Source: Update to the Site Reputation Policy, Google Search Central, 28 August 2026. Last checked 30 August 2026; the source may have moved on since.
Google has announced an update to its site reputation policy. For anyone responsible for small business website content, the useful starting point is simple: know what appears on your site, who supplied it and why it is there. The announcement is available from Google Search Central.
Google says it introduced the policy to address third-party content placed on a trusted website primarily to use that website’s reputation to rank higher in Search. According to the summary, this can harm search quality and create a poor experience for visitors.
The supplied announcement does not say which types of pages, websites or publishing arrangements are affected. It does not give detailed instructions for reviewing a site, explain how the update will be applied, or say what a site owner should do with a particular page. Do not assume details that have not been published.
Check your small business website content
A small business site often has a simpler job than a large publishing site. It should explain what you do, where you work, how a customer can get in touch and what they need to know before enquiring. Content from outside your business can still need a place, but its purpose should be clear to a visitor.
Start with a practical inventory. Look at every page that was not written specifically for your business, including articles supplied by an agency, partner pages, sponsored material, directory-style pages and guides copied from elsewhere. For each one, ask:
- Would a potential customer find this useful on this website?
- Does it relate directly to what the business offers?
- Is it clear who created it and why it has been published?
- Would you still keep it if search traffic was not part of the decision?
These questions do not interpret Google’s policy. They help you make a sensible publishing decision from the visitor’s point of view.
A page written by a supplier may be helpful when it explains a product you actually use, a service you genuinely provide or a local issue your customers ask about. It becomes harder to justify when it is only loosely connected to the business, leads visitors away from what they came to find, or exists mainly because somebody else wants visibility.
Keep ownership of your publishing decisions. If an outside company asks to place an article or page on your domain, get a clear answer on what it says, who it is for, what links it contains and whether you can edit or remove it. Do not agree to publish material you would be uncomfortable showing to a customer in person.
Make every page earn its place
This is also a good moment to review your own pages. Old service descriptions, repeated location pages and unfinished articles can make it difficult for visitors to understand the business. Remove pages that no longer serve a purpose, improve pages that answer real customer questions and combine overlapping pages where that creates a clearer route to an enquiry.
Focus first on the pages closest to a customer decision: your main services, areas served, examples of work where appropriate, contact page and enquiry form. Explain the work in your own words. Use details you can stand behind. Where information needs confirmation, such as a price, opening time or qualification, confirm it before publishing rather than filling the gap with a guess.
If you are planning a clearer site structure rather than patching an old one, see how Ermaz websites are planned from a plain-language brief. If you would rather have regular help with publishing and maintenance, review Website Care pricing before deciding what ongoing support suits you.
Questions about third-party website content
Does this mean I should remove every page written by someone else?
No conclusion that broad can be drawn from the supplied announcement. Review each page’s purpose, relevance and value to your customers, then make a decision you can explain clearly.
Can I publish an article from a supplier or partner?
The announcement does not give a specific test for this. Before publishing, make sure it relates directly to your business and gives visitors a genuine reason to read it on your site.
What should I do if I do not know who added a page?
Find out before leaving it live. Check your website records, ask anyone who previously managed the site and review the page’s links, wording and role in the customer journey.
Should I change my website because of this update?
A rushed change is rarely useful. Start by checking unfamiliar, irrelevant or externally supplied content, then improve or remove pages based on a clear reason rather than guesswork.
Your website should be a useful record of your business, not a place where unrelated material gathers over time. A careful review now gives you a cleaner site and clearer decisions whenever someone asks to publish on it.
Questions people ask
Does this mean I should remove every page written by someone else?
No conclusion that broad can be drawn from the supplied announcement. Review each page’s purpose, relevance and value to your customers, then make a decision you can explain clearly.
Can I publish an article from a supplier or partner?
The announcement does not give a specific test for this. Before publishing, make sure it relates directly to your business and gives visitors a genuine reason to read it on your site.
What should I do if I do not know who added a page?
Find out before leaving it live. Check your website records, ask anyone who previously managed the site and review the page’s links, wording and role in the customer journey.
Should I change my website because of this update?
A rushed change is rarely useful. Start by checking unfamiliar, irrelevant or externally supplied content, then improve or remove pages based on a clear reason rather than guesswork.
