Google has officially released the December 2025 Core Update, marking the third core update of this year and the fourth confirmed Google algorithm update in 2025. Earlier this year we saw the March 2025 Core Update, the June 2025 Core Update, and the August 2025 Spam Update, and now Google is closing out the year with another major adjustment to its ranking systems.

In Google’s announcement, the company stated:

“Just now, we delivered the core update of December 2025. This rollout can take up to three weeks to finish.
Additionally, Google announced in a post on LinkedIn that this algorithm update “is a regular core update aimed at making it easier to find useful and satisfying content on all types of sites.

Core updates relate to general enhancements in Google’s search algorithm. These updates occur a number of times in a year. They result in marked changes in search rankings, either for better or for worse. That’s why it’s announced in public that a core search update has occurred. This has far-reaching effects on many sites.

What to do if your rankings drop

Google has not offered any new, update-specific guidance. However, their long-standing recommendations still apply:

• A drop in rankings does not necessarily mean your content is “wrong” or violates guidelines.
• No direct ways that will lead to an immediate improvement of rankings.
• Google recommends that you check their own list of questions for assessing content quality.

Some sites might experience a partial revival in weeks to come, but substantial revival would occur in a Core Update.

Google continues to emphasize a single long-term strategy:

Produce valuable, trustworthy, and people-centered content, and not search engine manipulation-oriented content.

If your site provides value, has depth, and is trustworthy, you are already doing what Google wants to reward for in this series of updates.

In other words, the message from Google has not changed; it has been the same all along: help people with your content, not search engines.

Again, Google reminded that there is no further action that needs to be taken for this update. “If your site is putting out valuable, trustworthy, people-centric content, then you’re on the right course.”

Nevertheless, assuming that your rankings are no longer what you would like, Google urges that you look over their advice on how to provide valuable, trustworthy, and user-centric content. To help anyone interested in understanding how core updates affect evaluation of relevance, quality, and user satisfaction, Google has published comprehensive documentation on how these updates function.

Previous core updates. 

• The June 2025 core update was on June 30 and ended on July 17.
• The March 2025 core update was on Mar. 13 and ended on Mar. 27.
• The December 2024 core update was on Dec. 12 and ended on Dec. 18.
• The November 2024 core update was on Nov. 11 and ended on Dec. 5.
• The August 2024 core update was on Aug. 15 and ended on Sept. 3.
• The March 2024 core update was on March 5 and ended on April 19.
• The November 2023 core update was on Nov. 2 and ended on Nov. 28.
• The October 2023 core update was on Oct. 5 and ended on Oct. 19
• The August 2023 core update was on Aug. 22 and ended Sept. 7.
• The March 2023 core update was on March 15 and ended March 28.

How to Prepare During the Rollout

While the update is rolling out, consider:

• Monitoring Search Console for impression/click changes
• Reviewing pages with declining rankings
• Updating thin or outdated pages
• Ensuring your content demonstrates topical authority
• Refreshing core landing pages with new insights, examples, or data
• Strengthening author bios and EEAT signals

Why This Update Matters

Core updates are known to make a noticeable change in search engine rankings in Google. This is common as you witness erratic rankings, fluctuations, and changes in traffic owing to re-evaluations performed by Google on contents available on the web. This upgrade, in an ideal situation, ensures that superior, “people-first” content gets boosted.

Meanwhile, there are also some sites that experience drops and fluctuations in this rollout. This does not necessarily mean that there is a problem, but rather it’s due to how core updates affect their systems.

Overall, we are hopeful that this upgrade brings a positive momentum in which it rewards those websites which provide value, accuracy, and trustworthy information.

There has been a considerable period of time since Google has done a core update, but despite anticipations of many that 2019 would see many updates, it proved to be a slower year for Google, making this December update even more imperative.