Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
In early December 2025, Google announced a new core update to its search ranking system. The update began on 11 December 2025 and is expected to take up to three weeks to fully roll out. Core updates affect how websites appear in search results globally and can cause noticeable changes in visibility and traffic.
This December update is the third major core update of 2025, following earlier updates earlier in the year. Like previous updates, it applies broadly across industries rather than targeting one specific type of website or content.
Google has described this update as a routine improvement designed to show more useful and relevant results for people using search.
What a core update actually means
A core update is a wide-ranging change to how Google evaluates content. It does not penalise individual websites and it is not aimed at specific tactics. Instead, Google adjusts how it judges relevance, usefulness and quality across the web.
As a result, some websites may see rankings improve while others may drop, even if nothing has changed on the site itself. These shifts are a normal part of how search evolves.
What marketers should expect
During the rollout period, it is common to see rankings and traffic fluctuate. Search performance can feel unstable until the update has fully completed and the results settle.
The main things marketing teams may notice include:
- movement in keyword rankings across important pages
- changes in organic traffic without any clear on-site cause
- short-term volatility that smooths out after rollout ends
Longer term, core updates tend to reward content that is clearly written, genuinely helpful and closely aligned with what people are actually searching for.
What to do if performance drops
Google’s guidance remains consistent. There is no single fix or quick action required if rankings decline during a core update.
Instead, teams should take a measured approach. That means reviewing content quality, checking whether pages answer user questions clearly, and ensuring the overall experience on key pages is strong. Overreacting during the rollout phase often causes more harm than good.
Monitoring trends over weeks rather than days gives a much clearer picture of whether changes are temporary or part of a longer shift.
The bigger picture
Core updates like this are part of Google’s ongoing effort to improve search results. They will continue to happen regularly and will continue to create winners and losers in the short term.
For non-technical marketing teams, the most important takeaway is consistency. Brands that focus on clear messaging, useful content and genuine value for users tend to be more resilient when these updates roll out.
