Glossary
What is scaled content abuse?
Scaled content abuse is Google's spam policy name for generating many pages primarily to manipulate search rankings rather than help users, whether by AI, automation, people or a mix. Introduced in March 2024, it replaced the narrower "spammy automatically generated content" policy. Sites can be demoted or get manual actions.
What it covers
Google's examples include: using AI to generate many pages without adding value, scraping feeds or search results to make pages, stitching content from different pages without adding value, creating multiple sites to hide the scale, and producing pages with search keywords but little meaningful content.
What it doesn't cover
Large sets of pages that genuinely help users: product catalogues, data-driven profiles, documentation, glossaries with real definitions. Programmatic SEO is fine when each page is useful.
How to stay safe
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Would we publish this if search didn't exist? |
| Uniqueness | Does each page say something others don't? |
| Accuracy | Are facts checked and sourced? |
| Review | Has a person checked the template and samples? |
| Restraint | Do we hold back pages without enough substance? |
Example
Two sites publish 300 glossary pages. One rewrites other glossaries' definitions with AI. The other writes definitions with sources, examples and its own data, and links terms together. The first is the pattern the policy targets; the second is a reference.
FAQ
Is AI content against Google's rules?
No. Content made mainly to manipulate rankings is, however it's produced.
Can a whole site be penalised?
Yes. Manual actions can apply to sections or the whole site.
Does publishing many pages at once trigger it?
Volume isn't the trigger; low value at scale is.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Spam policies (scaled content abuse)
- Google Search Central blog: March 2024 core update and spam policies