Google has once again updated its core algorithm, shaking up search rankings across industries. The March 2025 Core Update brings significant changes that impact how Google evaluates content, ranks websites, and determines search visibility.

For businesses, SEO professionals, and content creators, understanding this update is crucial. If you’ve noticed a drop (or a rise) in rankings, this guide will explain why it’s happening and what you can do about it.

What Is Google’s March 2025 Core Update?

A core update is a significant change to Google’s ranking algorithm, affecting search results across the board. Unlike smaller updates that target specific issues (e.g., spam or local SEO), core updates overhaul how Google assesses content, authority, and user experience.

Why Does Google Release Core Updates?

Google’s goal is simple: deliver the best possible search results. With each update, the algorithm becomes smarter at identifying quality content and filtering out low-value pages.

In 2025, Google’s ranking system prioritizes
✔ Content that satisfies user intent (not just stuffed with keywords)
✔ Websites with strong authority and credibility (E-E-A-T principles)
✔ Engaging and well-structured content that keeps users on the page
✔ Fast, mobile-friendly websites that provide a smooth experience

If your rankings dropped, it doesn’t mean you were penalized, it means your content might no longer align with Google’s updated priorities.

Why This Update Matters for Businesses

If your business depends on organic traffic from Google, then core updates like this one can impact your revenue, leads, and overall visibility.

Who Will Be Most Affected?

✅ Bloggers & Content Creators → Google is refining how it evaluates long-form content and rewarding original insights over AI-generated or repurposed content.
✅ E-commerce Sites → Product pages with thin content may drop, while those with detailed reviews, FAQs, and expert insights will rank higher.
✅ Local Businesses → Google is boosting localized, trust-based businesses while filtering out generic, low-effort listings.
✅ News & Media Sites → Outdated, clickbait, or misleading headlines are being pushed down in favor of trusted, in-depth reporting.

If you lost rankings, don’t panic—it’s time to evaluate, adjust, and improve your content strategy.

Major Changes in the March 2025 Core Update

While Google never reveals all ranking factors, SEO experts have identified the biggest shifts based on early analysis.

1️⃣ E-E-A-T Now More Important Than Ever

Google has always emphasized Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T). In 2023, they added Experience (E) to the mix, and now in 2025, this E-E-A-T framework is even more critical.

Websites with real-world experience and proven expertise are winning.

What’s Changed?

🔹 More emphasis on real-world expertise → Google now favors first-hand experience (e.g., a fitness coach writing about workouts vs. a generic AI-generated article).
🔹 Author reputation matters more → Google is weighing author credibility more heavily, especially in YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) niches like health and finance.
🔹 Updated content ranks better → Pages with recent, fact-checked updates are climbing higher.

Actionable Steps

✔ Highlight expert authors with credentials, bios, and links to their real-world work.
✔ Cite trusted sources—Google favors content backed by research and case studies.
✔ Avoid clickbait or misleading claims—trustworthiness is a ranking factor.

2️⃣ Content Depth & Originality Are Key

🔹 Short, generic articles are losing rankings → Google is prioritizing detailed, well-researched content over superficial summaries.
🔹 AI-generated content is under scrutiny → Poorly written, low-effort AI content is being devalued unless it adds real user value.
🔹 User engagement matters more → Google is tracking how long users stay on a page to determine content quality.

What This Means for You

If you’re still writing 500-word blog posts, it’s time to level up. Google prefers in-depth, well-structured content that fully answers a user’s query.

Actionable Steps

✔ Write longer, more detailed articles (aim for 1,500+ words if the topic demands it).
✔ Use data, research, and unique insights—not just generic summaries.
✔ Structure your content well with clear headings, bullet points, and skimmable sections.

3️⃣ User Behavior Signals Are More Important

Google is now placing more emphasis on how users interact with your site:
✔ Time on page – Are users reading or bouncing off quickly?
✔ Click-through rate (CTR) – Are people actually clicking your link?
✔ Dwell time – Are users staying long enough to consume the content?

What’s Changing?

🔹 Websites with low engagement metrics may lose rankings.
🔹 Slow, hard-to-navigate pages are dropping in SERPs.
🔹 High-bounce-rate pages may be flagged as “unhelpful.”

Actionable Steps:

✔ Improve page speed—a slow site hurts engagement.
✔ Format content for easy reading—shorter paragraphs, bullet points, and visuals.
✔ Use interactive elements like polls, videos, and infographics to keep users engaged.

4️⃣ Spam & Low-Quality Content Are Getting Hit Hard

🚨 Google has released new spam policies alongside the core update, targeting:
❌ AI-spun content with no real value
❌ Mass-produced, low-effort blog posts
❌ Over-optimized content stuffed with keywords
❌ Paid guest posts and unnatural link schemes

Authentic, user-first content is winning.

Actionable Steps:

✔ Audit your content for thin pages—if it’s weak, update it or remove it.
✔ Use AI responsibly—AI can assist, but human expertise should guide content.
✔ Avoid link schemes—Google is cracking down on manipulative backlink tactics.

How to Recover from Google’s March 2025 Core Update

If your site has been negatively impacted, don’t panic Google’s updates are designed to reward helpful, original, and user-friendly content. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, you can regain rankings, increase traffic, and maintain long-term search visibility.

Step 1: Diagnose What Went Wrong

Before making any changes, you need to identify what caused your rankings to drop. Here’s how to conduct a detailed SEO audit

1. Check Your Google Search Console Data

Google Search Console (GSC) is the best place to start your investigation. Look for:

✔ Traffic drops: Compare traffic before and after the update.

