The December 2025 Core Update has just completed rolling out as of yesterday, December 29, 2025. If you are seeing volatility in your traffic or rankings right now, it is likely the direct result of this update settling.
Quick Summary of the Update
Name: December 2025 Broad Core Update
Start Date: December 11, 2025
End Date: December 29, 2025 (Rollout complete)
Scope: Global (affects all regions and languages)
Goal: To better surface “relevant, satisfying content.” This update specifically targeted the balance between genuine, helpful content and low-effort “AI slop” or mass-produced SEO bait.
What Changed?
High Volatility: This was a high-impact update. SEO tracking tools showed massive spikes in rank changes around December 13th and December 20th.
Focus on “Hidden Gems”: Google is continuing its push to surface content from forums (like Reddit), personal blogs, and smaller sites that demonstrate first-hand experience (E-E-A-T), rather than just big publishers.
AI Content Scrutiny: While Google does not penalize AI content by default, this update seems to have hit sites heavily that use AI to mass-produce content without human editing or unique value.
What to Do If Your Traffic Dropped
Since the update finished yesterday, the rankings you see now are likely your “new normal” for the time being.
Do not panic-edit: Wait at least a week before making major changes. Let the dust settle.
Check the “Losers”: Look at which specific pages dropped. Did they lose out to a forum discussion? A video? A more authoritative competitor?
Audit for Value: If you lost rankings, ask: Does this page offer something unique that isn’t found on the other top 5 results? If your content is just a rewrite of what’s already there, it is now at higher risk.
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