Google Confirms Ignoring Spam Scores Is Acceptable

John Mueller from Google recently addressed a question on Reddit regarding how to lower a website’s spam score. His response highlighted an important perspective on the relevance of third-party spam scores and how they correlate with Google’s website ranking process.

What Is a Spam Score?

A spam score is an evaluation provided by third-party tools that assess factors like inbound links and on-page elements, based on the tool developers’ understanding of what may indicate spam. While there is general agreement on some aspects of SEO, much of it remains a point of debate among digital marketers.

The key issue is that third-party tools assign spam scores based on factors that are not publicly disclosed. This means these scores are based on metrics that may or may not align with how search engines, like Google, evaluate website quality—introducing a layer of uncertainty.

Should You Be Concerned About Spam Scores?

A Reddit user asked whether they should be concerned about their third-party spam score and how to improve it. The question was:

“My website is under 6 months old with fewer than 60 blog posts. I checked with a tool, and it says I have 302 links and 52 referring domains. I’m worried about the spam score. What can I do to reduce it, and how bad is a high spam score?”

John Mueller responded:
“I wouldn’t worry about that spam score. The real challenges you’ll face will likely be ones you didn’t expect—the ones that catch you off guard on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.”

Mueller elaborated further:

“To be more specific—Google doesn’t use these spam scores. You can choose to do whatever you like with them, but they won’t have any impact on your site’s performance. Instead, focus on making a small part of your site truly outstanding, then figure out what it would take to bring the rest of your site up to that standard. The spam score won’t help you with that. Just ignore it.”

Spam Scores Don’t Reflect Website Quality

John Mueller’s advice is spot on—third-party spam scores are not an accurate reflection of a website’s quality. They’re simply opinions based on what the developers of these tools consider to be indicators of spam, and those opinions may be outdated or incomplete. The exact factors used to calculate these scores are proprietary, so we can’t even be sure how reliable they are.

Moreover, there is no universal agreement on what constitutes a “ranking factor” or how to define on-page and off-page elements. The notion of “ranking factors” has become increasingly debatable, as Google now uses various signals to assess trustworthiness and relies on advanced systems, such as core topicality algorithms and SpamBrain (an AI system), to identify low-quality sites. This approach moves far beyond the traditional notion of ranking factors.

Additionally, commonly referenced lists of “200 ranking factors” often contain inaccuracies or outdated ideas, based on obsolete understandings of how search engines function. Search engines are evolving to use more nuanced systems for interpreting web pages and search queries. Given this shift, it’s clear that spam scores from third-party tools are not as important as they might seem.

In conclusion, Mueller’s point holds true: don’t lose sleep over spam scores.

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