The December 2022 link spam update ran from 14 December 2022 to 12 January 2023, taking 29 days. This is the update that changed what a link problem means. Google said SpamBrain would now detect and neutralise unnatural links rather than penalise the sites receiving them, and that affected sites might see ranking changes because the credit those links were passing simply stopped.
Neutralise, not penalise: why the distinction matters
Before this, the mental model for bad links was punishment, and the response was disavow files and removal requests. This update formalised a different model. The links stop counting. Nothing is deducted; the credit is withdrawn.
That has a direct consequence for recovery work. If your rankings were partly built on links that were neutralised, the decline is not a penalty to be lifted. It is a return to what the site earns without them, and no amount of disavowing changes it. The only route back is earning links that do count.
When a disavow file is still the right answer
- You have a manual action for unnatural links. Then a disavow plus documented removal attempts is exactly the process, and a reconsideration request follows.
- You built or bought links yourself and they are still live. Removing what you control comes first; disavow is for what you cannot remove.
- A negative SEO campaign is documented and severe. Rare, and worth evidencing before acting.
Outside those cases, a disavow file is slow to take effect, slow to reverse, and capable of causing harm if legitimate links are included by mistake. The full method is in the backlink audit and disavow guide.
Separating this from the helpful content update
The December 2022 helpful content update overlapped almost entirely, running 5 December to 12 January. Both ended on the same day. If your site has a clean link profile, that one is the likelier cause; if your traffic was concentrated on pages with aggressive link building behind them, this one is.
Told your site has a link penalty?
Since 2022 most link problems are neutralisation rather than penalties, and they need a completely different response. Send your Search Console access and I will tell you which you have.
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Traffic dropped around Dec 14, 2022?
Get a free preliminary diagnosis. I confirm whether this link spam update is the cause before you spend on fixes.