Google June 2025 Core Update: What you need to know
A major update to Google’s search results rolled out from June 30 to July 17, 2025. Winners and losers are emerging. No need to panic, but one thing is clear: the era of "average" content is over.
Rollout complete, impact confirmed
The Google June 2025 Core Update started on June 30 at 7:34 AM (PDT) and officially ended on July 17 at 1:00 AM, according to Google’s status page.
It’s the first major core update since March, and it seems to have affected a wide range of sites across nearly every vertical.
Heavy SERP volatility
Tracking tools like Semrush, Sistrix, and RankRanger reported significant ranking volatility between July 2 and 14, with notable turbulence in e-commerce, finance, health, education, and editorial content.
Sites with strong perceived authority and well-structured content gained visibility, while generic or repurposed content hubs saw sharp drops.
The signals that matter (even more now)
This update appears to have centered on three key criteria:
- Perceived content quality, especially regarding E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness.
- Ability to clearly and usefully match search intent, especially with the rise of featured snippets and AI Overviews.
- Originality and real added value, in contrast to mass-produced or over-optimized content designed more for bots than for humans.
Losses, but also recoveries
Interestingly, some sites previously hit by core updates (including the tough one in March 2024) seem to be recovering.
This suggests Google may be rewarding genuine efforts to improve content quality, structure, and trust signals over time.
What you should (and shouldn’t) do
Google continues to emphasize: core update losses are not penalties.
They reflect a change in how content is assessed — not a direct punishment.
But this is a good time to:
- Audit your biggest gains and losses to identify patterns;
- Check your alignment with Google’s Helpful Content Guidelines;
- Update or rewrite outdated or weak pages;
- Reinforce credibility: show real authorship, cite sources, give context, demonstrate actual experience.