Google Core Update: What Changed & What to Do If Your Rankings Dropped
If your search rankings or organic traffic did a little dance last month (and not the good kind), you’re not alone. Google’s June 2025 Core Update landed with its usual impact, shaking up websites across industries, regions, and languages (perhaps yours too?).
As with every core update, it left business owners, marketers, and content creators wondering, “What just happened?”
So in this blog, we’ll break it all down for you. Here you’ll learn what changed, how it might affect your business, how to tell if your site was impacted, and most importantly, how our team at Planet Media helped clients navigate updates like these calmly, with fail-proof strategy, and zero shortcuts.
Let's Understand What A Google Core Update Is Anyway.
Think of core updates as a major tune-up for Google’s search engine. A large-scale algorithmic change that they make several times a year to improve how it delivers, evaluates, and ranks search results. Unlike targeted updates (e.g., spam updates or product reviews), core updates don’t focus on a specific website or industry but rather reassess how quality, relevance, and trustworthiness are measured overall.
The goal? To serve more relevant, authoritative, and useful results to users. But for website owners, this often means volatility in search rankings, even when nothing on your website has changed.
The June 2025 Core Update in a Nutshell:
- Started: June 3, 2025
- Completed: June 18, 2025
- Impact: Global
How is the June 2025 Update Different?
This update wasn’t just a rehash of old ranking signals. It brought in some sharp refinements as well, and here’s what stood out.
1. E-E-A-T Took Centre Stage (Especially the 'Experience')
Google has long championed E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), but this update gave more credit to the content that proves real-world experiences. Think firsthand accounts, expert commentary, and original case studies.
What does that look like in practice?
A travel blog written by someone who’s actually been to Japan (with photos, local tips, and firsthand reviews) will likely outperform a generic AI article listing “Top 10 Things to Do in Tokyo.”
“If you haven’t lived it, built it, broken it, or fixed it, then Google’s less interested.”
2. Better AI Content Detection
Google has improved its ability to detect automated & low-value, AI-generated content that lacks originality or depth. While helpful, AI-assisted content still has a place in search, it now needs to be supported by human insight, structure, and genuine expertise. Our advice: if you're using AI, then enhance it with human insights.
What does that look like in practice?
A blog post generated solely by AI summarising generic facts (e.g., “Top 10 SEO Tips”) with no added perspective or data will likely underperform. But a post where AI helps with structure or research, and a human expert adds original commentary, examples, or case studies? That’s still valuable.
3. Core Web Vitals Matter More Now
Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP) are now heavier influencers, especially in competitive niches. UX metrics now tip the scale more than before. If your site feels clunky or slow, it’s time for a performance upgrade, as Google prioritises websites that load quickly, are visually stable, and offer a smooth user experience across all devices.
What does that look like in practice?
If your website loads slowly on mobile, has buttons that shift while loading, or responds sluggishly when users interact, Google will see that as a poor experience. Sites with better performance metrics will get preference, even if their content is similar.
4. Spam & Affiliate Sites Took a Hit
Google doubled down on filtering thin content and got more aggressive in this update. Sites overloaded with thin affiliate content, intrusive ads, manipulative backlinks, severely monetised pages, dodgy backlink strategies or keyword stuffing and manipulative SEO tactics saw sharp declines.
What does that look like in practice?
If a product review page is 90% affiliate links with no original testing or comparison insights, then it’s likely flagged as low-quality. The same goes for blog posts that exist purely to game SEO, as Google's now better at identifying these tactics and reducing their visibility.
How to Know If Your Business Was Affected?
If you haven’t already, here’s how we recommend checking your site to see whether or not it was impacted:
A. Google Search Console
Go to your performance report and filter the date range to June 3–18, 2025. Compare clicks, impressions, and average position during this period, and look for any sudden drops in impressions, average position, or clicks on top-performing keywords or key landing pages.
B. Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Compare organic traffic from May 2025 vs. late June 2025. Look at trends in bounce rate, session duration, and conversions per page. If there’s a dip in traffic or conversions with no major content or campaign changes, then it could be the update.
C. Keyword Tools
Platforms like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SERPWatch are invaluable for tracking ranking positions. Focus on competitive keywords. A sudden drop in high-intent or competitive keywords may signal weak E-E-A-T or an authority score that didn’t align well with the new standards.
Has your business been hit by Google’s updates? We can help you recover.
What to Do If Your Business Was Affected
Let’s be clear, core updates aren’t penalties. Google isn’t punishing you; it’s just rethinking how it should evaluate relevance and authority.
But if you did see drops, here’s what we recommend:
1. Don’t Panic, Don’t Patch-Rush
As tempting as it is to tweak everything, hold off. Don’t make sweeping changes within days of a core update. Google’s systems often need weeks to reprocess content. Making knee-jerk changes might do more harm than good.
“Think marathon and not sprint.”
2. Prioritise High-Quality, People-First Content
Now more than ever, content must:
- Be original, insightful, and updated regularly
- Add value beyond what’s already out there
- Speak from real experience or expertise
Ask:
- Is this content still useful and up-to-date?
- Is it written by someone with real insight or expertise?
- Does it answer real user questions clearly and directly?
Example: A Canberra plumbing company’s blog should include client stories, technician advice, and on-site photos, and not just ChatGPT answers on “how to fix a pipe.”
Tip: Start by improving or consolidating weak pages first.
3. Fix Technical SEO Gaps
Run a full audit.
- Improve Core Web Vitals (LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200ms)
- Address crawl errors, broken links, and mobile usability
- Clean up the site structure, optimise internal linking, and remove any and all outdated pages
These improvements often serve as the foundation for regaining trust with the algorithm.
4. Strengthen Your E-E-A-T Signals
This is especially important. Make it easy and undeniable for Google (and users) to trust you with content that is trustworthy and backed by real people:
- Add detailed author bios with proper credentials and professional links
- Link to professional profiles (LinkedIn, portfolios)
- Include external citations and source attribution
- Use testimonials, before/after proof, or case studies
Think of E-E-A-T as your site’s “credibility metre.” The more you raise it, the better your chances of recovery are. Because real-world relevance goes a long way in building authority and trust.
5. Keep Monitoring and Stay Informed
Recovery is a process. Use GSC, GA4, and keyword tools to track small wins.
And once you’ve made improvements, monitor:
- Keyword rankings week to week
- Traffic and conversions by landing page
- Crawl errors or indexing changes via GSC
Also, stay tuned for minor follow-up tweaks. Google often fine-tunes its core updates post-rollout.
So in short..
The June 2025 Core Update isn’t about beating the algorithm. It’s about aligning your content and site experience with what real users want and what Google trusts. It just reinforced something we’ve always believed, that content is for people first and Google second.
Yes, rankings matter, SEO evolves constantly. But the core of digital performance is still value-driven content, real human experience, and a website that works.
If your site was impacted by this update, remember you're not alone and you're not helpless. We know that change like this can feel overwhelming, especially when rankings affect leads, visibility, and bottom lines. But here’s the good news: our team at Planet Media is here actively helping businesses recalibrate their content, boost site health, and align with E-E-A-T best practices.
Still unsure where to start? We’re here to help you reassess, reframe, and rebuild smarter.
Need a recovery plan tailored to your industry?
Reference: Search Engine Land: Google June 2025 Core Update Rollout
Search Engine Journal: Google’s June 2025 Update Analysis: What Just Happened?
