An update on Google’s poisoning of search results

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By Ahrefs

Guest Writer

October 22, 2026

Over the past few weeks, we've witnessed an increase in the "poisoning" of search results by Google, where different results are shown to suspected SERP data providers.

This is an industry-wide issue impacting many companies in our space. Depending on the data provider, we're seeing between 5% and 20% of search results affected in this way.

We already have multiple filters in place to detect and reject the abnormal results and request accurate replacements. We're also cleaning up any past results that may have been affected.

We’ll update you on any further developments through dashboard notifications.

Search engines regularly make changes, and what works to get accurate data today may not work tomorrow. We are continually monitoring the situation, and our aim remains to provide the most accurate and actionable data possible.

Please reach out to our customer support team via chat or email ([email protected]) if you need further help.

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