Google has officially begun rolling out its first core update of 2025—the March 2025 core update. As with previous updates, this rollout is expected to take up to two weeks to complete.
What This Core Update Means
Google describes core updates as regular enhancements to its search algorithms aimed at improving the relevance and quality of search results. In its announcement, Google stated:
“Today we released the March 2025 core update to Google Search. This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites. We also continue our work to surface more content from creators through a series of improvements throughout this year. Some have already happened; additional ones will come later.”
Core updates happen several times a year and often bring significant changes to search rankings. This update follows the December 2024 core update, which was Google’s last major algorithm shift.
What to Do If Your Rankings Are Impacted
Google has not provided new recovery guidance specific to the March 2025 core update. However, if your site experiences ranking fluctuations, here are some key takeaways based on past updates:
- There’s no specific fix if your rankings drop—this doesn’t necessarily mean your site has an issue.
- Google recommends reviewing its list of questions to assess whether your content aligns with its helpful content guidelines.
- Recovery can occur between core updates, but the biggest improvements usually happen after subsequent updates.
- The best strategy remains the same: create helpful, people-first content rather than content designed solely to rank well in search results.
Google emphasized this point in a previous statement:
“There’s nothing new or special that creators need to do for this update as long as they’ve been making satisfying content meant for people. For those that might not be ranking as well, we strongly encourage reading our ‘Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content’ help page.”
For more details, site owners should review Google’s core update documentation.
A Look Back at Recent Core Updates
For context, here’s a timeline of previous core updates:
- December 2024 Core Update: Dec. 12 – Dec. 18
- November 2024 Core Update: Nov. 11 – Dec. 5
- August 2024 Core Update: Aug. 15 – Sept. 3
- March 2024 Core Update: March 5 – April 19 (Google’s largest core update ever)
- November 2023 Core Update: Nov. 2 – Nov. 28
- October 2023 Core Update: Oct. 5 – Oct. 19
- August 2023 Core Update: Aug. 22 – Sept. 7
- March 2023 Core Update: March 15 – March 28
Why This Matters for SEO and Businesses
Core updates can lead to significant ranking volatility. If your website or your clients’ websites see fluctuations, it’s essential to analyze the impact and adjust strategies accordingly. While Google aims to improve search results, these updates can sometimes lead to unexpected ranking shifts.
We hope this update benefits you, bringing increased traffic and conversions. Time will tell whether this update positively impacts the creators Google has been working with in recent months.
Stay tuned for more insights as we monitor the rollout!