March 2025 Core Update Highlights Ongoing Google Search Evolution

Google Search continues to evolve, most recently with the release of a core update on Thursday, March 13.

The March 2025 Core Update is expected to take two weeks to roll out. It’s the first core update of the year and the first major change to Search since the December 2024 Spam Update.

As usual, Google’s announcement of this new algorithm update was opaque, offering little for Organic Search professionals and marketing teams to digest.

To help you understand how this latest piece fits into the larger Search puzzle, we’ll break down what we know about the update and how your team can best adapt to the new AI-powered landscape in 2025.

Here’s what Google Search Central posted on LinkedIn to announce the new core update:

“This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites. We also continue our work to surface more content from creators through a series of improvements throughout this year. Some have already happened; additional ones will come later.”

Although this isn’t the most thorough explanation of how this update will impact Search, there’s still some information to be gleaned.

While Google’s statement may not seem like much at face value, it includes several important takeaways for digital marketers:

Let’s cover each of these and break down the ramifications for searchers and brands alike.

User intent is the key to maximizing Organic Search visibility, and this is no secret.

Google wants to reward pages and brands that understand the user intent behind each query and help users achieve their goals.

Your pages and content need to be user-oriented, especially in this new era of AI search. Brands that still have not adapted in the wake of Google’s Helpful Content Update (which has since become a distinct system within Search) are being left behind.

Google has taken some flak in SEO forums over a perceived bias in favor of certain types of sites.

While there’s no indication that the March 2025 Core Update includes any adjustments stemming from these conversations, Google’s language makes it clear that Search will surface “relevant, satisfying” content regardless of the domain type.

So whether you run a blog, an e-commerce business, or any other type of website, your brand stands to benefit from improved search visibility through your creation of helpful, optimized, user-oriented content.

The consumption of creator content has exploded over the past several years, with projections that the creator economy will exceed $528 billion by 2030.

It’s clear that users find value in such content, and creator-forward platforms such as TikTok have helped creator content become mainstream.

E-E-A-T will remain crucial for creators who want their content to rank, and there are better opportunities to rank for certain types of queries, with continued caution expected on Google’s part for YMYL queries.

Additionally, as SERPs continue to evolve, many expect more creator video content to appear on results pages without users having to click through.

While the Search team formally announced the March 2025 Core Update, they’ve been making fewer such announcements for well over a decade now.

That’s because much of the work to grow Search is performed on a continual basis. Plus, AI-powered algorithms mean Search will essentially keep learning and adapting on its own, without the need for a packaged core update and corresponding announcement.

For digital marketers, that means relying less on public announcements to understand how Search is changing.

Instead, building and maintaining firsthand familiarity is key to understanding the search engine’s functionality and the type of content and pages Google wants to surface for the queries that matter most to your business.

The two-week rollout period will likely bring rankings volatility, so don’t panic if you see keyword fluctuations.

In fact, Google explicitly recommends against short-term, reactionary “fixes.” If you do identify enduring issues with your site or individual pages, it’s best to optimize for long-term alignment with user intent and Google’s vision for Search.

Once Google announces the rollout has finished, give rankings a little time to stabilize, then analyze how your keyword rankings and overall visibility have changed in the wake of the update.

From there, you can understand how this update in particular is impacting your Organic Search performance.

When was the last time you reviewed and updated your on-page content? How long has it been since your site’s last technical audit? What do you know about the factors that are working in your favor and those holding you back?

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