Google
Payday Loan 2.0
In brief
Second iteration of Payday Loan, broadening the fight to spammy sites themselves and not just the targeted queries.
Key points
- A second iteration of Payday Loan extending the fight to the spammy sites themselves.
- No longer targets only queries but also abusive domains.
- Strengthens the cleanup of sensitive niches.
- Shortly precedes Payday Loan 3.0, focused on link spam techniques.
Analysis
Payday Loan 2.0 shifts the focus from queries to sites: Google now targets intrinsically spammy domains, and not only abused search terms. Coverage therefore broadens to a site's overall behavior rather than occasional keywords.
This extension toughens the fight in high-risk sectors and reduces the room to maneuver for sites that alternated clean content and spam. It confirms the logic of holding the entire domain accountable, already initiated by Penguin.
What to do
- Check that no section of the site resorts to spam practices, even on secondary pages.
- Clean up link profiles in sensitive topics before they penalize the whole domain.
- Monitor traffic fluctuations in these niches and cross-reference them with update dates.
Impact
Extension of the spam penalty to abusive domains. Reinforced cleanup of sensitive niches.