# Google Search Spam Updates | Google Search Central

# Google Search spam updates and your site


While Google's automated systems to [detect search spam](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/detecting-spam/)
are constantly operating, we occasionally make notable improvements to how they work. When we
do, we refer to this as a *spam update* and share when they happen on our
[list of Google Search ranking updates](https://status.search.google.com/products/rGHU1u87FJnkP6W2GwMi/history).


For example, [SpamBrain](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/04/webspam-report-2021) is our
AI-based spam-prevention system. From time-to-time, we improve that system to make it better
at spotting spam and to help ensure it catches new types of spam.


Sites that see a change after a spam update should review our [spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
to ensure they are complying with those. Sites that violate our policies may rank lower in
results or not appear in results at all. Making changes may help a site improve if our
automated systems learn over a period of months that the site complies with our spam policies.


In the case of a link spam update (an update that specifically deals with link spam), making
changes might not generate an improvement. This is because when our systems remove the effects
spammy links may have, any ranking benefit the links may have previously generated for your
site is lost. Any potential ranking benefits generated by those links cannot be regained.