Google Attribution (Scraper) Update (January 2011): What It Was and What It Means Today

The Google Attribution Update, also called the Scraper Update, rolled out around 28 January 2011. It was an algorithm change to push down low-quality sites that copied other people’s content, so the original source was more likely to rank. It affected about 2% of queries and came a month before Panda, which makes it the opening move of Google’s 2011 clean-up.

For the wider picture, see my full list of Google algorithm updates.

Detail	Information
Update name	Google Attribution (Scraper) Update
Type	Spam (scraper and duplicate content)
Rollout started	Around 28 January 2011 (Search Engine Land)
Rollout finished	Not announced
Rollout length	Not known
Confirmed by Google	Yes: Google confirmed the change; about 2% of queries affected (per Wikipedia)
Official source	Search Engine Land update library

What the Attribution Update changed

By late 2010 Google was under steady criticism that its results were full of spam: content farms, auto-generated pages and scrapers that lifted articles wholesale and sometimes outranked the sites that wrote them. On 21 January 2011 Google published a blog post promising more action on spam. A week later this change arrived.

Its job was attribution: when the same text appears on several sites, work out which one is the original and rank that one, and push the copies down. Barry Schwartz’s update list calls it the “Scraper Filter”, which is a fair summary. It was a targeted change rather than a broad quality reassessment; that came with Panda in February 2011.

What it was not: a penalty on every site with some quoted or syndicated text. The target was sites whose value came from copying others.

Timeline

Date	What happened
21 January 2011	Google blog post promising more action against spam and low-quality content
Around 28 January 2011	Attribution / scraper algorithm change goes live, about 2% of queries affected
February 2011	Panda launches, taking on low-quality and shallow sites more broadly
Later	Google asks users to report scraper sites that outrank the original

Who was affected

• Losers: scraper sites, auto-blogs pulling RSS feeds, and sites republishing articles without permission or added value.
• Intended winners: original publishers whose work had been copied and outranked.

Wikipedia puts the scope at about 2% of queries, much smaller than Panda’s first release, but very noticeable to anyone whose business model was copying.

How to tell if the Attribution Update hit your site

The pattern to look for, then and now, is duplicate content losing to its original source. Here is how I check it today:

1. Take a sample of affected pages. In Search Console, compare clicks for the two weeks before and after the drop, sorted by page, and pick the biggest losers.
2. Search a sentence from each in quotes. If the same text appears on other sites, note who published first and who now ranks.
3. Check the Page Indexing report. Look for “Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user. That is Google telling you it thinks another URL is the original.
4. Check the reverse case. If you are the original and scrapers outrank you, your issue may be crawlability or authority, not copying. A technical SEO review usually finds why Google is not seeing your page first.

How to recover from the Attribution Update

If your site republished others’ content

1. Stop scraping or auto-publishing feeds. There is no version of this that holds up.
2. List every page whose main content exists elsewhere. Either rewrite it with genuine original value (your own analysis, data, photos, examples) or remove or noindex it.
3. For content you syndicate with permission, ask the original publisher’s approval to use a canonical link to their URL, or add substantial commentary of your own.
4. Rebuild the site around what only you can say. Wait for recrawling; there is no request form for an algorithmic change.

If you are the original being outranked

• Publish and get pages indexed quickly: XML sitemap, internal links from your home page and category pages to new posts.
• Use self-referencing canonical tags and absolute internal links, which scrapers often copy back to you.
• Where a site is copying you, the DMCA process through Google is an option for clear copyright infringement.

Is it still relevant today?

Yes. Google’s ranking systems guide lists “original content systems” and “deduplication systems” as current systems. The first tries to surface original reporting over those who only cite it; the second avoids showing near-identical pages. With AI rewriting tools making it easy to spin someone else’s article, the risk is greater now than in 2011. A page that rewords the top results without adding anything is the modern scraper.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Google scraper update?

Around 28 January 2011, according to Search Engine Land. It followed Google’s 21 January 2011 blog post on spam.

Is the Attribution Update the same as Panda?

No. It came about a month before Panda and focused on copied content. Panda, from February 2011, judged overall site quality.

Does duplicate content cause a penalty?

Ordinary duplication, such as printer versions or product variants, is filtered rather than penalised. Sites built on copying others are what this update demoted.

What should I do if a scraper outranks me?

Make sure your page is indexed first and well linked internally, use canonical tags, and use Google’s copyright removal process for clear infringement.

Sources

• Search Engine Land: Google algorithm updates library
• Wikipedia: Timeline of Google Search
• Search Engine Roundtable: Google updates
• Wordtracker: Google’s notable ranking systems

If your pages are losing to copies of your own content, or you are not sure which of your pages Google sees as duplicates, request a free audit. My SEO audit services include a full duplicate and canonical check.