Google Stops Applying Site Reputation Abuse Manual Actions to EEA Search Results
TLDR
Google is notifying sites with site reputation abuse manual actions that those actions will no longer affect search results in the European Economic Area, a change that took effect August 30, 2026.
What this Google Search policy change means for your site
- Status
- Policy change
- Platform
- Google Search, Google Search Console
- Affects
- site reputation abuse manual actions, search results in the European Economic Area
- Who
- Sites with site reputation abuse policy manual actions in the EEA
- Effective
- August 30, 2026
- Action needed
- Not specified in the source
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
Google has begun emailing sites that carry site reputation abuse policy manual actions to say those actions will no longer affect search results in the European Economic Area. The change took effect on August 30, 2026, but Google is only now notifying site owners through Search Console, two months later, as SERoundtable reports.
How we got here: earlier Google Search coverage
- Oct 8Google May Be Issuing More Manual Action Penalties Recently
SEO practitioners report observing an uptick in Google manual action penalties over recent weeks, though no official confirmation exists.
- Aug 28Google replaces manual penalties for site reputation abuse with independent ranking system in Europe
Google is replacing manual penalties for site reputation abuse in the European Economic Area with a system that allows affected site sections to rank independently.
- Aug 28Google Won't Enforce Site Reputation Abuse Policy in the EEA Until August 2026
Google will suspend enforcement of its site reputation abuse manual actions in the European Economic Area starting August 30, 2026, per an EU Commission mandate.
- Jul 23Google Rolling Out Major Changes to EU Hotel Search to Comply With Digital Markets Act
Google is rolling out structural changes to EU hotel search results, introducing a multi-provider Hotel Multi-Pack and direct hotel website module in response to Digital Markets Act compliance requirements.