✔ Keyword rankings: Which specific pages lost rankings?

✔ Impressions vs. Clicks: Are you losing visibility (impressions) or just not getting clicks?

✔ Manual actions or warnings: Check if your site has received any penalties.

2. Use Google Analytics to Analyze User Behavior

A drop in rankings may be related to poor user engagement. Look at:

✔ Bounce rate: Are users leaving your page quickly?

✔ Session duration: How long are visitors staying?

✔ Exit pages: Which pages are users leaving from?

3. Compare Your Content with High-Ranking Competitors

If your rankings dropped, it means competitors moved up. Analyze what they’re doing better:

✔ Do they provide more in-depth information?

✔ Is their content better structured?

✔ Are they using better visuals, videos, or infographics?

✔ Do they have stronger domain authority or more backlinks?

Understanding these factors will help you identify areas for improvement.

Step 2: Improve Content Quality and Depth

Google has made it clear that high-quality, original content is the key to ranking well. If your content is outdated, generic, or lacks expertise, it’s time to improve it.

1. Focus on First-Hand Experience and Expertise

Google now prioritizes content that demonstrates real-world experience.

✔ If you run a travel blog, include personal trip insights, photos, and reviews.

✔ If you’re in the fitness niche, provide workout experiences, expert interviews, and case studies.

✔ If you write about finance, include real-life investment examples and data-driven insights.

2. Make Your Content More Comprehensive

Thin content (short articles with little substance) no longer ranks well. Here’s how to add depth:

✔ Expand articles to 1,500+ words if necessary.

✔ Cover all aspects of a topic to ensure the reader gets everything they need.

✔ Use FAQs, case studies, and data-backed insights.

3. Improve Readability and Engagement

Even if your content is well-researched, poor formatting can hurt rankings. Make sure to:

✔ Use short paragraphs and bullet points to improve readability.

✔ Add infographics, tables, and images to break up text.

✔ Include internal links to relevant content on your site.

Step 3: Optimize for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

1. Showcase Author Expertise

Google is prioritizing content written by real experts. Ensure:

✔ Articles are authored by industry professionals with clear credentials.

✔ You include author bios with links to their professional experience.

✔ If using AI, ensure human editors review and add real-world expertise.

2. Add Trust Signals

Trust signals help Google and users see your site as an authoritative source. To improve credibility:

✔ Link to credible sources (studies, government websites, research papers).

✔ Include testimonials, case studies, and customer reviews.

✔ Ensure your site has an SSL certificate (HTTPS) for security.

3. Keep Content Fresh and Updated

Old, outdated content loses rankings over time. Regularly update your top pages by:

✔ Adding new research, statistics, and case studies.

✔ Updating outdated links and references.

✔ Refreshing meta descriptions and titles to keep them engaging.

Step 4: Improve Technical SEO and User Experience

1. Improve Page Speed

A slow website can cause high bounce rates. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues. To speed up your site:

✔ Compress images without losing quality.

✔ Minimize CSS and JavaScript files.

✔ Enable browser caching.

✔ Use a fast, reliable hosting provider.

2. Optimize for Mobile Users

More than 60% of Google searches come from mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll lose rankings. Ensure:

✔ Your website is responsive (adapts to different screen sizes).

✔ Fonts are readable on mobile screens.

✔ Buttons and links are easy to click.

3. Use Schema Markup for Rich Results

Adding structured data (schema markup) helps Google understand your content better.

✔ Use FAQ schema to display answers directly in search results.

✔ Use review schema to show star ratings for products and services.

✔ Use article schema to improve blog visibility.

Step 5: Rebuild Your Backlink Profile

Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are still a major ranking factor. However, Google is now devaluing spammy or low-quality backlinks.

1. Audit Your Backlinks

Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Google Search Console to check your backlink profile. Look for:

✔ Toxic links from spammy or irrelevant sites.

✔ Unnatural anchor text (e.g., links stuffed with keywords).

2. Remove or Disavow Bad Links

✔ If you find spammy backlinks, contact the site owners and request removal.

✔ If that doesn’t work, use Google’s Disavow Tool to tell Google to ignore them.

3. Build High-Quality Backlinks

Focus on earning links naturally from reputable sites. Strategies include:

✔ Writing guest posts for industry-leading websites.

✔ Getting press mentions and interviews in authoritative publications.

✔ Creating original research and data-driven content that others want to link to.

Step 6: Monitor Performance and Stay Updated

Even after you make changes, SEO is an ongoing process. Stay ahead by:

✔ Tracking your rankings using Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush.

✔ Regularly updating content to maintain relevance.

✔ Following Google’s official updates on Google Search Central.

Final Thoughts

The March 2025 Core Update is a clear signal that Google is continuously refining its search algorithms to prioritize helpful, authoritative, and user-first content. Businesses that rely on organic traffic must adapt to these changes proactively by focusing on high-quality content, user experience, and SEO best practices.

Instead of chasing quick fixes or outdated SEO tactics, the best approach is to create content that genuinely helps users, build trust and credibility, and ensure a smooth, fast, and mobile-friendly website experience.

While algorithm updates can sometimes feel overwhelming, they also present opportunities for businesses that are willing to optimize and improve. By consistently following Google’s guidelines, maintaining a strong technical foundation, and offering valuable, expert-driven content, you can not only recover from ranking drops but also future-proof your site against upcoming updates.

If you need a professional audit of your website to identify areas for improvement and ensure compliance with Google’s latest ranking factors, reach out to us at UsmanIshaq.com or connect with us on Upwork for expert SEO consultation.