Google September 2026 Spam Update Brings Short Term Search Volatility

Google Starts a New Spam Rollout

Google began rolling out its September 2026 spam update on September 24. The update applies globally and across all languages, and Google says the rollout may take up to two weeks to complete.

Google has described this as a normal spam update. The company has not announced a new spam policy or identified one specific tactic being targeted. As with other spam updates, the goal is to improve Google’s automated systems for identifying pages and practices that violate its search spam policies. Sites affected by these systems may see lower rankings or disappear from some search results.

For law firms, there is no indication that this update requires an immediate change in SEO strategy if a site already follows Google’s spam policies and uses legitimate search marketing practices.

Search Movement Is Already Increasing

The more important consideration over the next couple of weeks is volatility.

Search Engine Roundtable reported substantial ranking movement beginning shortly after the rollout started, with particularly noticeable activity over the weekend of September 25 through September 27. The update remains active as of September 30, so additional movement is possible before Google marks the rollout complete.

That means law firms should be careful about drawing conclusions from short term ranking changes during this period. A sudden gain or decline may be connected to the broader rollout rather than a specific change made to the firm’s website.

AI Overviews may also deserve closer monitoring. Separate observations reported on September 30 found AI Overviews appearing for more branded searches, although Google has not said that this activity is caused by the spam update. Changes in traditional rankings and AI Overview appearances can happen at the same time, so firms should gather several days of data before treating individual movements as lasting trends.

What Law Firms Should Watch Next

Google has provided few details beyond confirming that this is a standard spam update with a rollout lasting up to two weeks. For now, the best approach is to monitor rankings, traffic, conversions, and AI Overview appearances while avoiding rushed decisions based on daily fluctuations.

At TSEG, we monitor Google updates and search performance for law firms so we can separate temporary search movement from changes that may require action. As this rollout progresses, we can help firms evaluate meaningful ranking changes and determine whether any adjustments to their SEO strategy are warranted.