By: Devendra Mishra, Founder of SEO Guru NYC
Rankings and search visibility for many websites changed after Google’s June 2026 Spam Update. We spoke with Devendra Mishra, Founder of SEO Guru NYC, to understand what the update means, what factors Google is focusing on, and how businesses can maintain long-term search performance.
What do you think was the main goal of the June 2026 Spam Update?
Devendra Mishra: Google is cleaning house. With AI, thousands of low-value pages have come up just to rank high. This update directly targets that malpractice. Google wants to spot mass-produced content that lacks substance. The goal is to elevate search output and prevent sites that do not offer real value to the reader from grabbing the top spot.
How does this spam update affect AI features like the Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
Devendra Mishra: A lot, actually. You know Google uses its search index to power AI Overviews. If the index is full of low-quality content or spam, the AI will pull bad data and offer low-quality overviews. By launching this spam update, Google strengthens the quality of its search index, which is fundamental to how Google ensures SGE quality. If your site got hit by this update, it’s a sign that your content does not meet Google’s E-E-A-T standards and may eventually disappear from AI summaries.
What elements should business owners fix to stay safe from these penalties?
Devendra Mishra: Content ingenuity. If your page does not actually help a visitor solve a problem, it means nothing. Pages that exist only to hide keywords must be deleted or rewritten. Also, check your technical foundation. Structure the data across your entire site. Organized code clearly explains your site’s purpose to Google, separating you from sketchy, automated spam networks.
How does Google determine which sites to trust after this update?
Devendra Mishra: Google heavily relies on the EEAT framework. They look for verifiable proof of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Sites with clear, consistent contact info, real team photos, verified secure badges, and expert-written content are trusted by Google. EEAT means your website content demonstrates deep expertise and stands out from the crowd.
FAQs
How do I know if my website was penalized by the June 2026 Spam Update?
Monitor your Google Analytics and Search Console. If you see a sudden, sharp drop in organic traffic and keyword rankings over the June to August period, you were likely affected.
Can a website recover its rankings after a spam update hit?
Yes, but you need expertise, and it will need sincere rework. You must identify what affected your website’s performance. Then, one by one, remove all low-quality or copied text and replace it with helpful, human-verified content. You must also improve user experience, add structured schema, and rebuild the lost trust. Google regularly evaluates websites. When it re-evaluates your site during future crawls, it is very likely that your pages will start getting featured in the AI overview.
