If you’re here, you already understand how critical strong SEO and GEO strategies are for success on Google — the undisputed leader in global search. For digital marketers, content creators and SEO professionals, staying visible and competitive online means keeping up with every major algorithm shift. Google’s June 2025 Core Update is no exception.
As the search giant refines how it ranks and surfaces content, your website, content and digital presence must adapt or risk falling behind. To maintain rankings, traffic and authority, it’s time to break down what this latest update means and how to evolve your strategy moving forward.
What’s New? The Core Update That Will Shake Things Up
As usual, Google hasn’t detailed what exactly is in its June 2025 Core Update, leaving site owners and SEO experts in observation mode. Rolled out on June 30, the update completed on July 17, taking more than two weeks to roll out (shorter than the expected three-week timeline).
So far, it’s brought significant SERP volatility — shifts in rankings across industries and thousands of keywords. In the U.S., fluctuations are high, while Europe has seen minimal movement, suggesting a staggered or region-specific rollout. Notably, informational content sites are losing visibility to larger, more established publishers.
AI visibility is also shifting. AI Overviews have reached 20% visibility in certain niches, while zero-click searches have surged from 56% to 69%. Sector-specific impact varies: Health sites, often hit hard during Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) updates, are showing stability this time. Real estate also remains steady. But arts and entertainment? They’re facing major disruptions — early signals that this update may be rewriting content authority rules.
What Can Site Owners Expect?
Every major Google update brings performance shifts, and this one is no different. AI Overviews are being rapidly integrated into traditional search results, with desktop coverage jumping 9.19% almost overnight. That means changes to your organic traffic, visibility and rankings are likely.
Expect potential impact across areas like high-value keywords, review-based searches, featured snippets and People Also Ask (PAA) boxes. Some sites may gain a boost in traffic; others could drop. These outcomes often hinge on content quality, relevance and site alignment with user intent and satisfaction — factors Google weighs heavily in its updates.
Subscribe to
The Content Marketer
Get weekly insights, advice and opinions about all things digital marketing.
Thanks for subscribing! Keep an eye out for a Welcome email from us shortly. If you don’t see it come through, check your spam folder and mark the email as “not spam.”
5 Factors That Cause Ranking Drops
If your site is experiencing ranking drops, five major culprits are often to blame: Outdated information, thin content, poor E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), low-quality backlink profiles and technical debt.
While some technical SEO fixes may help, Google consistently advises against relying on “quick fixes.” Instead, focus on delivering helpful, reliable and people-first content across your entire site — especially on high-impact pages most vulnerable to algorithm shifts.
If you’re seeing a sudden dip in traffic or performance, don’t panic. Avoid knee-jerk changes. Instead, monitor progress via Google’s Search Status Dashboard. Also, analyze performance by search type, like Web, Images, Video or News, to better understand where drops are occurring. Make use of Google’s self-assessment guidance to determine whether your content truly aligns with what the algorithm values most.
When you’re hit by a Core Update, or simply aiming to improve, start here:
- Conduct content audits to ensure everything is accurate, useful and aligned with Google’s quality expectations.
- Improve internal linking to distribute authority more effectively and support better crawling.
- Monitor rankings and traffic trends, but hold off on changes until the update stabilizes.
- Review user experience (UX) metrics like page speed, mobile-friendliness and site navigation.
Adapt, Optimize and Win: Your Post-Update Action Plan
To recover, adapt and grow after a big Core Update, focus on content that demonstrates clear E-E-A-T. These are the core signals Google values. Prioritize helpful, people-first content and technical best practices to position your site for long-term visibility and algorithm resilience.