Google Completes its December 2025 Core Update
Google has officially completed rolling out its December 2025 core update, according to the company’s Search Status Dashboard. The rollout started on December 11 and was expected to take up to three weeks to complete.
This was Google’s third core update of 2025, following the March and June core updates earlier in the year. Google has classified the December update as an “incident affecting ranking,” meaning noticeable changes in search visibility are likely during the rollout period.
What Core Updates Mean
Core updates are broad changes to Google’s ranking systems designed to improve overall search result quality. Rather than targeting specific issues like spam or individual ranking factors, these updates adjust how Google’s systems evaluate content across the web.
A Look at 2025’s Earlier Core Updates
March 2025 Core Update: Rolled out from March 13–27, lasting 14 days. SEO tracking tools reported volatility comparable to the December 2024 core update.
June 2025 Core Update: Ran from June 30 to July 17, about 16 days. Many data providers labeled it one of the more significant core updates in recent years, with some sites previously affected by the September 2023 Helpful Content Update seeing partial recoveries.
Recent Documentation Changes
Just two days before launching the December update, Google revised its core updates documentation to clarify how ranking improvements can occur between major updates. The updated guidance explains that Google continuously releases smaller, unannounced core changes, which may lead to ranking improvements if content quality has been enhanced—without waiting for a major core update.
What to Expect
Ranking fluctuations over the next few weeks are normal during a core update. Google has repeatedly stated that pages losing visibility are not necessarily flawed; instead, its systems are reassessing content in relation to other available results.
The documentation update reinforces that rankings can change even outside of widely announced updates due to ongoing algorithm refinements.
Google has marked the rollout as complete on the Search Status Dashboard and via its Search Central social channels.
What Site Owners Should Do
Monitor rankings and traffic closely over the next two to three weeks and note when any changes occur relative to the rollout timeline. Based on previous updates in 2025, the rollout is likely to finish within that window.
