The first half of 2025 has been pretty bumpy, with some major ups and downs in rankings after the March 2025 Core Update and its follow-up in June 2025.
So, what’s the deal with these new updates?
Google’s really ramping up its game to get rid of all that “unhelpful” and junky content, and it’s shaking things up in search results, causing quite a buzz in the SEO world!
The March 2025 Core Update
The March update hit the scene with a bang, and right off the bat, people were noticing one big thing…
Google is getting way better at spotting and pushing down content that doesn’t really do much for users.
The algorithm targeted websites that used to score big with black hat strategies like:
- Churning out tons of articles on the same stuff, usually just rehashing what’s already out there.
- Copying, spinning, or aggregating content without adding unique insights, research, or a fresh perspective.
- Filling articles with grammatical errors, poor structure, lack of depth, or misleading information.
…they all began to see their rankings plummet, so fast, you would have thought they were hit by giant missile!
It was a real eye-opener for a lot of businesses, driving home the point that just cranking out more trashy content will only do more harm than good.
The June 2025 Core Update
The March update got things rolling, but the June 2025 Core Update really took it up a notch.
The update basically fine-tuned and improved on what was already set in March.
It showed that Google was serious about prioritizing content that’s actually helpful, high-quality, and original.
It was as if Google was saying, “We’re not joking—we’re going to make the search results better!”
The impact was immediate and, for some, devastating.
Websites that managed to weather the March update, perhaps due to a slower rollout of the algorithm or less direct targeting, found themselves caught in the June wave and saw further declines.
So Who Was Most Impacted?
The sites that got hit hard by these updates usually had some things in common:
- They either ran content farms out of junk content and let robots do the writing. Or they would just copy and paste stuff from other websites without adding anything worthwhile.
- They were affiliate sites, especially those thrown together just to game the SEO system. They often lacked any real unique reviews or insights.
- They were sites with keyword-Stuffed, unnatural Content. The latest updates heavily cracked down on those kind of domains that crammed content with keywords in the hopes of gaming the system.
- Sites that attempted to artificially inflate rankings through link schemes, cloaking, or other deceptive practices.
Look..the bottom line is, although AI content is getting better, any text that’s 100% cranked out by machines and not touched by human hands will be ignored. Or worse, penalized!
Google’s algorithms are becoming increasingly sharper and can sniff out unoriginal materials, no matter if it was made by a person or a robot.
So if you’re trying to bounce back or even shine in this new online world, Google’s got one straightforward tip:
Deliver what your users really want.
Sounds like it’s time to really lean into E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) because nailing these points is more important now than ever.
Here are some key recommendations for adapting:
Focus on putting out content that brings fresh ideas, thorough research, cool viewpoints, or actual experiences to the table.
Whilst doing so, think about being helpful and ask yourself if your content really answers someone’s question the right way, or gives a unique perk.
It’s important to make sure your content is written by people who actually know what they are talking about and have some real experience.
You can even mention the authors and share their credentials, in a nice lil byline!
Whatever you, just be real, share the facts, and back up what you say.
Go for white-hat SEO methods – think about building links the right way, keeping your website technically solid, and churning out great content instead of trying to cheat the system.
The March and June 2025 Core Updates are a big deal in Google’s journey to build a more helpful and trustworthy internet.
This shake-up is a solid reminder that it’s really about giving users the best information and experience possible.
If you take this idea to heart, you’ll definitely be the one of the few who comes out on top in the future.
