New Delhi, April 15 -- Google has drawn a hard line in the sand - and for publishers, developers, and SEO teams, the message is unmistakable: fix deceptive navigation practices now or risk disappearing from search.

a policy shift that could reshape how millions of pages behave online.

The crackdown targets a long-criticized tactic in which websites interfere with a user's browser navigation, preventing them from returning to previous pages - often trapping them in loops of ads, redirects, or unwanted content. Google has now formally classified the practice under its malicious practices spam policy, elevating it to a serious violation with direct ranking consequences.

This shift marks one of the most aggressive search quality moves in r...