The December 2025 Google Core Algorithm Update is now live and will take up to three weeks to complete.

Highlights

  • Google confirmed the December 2025 core update at 09:25 PST on 11 Dec 2025
  • The December 2025 core update will take up to three weeks to complete
  • This is the third core update for 2025 with the previous two coming in June and March
  • Google has not provided any ‘specific’ guidance – this is a “normal” core update
  • The goal of the core update is to “satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites”
  • Core updates affect all sites, regions, and languages

Google made the announcement through X where it said:

“Today we released the December 2025 core update. We’ll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete”.

December 2025 Google Core Algorithm Update Announcements

The post directs users to the Google Search Status Dashboard where the “Incident affecting Ranking” was reported to have started at 09:25 PST on 11 Dec 2025.

The Google Search Central LinkedIn Account also confirmed the update with a slightly longer – although not that descriptive, statement – which reads:

Today we released the December 2025 core update to Google Search.

This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.

We’ll update our ranking release history page when the rollout is complete

December 2025 Google Core Algorithm Update Google Search Status Dashboard

What to expect in the December 2025 core update

As with all Google core updates, we do not have a lot to go on at this stage. In most cases, Google does not provide specific guidance around what to expect or look out for in Core Update – and the December 2025 core update is no different.

At this stage, all that we know is that this is a “regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.” That will take up to three weeks to complete.”

Core updates are changes to Google’s ranking systems and are intended to improve the quality of search results. Core updates affect all websites in all regions and languages – so expect to see changes no matter your industry or location.

Key information about Google Core updates

Core updates typically happen 3-4 times each year. The December 2025 Google Core update is the third – and almost certainly final – update for 2025. The previous two core updates for 2025 came in June and May respectively.

  • Core updates affect sites in all languages and regions
  • If you notice changes to your rankings, it does not indicate that you have been “penalised” – it simply means that there have been changes to Google’s ranking systems.
  • Core updates – including the December 2025 core update – can take weeks to roll out but we typically see the biggest changes in the first 3-5 days.
  • Core updates are intended to improve the quality of search results and provide the best experience for Google’s users.

Update: 2025 Core Update – Completed on 29th December

The December 2025 Core update wrapped up on the 29th of December at 11:05 PST after 18 days. Google updated the Google Search Status Dashboard to confirm the completion of the December 2025 Core update:

“The rollout was complete as of December 29, 2025.”

December 2025 Core update wrapped up on the 29th of December at 11:05 PST

As mentioned, this was the third and final Google core update for 2025 and proved to be fairly impactful. The December 2025 Core update was nowhere near as disruptive as the March 2025 core update, however, we did certainly see some volatility around the second week with some major shifts across a number of sites and industries that we keep a close eye on.

Observations and notes from the December 2025 Core update

  • The December core update seemed – from our observation – to double down on content quality.
  • Sites that have historically performed well due to aged, human written content once again prospered through this update.
  • New sites publishing low-quality, AI-assisted or content that did not demonstrate strong E-E-A-T seemed to suffer most.
  • We did not notice an obvious connection between low-quality links and sites being demoted during this update – we believe that content was the main focus.

History of Recent Google Algorithm Updates

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020