Remember when Google told us to expect more core updates for its search results, and more often? That was just over six months ago. But since then, we’ve only seen one confirmed major update: the March 2025 core update. This has left many, especially website owners and online publishers, wondering what happened to the promised changes.
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The Promise of More Frequent Updates
Back in December 2024, at a Google Search Central event in Zurich, a Google representative clearly stated that we should prepare for “more core updates, more often.” Core updates are significant changes to Google’s search algorithms, designed to improve overall search quality and how results are ranked. They can have a big impact on website visibility. This promise created an expectation among those who rely on Google Search for traffic.
Alt text: Abstract image showing an exploding Google logo with interconnected elements, symbolizing significant changes or updates to Google Search.
Historically, while there have been periods with fewer updates at the start of the year, the recent lack of activity felt unusual following Google’s specific announcement. Even though there have been reports of other fluctuations in search rankings, Google hasn’t officially confirmed any of them as broad core updates.
The Current Reality: A Long Wait
As of now, it’s been over 100 days since the last confirmed core update rolled out in March 2025. For context, in the past several years, Google has often released core updates at a different pace. The current gap feels significant, especially compared to the “more often” expectation.
Mayank Parmar, a prominent figure in the SEO community, recently highlighted this on social media, noting that Google hasn’t delivered on its promise. He pointed out the 103-day gap since the March update and the anticipation many felt based on Google’s own words.
Alt text: A slide presentation showing text that says "More Core Updates, More Often" with Google's logo, presented at a Google Search Central event.
Why Publishers Are Waiting (and Hoping)
So, why is the timing of these updates such a big deal for some? For many website publishers, especially those who might have seen their traffic drop after previous major updates like the September 2023 helpful content update, a new core update offers a potential chance for recovery.
The helpful content system, which aims to reward content created for people rather than search engines, is now integrated into the core ranking systems. Publishers who were negatively impacted by this system are hoping that a fresh core update might re-evaluate their content and rankings. Some feel stuck, reporting difficulties even appearing in features like AI Overviews (now often part of Gemini) if their sites were previously flagged by systems like the helpful content classifier.
However, it’s also worth noting that even if rankings recover, the overall search landscape is changing rapidly. Concepts like “the great decoupling,” where ranking high doesn’t always translate directly to clicks due to new search features, add another layer of complexity for publishers.
Despite these broader changes, the immediate question remains for many: Where are the core updates that Google led us to expect? The wait continues, leaving many in the search and publishing world watching closely for Google’s next move.
