Did the September 2026 spam update hit my site?

Probably not, if you run a normal contractor site, but it is worth ten minutes to check. Google released the September 2026 spam update on September 24 and finished rolling it out on October 8, 2026. A spam update is aimed at sites that break Google's spam policies, so a real local business with its own pages and its own reviews is rarely the target. Plenty of drops in those two weeks will have other causes, and the checks below tell you which one you have.

How can I tell if a Google update caused my drop?

Look for a drop that starts between September 24 and October 8, 2026, hits most of your site at once, and has not come back since. In Search Console, open Performance, set the dates to compare the four weeks before September 24 with the days after October 8, and look at impressions and average position. A sharp step down across many pages and many searches inside that window points at the update. A slow slide, or one page losing ground while the rest hold, points somewhere else.

Why did I lose impressions in Search Console?

Impressions fall for more ordinary reasons than a Google update. The common ones for contractors are the season (fewer AC searches in October, fewer roof searches after storm season), a page that was changed or removed, pages dropping out of the index, a competitor publishing better pages for your town, and Google showing more ads or an AI answer above you. Check the Pages tab to see which pages lost the impressions. If it is one or two pages, the cause is on those pages. If it is everything, and it lines up with the update dates, the update is a fair suspect.

What should I check in Search Console after a Google update?

Three checks cover most of it. First, the Performance report with the date comparison above, using the Pages tab and then the Queries tab, so you know what fell. Second, Pages under Indexing, to see whether pages were dropped from the index around the same time. Third, Manual actions under Security and Manual actions. A spam update is automatic and never shows up there, so an empty report is normal, but if a manual action is listed, that is the problem to fix first. For calls and map rankings, look at your Google Business Profile performance too, because Search Console does not count the map listing. The numbers worth watching the rest of the year are in how do I know if my local SEO is working.

What does the September 2026 spam update target?

Google has not said. It only confirmed that the update applies worldwide and in every language, and that it is the fourth spam update of 2026, after March, June, and August. Spam updates in general enforce Google's spam policies: pages mass-produced to rank with little value, bought or traded links, hidden text and cloaking, doorway pages, and sites renting out space to unrelated content. For a contractor, the realistic risks are a pile of near-identical city pages and links bought from a link seller. Whether your city pages pass is covered in do I need a page for every city I serve.

How long does it take to recover from a Google spam update?

Months, not days. Google's own guidance is that after you fix a problem, its systems have to learn the change over a period of months. If the ranking came from bought links, fixing it does not bring that ranking back, because the links stop counting and the boost they gave is gone for good. That is why it pays to be sure the update is actually the cause before tearing pages down.

What should I do if my site was hit?

Do not rush to rewrite or delete pages. Read Google's spam policies, then go through your site honestly. Merge or rewrite city pages that only swap the town name, stop any paid link scheme, and remove anything that was published just to rank. Then give it time and keep doing the work that helps real customers: real job photos, real reviews, and pages that answer what people ask before they hire. If you want a second pair of eyes on whether the drop is the update or something else, that is what our local SEO audit checks, and the ongoing work is part of local SEO for Louisville contractors.