Expired domain abuse spam policy

What changed

The policy targets the practice of acquiring a lapsed domain that carries reputation and links, then publishing low-value or unrelated content on it to exploit those signals. Google said the practice offers no value to users searching for the site they expect to find. Enforcement began immediately on announcement and was applied both algorithmically and through manual actions.

Timing

Rollout began 5 March 2024. No completion date was announced. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.

What it affected