Google has unveiled a set of statistics outlining how the company tackled web spam in 2017. These statistics are part of Google’s annual Webspam Report, which provides insights into the most common webspam tactics used throughout the year and how effectively Google managed to counteract the activities of malicious individuals.
Moreover, the report highlights Google’s proactive measures in assisting site owners in safeguarding against these webspam tactics. Google defines “spam” as anything that breaches its webmaster guidelines, and currently, spammy sites make up around 0.5% of search results.
One notable spam tactic that increased in 2017 was hacking, with sites being compromised either to skew search rankings or to distribute malware. Google reports that over 80 percent of hacked sites have been removed from search results.
Here are some other significant statistics from Google’s 2017 Webspam report:
– A nearly 50% reduction in spam links year-over-year.
– Action taken on almost 90,000 user reports of search spam.
– 45 million messages sent via Search Console informing site owners about issues identified on their websites.
– Enhanced Safe Browsing protections for macOS devices.
– Implementation of predictive phishing protection in Chrome.
– Significant advancements in protecting users from deceptive Chrome extension installations.
– Over 250 online and offline events hosted globally, engaging more than 220,000 website owners.
– Google’s official support forum saw 63,000 threads with over 280,000 posts contributed by more than 100 Top Contributors worldwide.
Google remains committed to ensuring a web experience free from abuse.
