# A new, improved form for reporting webspam

Monday, August 08, 2011

> [!IMPORTANT]
> It's been a while since we published this blog post. Some of the information may be outdated (for example, some images may be missing, and some links may not work anymore).


Everyone on the web knows how frustrating it is to perform a search and find websites gaming the
search results. These websites can be considered webspam - sites that violate Google's Webmaster
Guidelines and try to trick Google into ranking them highly. Here at Google, we work hard to keep
these sites out of your search results, but if you still see them, you can notify us by using our
webspam report form. We've just rolled out a new, improved
[webspam report form](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/report-spam), so it's now easier
than ever to help us maintain the quality of our search results. Let's take a look at some of our
new form's features:

## Option to report various search issues


There are many search results, such as sites with malware and phishing, that are not necessarily
webspam but still degrade the search experience. We've noticed that our users sometimes report
these other issues using our webspam report form, causing a delay between when a user reports the
issue and when the appropriate team at Google handles it. The new form's
[interstitial page](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/report-spam)
allows you to report these other search issues directly to the correct teams so that they can
address your concerns in a timely manner.

## Simplified form with informative links


To improve the readability of
[the form](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/report-spam), we've made the text more
concise, and we've integrated helpful links into the form's instructions. Now, the ability to
look up our
[Webmaster Guidelines](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials), get
advice on
[writing actionable form comments](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2010/11/how-to-help-google-identify-web-spam),
and
[block sites from your personalized search results](https://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&guide=1224171&answer=1210386&rd=1)
is just one click away.

## Thank you page with personalization options


Some of our most valuable information comes from our users, and we appreciate the webspam
reports you submit to us. The thank you page explains what happens once we've received your
webspam report. If you want to report more webspam, there's a link back to the form page and
instructions on how to report webspam more efficiently with the
[Chrome Webspam Report Extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/efinmbicabejjhjafeidhfbojhnfiepj).
We also provide information on how you can immediately block the site you've reported from your
personalized search results, for example, by
[managing blocked sites](https://www.google.com/reviews/t)
in your Google Account.


At Google, we strive to provide the highest quality, most relevant search results, so we take your
webspam reports very seriously. We hope our new form makes the experience of reporting webspam as
painless as possible (and if it doesn't, let us know in the comments).

Posted by Jen Lee and [Alissa Roberts](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alissa-roberts-brodetzki/), Search Quality Team