--- title: "Payday loan update (2013): what it changed and what it means now" url: https://seomadman.com/updates/payday-loan-update-2013 section: updates language: en published: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z author: Adam Hafez topics: ["Link building"] --- # Payday loan update (2013): what it changed and what it means now ## The short answer Google started a ranking update for heavily spammed queries such as payday loans on 11 June 2013, confirmed by Matt Cutts on X. He said it affected about 0.3% of US queries and up to 4% of Turkish queries. Google never named it; the industry called it the Payday loan update. Google's spam systems still cover this ground. ## Key takeaways - Matt Cutts posted on X on 11 June 2013 that Google had started a ranking update for spammy queries. - It targeted heavily spammed queries such as payday loans and some pornographic searches. - Cutts said it affected roughly 0.3% of US queries and up to 4% of Turkish queries. - Google never named it; Payday loan update is a name the SEO industry adopted. - Google's spam detection systems and spam policies now cover the tactics it targeted. ## What Google changed Google did not blog about this update. Matt Cutts, then head of Google's webspam team, confirmed it [on X](https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/344574964365672448) on 11 June 2013: "We just started a new ranking update today for some spammy queries." He had previewed it in an earlier video. [Search Engine Land](https://searchengineland.com/google-pay-day-loan-algorithm-google-search-algorithm-update-to-target-spammy-queries-162941) reported that the target was heavily spammed queries such as [payday loan] and some pornographic searches. Speaking at SMX Advanced, Cutts explained that it went after unique link schemes, many of them illegal, and that it was rolling out globally, not only in the US. ## When it rolled out Cutts said the update started on 11 June 2013. Google stated no completion date. Search Engine Land linked and quoted the post in its launch-day story. Google never named it. Cutts called it a ranking update "for some spammy queries." Search Engine Land's launch-day headline called it the Payday Loan Algorithm, and the name the SEO industry adopted stuck. ## What is known about its impact The figures came from Google, through Cutts at SMX Advanced as reported by Search Engine Land: the update affected roughly 0.3% of US queries, and as much as 4% of Turkish queries, where webspam is typically higher. Google gave no figures on how many sites lost rankings. ## What site owners should do No payday loan system appears in Google's current documentation. Its [ranking systems guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide) says spam detection systems, including SpamBrain, deal with content and behaviors that violate its [spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies). If you work in a competitive, heavily spammed niche: - Do not buy links or use link schemes; they are link spam under Google's policies. - Avoid scaled content abuse: many pages made to manipulate rankings rather than help users. - Compete on real service and useful information rather than on volume of pages or links. ## How to check whether it affected you This is historical: Search Console keeps 16 months of data, so it cannot show June 2013. If you kept analytics from then, compare organic Google traffic for a week before 11 June 2013 with a week in late June. The [Google Algorithm Updates timeline](/updates) lists the other updates of 2013, so you can rule them out first. ## Later refreshes - **Payday Loan 2.0** (confirmed 20 May 2014): Google said it began rolling out "over the weekend" and noticeably affected about 0.2% of English queries. - **Payday Loan 3.0** (12 June 2014): Matt Cutts said 2.0 targeted spammy sites, while 3.0 targeted spammy queries. ## Related updates - The [exact match domain update](/updates/exact-match-domain-update-2012) was the spam-focused change before it. - [Hummingbird](/updates/hummingbird-2013) was the next confirmed change, later in 2013. - [Penguin 4.0](/updates/penguin-4-update-2016) was the next major link spam change, in 2016. ## Frequently asked questions ### When did the Payday loan update launch? Matt Cutts posted on X on 11 June 2013 that Google had started the update that day. Google did not state a completion date. ### Why is it called the Payday loan update? Google never named it. Cutts described it only as a ranking update for some spammy queries. Search Engine Land used Payday Loan Algorithm in its launch-day headline, and the industry adopted the name. ### Which searches did the Payday loan update affect? Heavily spammed queries such as payday loans and some pornographic searches. Cutts said roughly 0.3% of US queries were affected, rising to 4% for Turkish queries, where webspam is typically higher. ### Does the Payday loan update still exist? Not as a named system. Google's ranking systems guide says its spam detection systems, including SpamBrain, deal with content and behaviors that violate its spam policies, and are constantly updated. ## Sources 1. [Matt Cutts on X: We just started a new ranking update today for some spammy queries](https://twitter.com/mattcutts/status/344574964365672448) - Matt Cutts (Google), X (primary) 2. [Google Payday Loan Algorithm: Google Search Algorithm Update To Target Spammy Queries](https://searchengineland.com/google-pay-day-loan-algorithm-google-search-algorithm-update-to-target-spammy-queries-162941) - Search Engine Land 3. [A guide to Google Search ranking systems](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide) - Google Search Central (primary) 4. [Spam policies for Google web search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) - Google Search Central (primary) 5. [Official: Google Payday Loan Algorithm 2.0 Launched: Targets "Very Spammy Queries"](https://searchengineland.com/official-google-payday-loan-algorithm-2-0-launched-targets-spammy-queries-192027) - Search Engine Land 6. [Google Launches Version 3 Of Spam Algorithm Today: Targets Spammy Queries](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-payday-loan-3-spam-18695.html) - Search Engine Roundtable