Google December 2025 Core Update: What You Need to Know
Google has officially completed the December 2025 Core Update, marking the third—and likely final—core update of the year. The rollout began on December 11, 2025, and wrapped up on December 29, 2025, taking just over 18 days to fully deploy.
According to Google, this was a standard core update aimed at improving how relevant and satisfying content is surfaced for users, across all types of websites.
This update arrived five months after the June 2025 Core Update, which itself followed the March 2025 Core Update, making December the final major algorithm shift of the year.
What Google Confirmed
Google announced the update via its Search Status Dashboard, noting that the rollout could take up to three weeks. The same message was reinforced on LinkedIn, where Google reiterated that the update focuses on rewarding content that genuinely serves users, rather than content designed purely for rankings.
Early Impact & Volatility
Initial ranking changes began appearing around December 13, with another noticeable spike in volatility around December 20. As expected with core updates:
Some websites experienced significant ranking drops
Others saw strong visibility gains
Many sites noticed little to no change
SEO analyst Glenn Gabe has also shared insights and analysis on the December update, which is worth reviewing for deeper context.
What To Do If Your Site Was Affected
Google did not release new, update-specific guidance. However, its long-standing advice still applies:
A ranking drop does not necessarily mean something is “wrong” with your site
There’s no quick fix—recovery often happens over time, especially after future core updates
Improvements are best focused on content quality, relevance, and user satisfaction
Google continues to emphasize creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, rather than optimizing solely for search engines. Sites following this approach are best positioned for long-term stability.
For more detailed guidance, Google recommends reviewing its official documentation on core updates and helpful content.
Recent Google Core Update Timeline
December 2025: Dec 11 – Dec 29
June 2025: Jun 30 – Jul 17
March 2025: Mar 13 – Mar 27
December 2024: Dec 12 – Dec 18
November 2024: Nov 11 – Dec 5
August 2024: Aug 15 – Sept 3
March 2024: Mar 5 – Apr 19
Why This Matters
With the December 2025 update complete, now is the right time to review performance data and assess how your site—or your clients’ sites—were affected. Core updates happen regularly, so ongoing improvement, not short-term reactions, remains the most effective strategy.
Here’s to closing out the year strong—and stepping into the new one with clarity, resilience, and better content.
Let’s have a chat with our team and see how this may impact your business and visibility performance on Google Search and ChatGPT.
