Google has officially completed its December 2025 core algorithm update, wrapping up the 18-day rollout on December 29, 2025. The update, which began on December 11, marked the third major core algorithm change of the year. According to Google, the goal of this update is to improve the relevance of search rankings by surfacing more satisfying and useful content for users worldwide.
During the rollout, significant volatility in search rankings was reported, with noticeable fluctuations observed on December 13 and December 20, as noted by Search Engine Land. The update impacted a broad range of stakeholders, including website owners, SEO professionals, digital publishers, and content creators, regardless of the size or age of their websites. Some publishers reported severe traffic declines, with Google Discover traffic falling by up to 85% for affected platforms.
The latest core update aims to refine the way Google ranks websites, allowing higher-quality content to achieve better visibility in search results. In conjunction with this update, Google revised its core updates documentation to include references to ongoing algorithmic changes, signaling that ranking improvements can occur outside scheduled core updates.
This latest development underscores the continued importance of crafting relevant, engaging content and maintaining an optimized web presence. While newer websites faced challenges in maintaining their visibility, even established platforms dealt with steep traffic drops, indicating the wide-reaching implications of these changes.
For agencies, SEO professionals, WordPress site owners, and small business marketers, adapting to core updates is critical. Monitoring performance metrics and implementing SEO best practices can help mitigate traffic volatility.
ContentBoost Plugin can assist website owners in creating optimized content that aligns with evolving search engine priorities.
Source: PPC Land
Source: PPC Land
