Google changes SEO rules in Europe: why piggybacking on strong websites is getting harder

Google announced an important change in late August 2026 to the way its site reputation abuse policy is applied in Europe. It sounds technical, but it matters to businesses investing in SEO, guest articles or sponsored content.

What is site reputation abuse?

Imagine a website has spent years building a strong reputation with Google. Content from another party is then published on that website primarily to benefit from the ranking signals already established by the host domain and gain better visibility in Google.

That is exactly the kind of practice Google's Site Reputation Abuse Policy is designed to address.

Publishing or paying to publish content on a well-known domain therefore does not automatically mean you can use that site's reputation to rank higher.

What is changing in Europe?

Google announced the change on 28 August 2026, with the adjusted approach applying from 30 August 2026 to search results within the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes Belgium.

When Google determines that a section of a website does not comply with its site reputation policy, that section can be categorised as separate from the main domain for European searchers. Over time, it can then be ranked independently from the rest of the website on its own merits. Within the EEA, the impact of the manual action itself is not applied.

Google says the change follows discussions with the European Commission.

Why does this matter to Belgian businesses?

Because SEO is still sometimes sold as if backlinks and publications on powerful websites were a simple shortcut to better rankings.

That view is becoming increasingly difficult to defend.

A mention or high-quality backlink from a relevant website can of course still be valuable. But paying to place content on a strong domain primarily to benefit from that domain's authority is something different.

Google is targeting that kind of behaviour through its site reputation abuse policy.

Does this mean guest posts and sponsored content are bad?

No.

A guest article can be genuinely useful when it provides real information to the website's visitors. The same applies to partnerships, interviews and sponsored content.

The problem arises when content exists primarily to manipulate search results by piggybacking on the host site's existing ranking signals.

The better question for businesses is therefore not:

“Which strong website can we publish an article on?”

but:

“Why would someone genuinely want to read this article?”

That difference may seem small, but it is fundamental to sustainable SEO.

What does this mean for your own website's SEO?

The safest long-term strategy remains to build as much value as possible on your own website.

That includes:

• useful pages that answer real customer questions;
• clear information about your services and expertise;
• technically sound and fast pages;
• original and relevant content;
• a logical website structure;
• trustworthy external mentions and links;
• content written for people rather than solely for search engines.

SEO does not necessarily become easier as a result. But businesses that consistently treat their website as a valuable digital channel are less dependent on temporary shortcuts.

What does this mean for Jolly Worx clients?

At Jolly Worx, we do not see SEO as a collection of tricks for outsmarting Google.

A good website should first and foremost be clear, fast and useful to potential customers. A solid technical foundation, relevant content and thoughtful structure then help search engines understand that information correctly.

Google can continue changing its algorithms and rules. A website that genuinely provides value to its visitors has a much stronger foundation than one that depends on shortcuts.

Webdesign That Works.