BRD Media says a review of 363 tracked search terms across three websites found notable ranking gains during the period surrounding Google's September 2026 spam update. Comparing Semrush Position Tracking data from September 23 with October 12, the agency recorded improvements for dental, medical, law firm marketing and med spa-related queries. The review offers a snapshot of individual sites before and after the rollout, but it does not establish that Google's update caused the gains or identify which of the agency's preceding SEO changes contributed to them.

BRD Media Reports Ranking Gains Across Three Websites

Google began rolling out its September 2026 spam update on September 24 and marked it complete on October 8, according to the company's Search Status Dashboard. BRD Media's analysis compares keyword positions the day before the rollout began with rankings four days after it ended.

The sample includes My Bloomingdale Dentist in Bloomingdale, Illinois, a Chicago men's health clinic and BRD Media's own website. The two practice sites were tracked locally, while the agency's website was tracked nationally across the United States.

According to the agency, My Bloomingdale Dentist improved from position 32 to position eight for "family dentist bloomingdale il," and from position 16 to position three for "dental implants bloomingdale il." The term "implant supported dentures bloomingdale" moved from position four to the top position.

The Chicago men's health clinic also recorded gains for selected service queries. "Acupuncture for men chicago" rose from position 35 to position one, while "chiropractic care for men chicago" improved from position 23 to position seven.

These results suggest that the tracked service pages gained visibility for specific local searches during the measurement window. However, rankings can fluctuate for multiple reasons, including competition, content changes, location, device and ordinary search-system adjustments. The sample does not demonstrate a general trend across dental or healthcare websites.

BRD Media's Own Rankings Also Improved

The agency reported gains for its own commercial search terms during the same period. "Dental SEO," which it estimates receives approximately 6,600 monthly US searches, moved from outside the top 100 to position six. "Dental SEO services," estimated at 2,900 monthly searches, rose from outside the top 100 to position 13.

Selected law firm marketing terms improved as well. "Law firm marketing chicago" moved from position 37 to 10, "Chicago law firm marketing agency" from 30 to nine, and "attorney marketing chicago" from 10 to eight.

BRD Media also says three med spa marketing articles published on October 8 had reached positions one, two and four for their respective target queries by October 12.

The agency describes several SEO activities that preceded these changes, including updating older pages, adding organization and founder structured data, grouping short articles around service pages and submitting disavow files for low-quality backlinks. It also points to press coverage that generated links to its website.

These actions provide context for the ranking changes, but the timing alone cannot establish causation. The review does not isolate the effect of each change, compare results against a control group or show whether the gains persisted beyond October 12.

What the Findings Mean for Local SEO

The most useful takeaway is not that a particular tactic guarantees recovery or ranking gains after a spam update. It is that service-specific pages and clear information about a business can help search engines and prospective customers understand what a site offers.

Google's official guidance on spam updates recommends reviewing its spam policies when a site experiences changes in search visibility. Google also notes that its automated systems operate continuously, so a change in rankings around a named update does not automatically establish that the update caused it.

For dental practices and other local service providers, a practical review can include checking whether each important service has a useful, accurate page; whether location information is clear; whether the business and its ownership are represented accurately; and whether analytics connect organic visibility to calls, appointments and new customers.

Link disavowal, structured data and content restructuring should not be treated as universal fixes. Each should be considered in light of the site's specific issues and Google's published guidance.

Strategic Outlook

BRD Media's review provides a timely case study of ranking movements around Google's September spam update, but its small sample limits the conclusions that can be drawn. The three sites cover different industries and tracking scopes, and the analysis reports selected gains rather than the full distribution of changes across all 363 terms.

For marketing teams, the next step is to extend the measurement window. Rankings observed four days after a rollout ends may not reflect lasting performance, and changes should be evaluated alongside organic traffic, qualified leads and conversions.

The wider lesson for local SEO is to build a site around clear service information, trustworthy business details and useful answers to customers' questions. These fundamentals are more defensible than assuming that any single tactic—whether structured data, content clustering or backlink disavowal—will produce a predictable ranking outcome.

Top Insights

• 363 search terms tracked: BRD Media compared Semrush positions from September 23 and October 12 across a dentist, a men's health clinic and its own agency website.

• Local service terms gained visibility: Selected dental and medical queries improved substantially, including one dental term moving from position four to first and a clinic query moving from 35 to first.

• Agency keywords also advanced: The agency reported moving from outside the top 100 to position six for “dental SEO,” with gains across selected law firm marketing terms.

• Several SEO activities preceded the changes: BRD Media cited page refreshes, structured data, content grouping and backlink disavow files, but did not isolate their individual effects.

• The evidence is preliminary: Three websites and two ranking snapshots cannot establish causation or prove that the reported changes represent the wider search market.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.