Google March 2025 Core Update: first effects on SERPs and reactions
March means instability: we’re not talking about the weather (or not only), but about Google’s SERPs and the high risk of volatility! In fact, for the third consecutive year, Google has launched one of its periodic broad core updates in the last few days, which is bound to bring new fluctuations in rankings for the next few weeks. The March 2025 Core Update, officially released on March 13, claims to improve the quality of results, but initial reactions tell a different story: while some are hoping for a recovery after previous updates, others fear new shocks, especially due to the growing role of Google’s AI Overwiev. And our SEOZoom data shows that some effects of the change were probably already in progress before the official announcement. So, while waiting to analyze the ex-post effects of this intervention, let’s see what we know so far.
The Google March 2025 Core Update is coming
Let’s start with the facts.
On March 13th, Google launched the March 2025 Core Update, introducing the first new algorithmic update of the year, destined to influence the ranking of search results. As with every core update, the impact can be significant for many sites, with variations in visibility linked to the evaluation criteria adopted by the search engine.
The declared objective is to improve the relevance and quality of the content shown to users, rewarding sources considered reliable. However, as often happens, the changes could reshuffle the positions in the SERP, causing some sites to gain traffic and others to suffer a drop. In the absence of explicit technical parameters provided by Google, the only way to understand the nature of the update is to analyze the data and observe the trends emerging in the coming days.
What we know so far about the rollout
Google has planned a rollout of about two weeks, but the timing may vary. In fact, in the latest updates the duration of the release has changed consistently, making it difficult to determine with certainty when the effects of the update will be completely definitive.
Just think of the two previous core updates to understand this variability. In November 2024, Google released an update that lasted almost 24 days, an anomaly compared to the average. The following month, however, the December 2024 Core Update was completed in just six days, marking one of the fastest rollouts ever recorded. This data suggests that Google may adopt different strategies depending on the nature of the change introduced.
Google’s official statements
Google announced the March 2025 Core Update on its official channels, maintaining the same communication line adopted for previous updates. The stated focus remains on improving the quality of search results, and specifically “to help more content emerge from creators”.
The company reiterated that the update does not require specific actions on the part of website owners, other than to continue creating content that is useful and relevant to users. However, the absence of details on any technical interventions or changes in ranking criteria is fueling debate in the SEO community, which would like more transparency on the real implications of the update.
The first effects on SERPs and the community’s reactions
The first ranking analyses confirm that the March 2025 Core Update had already started to generate fluctuations before the official announcement. According to SEOZoom data, in fact, some oscillations in Italian SERPs were visible in the days prior to March 13th, a sign that Google may have tested the new algorithmic dynamics before the official release.
The impact of the update could intensify in the coming days, with some sectors more exposed to sudden changes. As always, the changes favor some sites and penalize others, reigniting the debate on Google’s transparency in communicating its ranking criteria. While the first concrete data is emerging, the SEO community is debating on social platforms and in specialized forums, between those who hope for an improvement in the search engine results pages (SERP) and those who report drastic drops in traffic to websites.
An interesting aspect concerns Google Discover, which according to some testimonies on social networks has recorded sudden drops for several websites since the beginning of March. Some publishers report having almost completely lost visibility, while others note strongly fluctuating traffic. This clue suggests that the core update could have effects not only on standard organic traffic, but also on secondary visibility features such as Google Discover and Featured Snippets.
What the SERP Observatory data says
The analysis of the SERP Observatory by SEOZoom shows that Italy has not remained immune to the initial turbulence. The data collected in the days prior to the rollout highlights:
- On March 13, 2025, the day the update was announced, there was an increase in small ranking variations (+1.38%) compared to previous days.
- In the days from March 10 to 12, the fluctuations on the first pages of Google were minimal, but an increase in small fluctuations was already noticeable.
- Between March 8 and 11, the percentage of “small” movements was more intense than usual, suggesting a possible reshuffling in progress.
