can compare the help document to the report.
What Platforms Can Take From The Update
While there isn’t a penalty or new action to take, this update affects a help document. This document is designed for platform owners however, the updates make things clearer.
If you have a publishing platform (pages, outputs or web apps) you can now check if your shared pages are indexable by default, if you have Search Console set up to receive alerts and if you’re tracking increases in public pages and share of indexable URLs from a small number of users.
FAQs
Q 1: What did Google update?
Google have updated their documentation on how to avoid user-generated spam. It now outlines what tools can be used for publishing collaborative pages, user-generated content or web apps, as reported by Search Engine Roundtable.
Q 2: What is the new section called?
‘Only index content intended for Search’. This section outlines how platforms should keep content intended to be publicly discoverable separate from content which is directly accessible.
Q 3: What does Google recommend for pages made for sharing?
Pages created for directly sharing, collaborating or utilitarian purposes should have ‘noindex’ applied by default. Platforms can use robots meta tags, X-Robots-Tag headers or prevent crawling via robots.txt.
Q 4: Why did Google make the change?
Google said the update helps platforms keep user created pages that are not meant for Search out of the index and detect spam earlier. Its updates page describes the change.
Q 5: What monitoring does Google suggest?
They recommend confirming ownership of the site/subdomain within Search Console. They should also regularly review the Page Indexing and Search performance reports. Monitoring the metrics around creation and indexing and setting alerts for any anomalies.
Q 6: What anomalies should platforms watch for?
The document provides two examples. One would be a sudden increase in new publicly published pages. Another example would be a few users creating a high proportion of indexable URLs.
Q 7: Why does Search Console verification matter here?
Verification gives the owner email alerts if Google issues a manual action or detects security issues on the site or subdomain. This helps owners respond when a problem appears on their platform.
Q 8: Does this guidance name specific products?
No, based on the report. Lily Ray named several tools in her post on X, but that was her own reading and not a statement from Google.
Q 9: Are new manual actions coming?
The report does not say so. Marie Haynes asked whether new manual actions are coming for AI tools and app building platforms, but the article does not confirm it.
Q 10: Does the older advice still apply?
The current documentation already provides advice around using ‘noindex’ for new user posts, ‘nofollow/ugc’ for untrusted links, moderation and reCAPTCHAs. The new information builds upon this.
