What is Webspam?

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Webspam is the term for webpages that are designed by webmasters to trick search engines and draw users to their websites. In these guidelines, we sometimes refer to webspam as "spam," and webmasters who use deceptive techniques as "spammers." Pages with webspam violate the Quality Guidelines section of Google's Webmaster

Guidelines
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In the coming pages, you will learn how to identify some of the deceptive techniques used to create webspam. Identifying spam is an important rater skill and will allow you to use the Lowest overall quality rating with confidence.
Important: Pages that are clearly spam should receive the Lowest overall PQ rating. However, you can also use the

Lowest PQ rating when the page isn't technically spam.

When to Check for Spam
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You should use the spam detection techniques described in these guidelines when you feel the page needs further investigation.

Because spam pages change so quickly, you will be given links to screenshot examples to help you understand spam and learn how to check for it. You may notice that some examples fall into more than one spam category.
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