These data suggest that Google may have started testing the changes before the official announcement, a hypothesis also reinforced by the comments of some SEO experts such as Glenn Gabe, who had noticed strange fluctuations in global rankings as early as the beginning of March. This would explain why some sites experienced sudden variations as early as the end of February or the beginning of March, well before Google’s announcement.
Although it is still too early to draw a definitive picture, the trend suggests that SERPs are going through a phase of settling, which is likely to continue until the rollout is complete. This period of volatility is a normal phase in core updates and may lead to further changes before the ranking stabilizes.
Comments from the SEO community: criticism and uncertainty
Speaking of international communities, on social media and in industry forums, the March 2025 Core Update is already polarizing opinions, and among the recurring comments, frustration, skepticism and fears about the impact of the changes (inevitably) emerge.
Many independent publishers and content creators complain about a trend that began with previous updates: small and medium-sized sites continue to lose traffic, while established publications, platforms such as Reddit and features such as Google’s AI Overview gain visibility. Some SEO professionals, who in the past had dealt directly with Google at events such as the Web Creator Summit 2024, had been reassured about an improvement in ranking dynamics, but the current situation does not seem to confirm those promises. Moreover, as Barry Schwartz points out, despite the emphasis on valuing creators, it is not clear whether there will be concrete improvements for those who have been penalized by previous core updates.
The effectiveness of the changes is also at the center of the criticism: Google claims to be refining its algorithms to improve the quality of results, but in many cases aggregated content and pages of medium-low quality are reported to outrank authoritative sources in the rankings. This again raises doubts about the algorithm’s ability to distinguish truly useful content from that positioned thanks to less organic dynamics.
In the next few days the actual impact of the update will become clearer, but the discussion on the direction taken by Google is far from over, both because we are dealing with ongoing fluctuations and open questions about the real changes brought about by the algorithm, and because the search engine could further refine the parameters in the coming days, leading to progressive variations in traffic distribution.
What to do if a site has suffered a drop in visibility
Google core updates can have a significant impact on rankings, as we know, leading some sites to gain traffic and others to suffer a loss. As always, the classic rule applies: if a site has experienced a sudden drop in visibility after the update, it is essential not to act on instinct with hasty changes.
Analyzing traffic trends and comparing data over time is the first step in understanding the extent of the change. Updates of this kind do not introduce manual actions, but redefine ranking criteria based on the relevance and usefulness of content. For this reason, rather than intervening with immediate corrections, it’s useful to focus on a detailed analysis and progressive optimization strategies.
Analyzing changes with SEO tools
Carefully monitoring the data allows you to identify which pages have been most affected and which types of content have lost or gained positions. Among the useful tools to consult are
- Google Search Console, to identify any drop in impressions and clicks, as well as details on the search terms for which a site has lost visibility.
- Google Analytics, to assess whether the loss of traffic affects specific audience segments or certain types of content.
- SEOZoom, to promptly intercept changes in the site’s ranking, and then analyze in detail the pages and keywords that have undergone the most significant fluctuations.
A comparison of the data before and after the update, for example with the Time Machine, helps to understand if the changes only concern your site or if it is a broader phenomenon involving the reference sector. Identifying recurring patterns within the SERP provides useful indications on how to move in the coming months.
Suggested approaches to mitigate the impact
There is no immediate formula to recover positions in the SERP after a core update, but it is possible to strengthen the SEO strategy by focusing on three macro-areas:
- Quality and depth of content. Google continues to reward useful, original, well-structured content that effectively responds to users’ search intent. Updating and improving existing pages with more complete and in-depth information can help them recover over time.
- User experience and engagement signals. Site speed, ease of navigation and the quality of user interaction with content are increasingly important factors. Optimizing these aspects helps maintain a good ranking, regardless of algorithmic fluctuations.
- Authoritativeness and reliability. Improving your backlink profile and building a solid reputation in your sector remain fundamental strategies for guaranteeing stability in your ranking.
Although fluctuations can be difficult to manage in the short term, a methodical and analytical approach allows you to redefine your strategy with targeted interventions, avoiding drastic changes that could prove counterproductive in the long term.
