Google Core Updates pose a significant challenge for website operators and search engine optimization (SEO). The March 2025 Core Update has already caused significant changes in search results.
It is important for admin and SEOs to understand and classify the effects and make appropriate adjustments. In this article, we analyze the most important aspects of the March 2025 Core Update, its technical implications, and offer concrete recommendations for website operators to optimize or restore their visibility in search results.
What is a Google Core Update?
A Google Core Update is a comprehensive adjustment to the search algorithms that determine how content is ranked and placed in search results. Unlike smaller, specific updates that target specific aspects such as spam reduction or page experience, core updates involve broader algorithmic changes that can affect search rankings across different industries and languages.
With its core updates, Google wants to ensure that users receive high-quality, relevant, and trustworthy content. As a result, websites with better content and user experiences typically benefit, while those with outdated or low-quality content may see their rankings decline.
The March 2025 Core Update in detail
As usual, Google has been tight-lipped about the specific changes in the core update, confirming only that “the rollout was completed on March 27, 2025.”
Data analysis during the rollout period showed some of the most volatile search results pages (SERPs) of the past twelve months. Tracking systems monitoring tens of thousands of keywords recorded dramatic movements starting in the week of March 10, with further fluctuations towards the end of the update.
What are the most important changes and their implications?
Re-evaluation of forum content
A significant trend emerging from this update is a recalibration of how forum content is evaluated. After around 18 months of increased visibility for forum websites following Google’s “Hidden Gems” update in mid-2023, many forum sites are now experiencing significant losses in visibility. Interestingly, this does not affect Reddit, which continues to gain visibility.
Stricter stance on AI-generated content
Google is taking a stricter stance on low-quality AI-generated content. While they do not penalize AI content per se, a lack of originality, accuracy, and engagement can lead to ranking losses.
E-E-A-T is becoming increasingly important
Expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) remain important factors. Websites that demonstrate expertise, cite sources and authors, and build user trust will benefit from this update.
Penalties for programmatic content
Websites that create large amounts of programmatic pages, especially if they were created primarily for SEO and not for user value, are seeing significant declines. This reinforces Google’s commitment to promoting high-quality, user-centric content.
Which industries and websites are affected?
The March 2025 Core Update has had cross-industry impact, with some sectors more affected than others:
Health & Medicine
Content accuracy and credibility are being reevaluated. For health portals and medical information sites, this means an increased need to verify information through subject matter experts and make sources transparent.
Finance
Trustworthiness and compliance with YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) guidelines are prioritized. Financial institutions and advisory platforms should pay particular attention to compliance with regulatory standards and transparent presentation of financial information.
E-commerce
Shopping and product-related search queries will be refined to better match user intent. Online retailers should optimize their product descriptions and categorizations to be more relevant to specific search queries.
News & media
The authority and credibility of sources will be reviewed. News portals and media websites should emphasize their journalistic standards and ensure the quality of their reporting.
Technical aspects of the update
In addition to content factors, technical aspects are playing an increasingly important role in the evaluation of websites:
Core Web Vitals and page speed
Websites with fast loading times and good Core Web Vitals scores will be favored. Technical websites should place particular emphasis on optimizing LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FID (First Input Delay), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift).
Mobile responsiveness
The mobile user experience remains a critical factor. Websites must work flawlessly on all devices, with the mobile version deserving special attention due to Google’s mobile-first indexing.
Structured data and schema markup
The implementation of structured data helps Google better understand the context and relevance of content. Technical websites should implement relevant schema markup for their specific content types.
Secure browsing and HTTPS
Security aspects such as HTTPS encryption are important not only for user trust but also for ranking. Admins should rely on secure connections and perform regular security audits.
