--- title: "December 2025 core update: dates, what changed and what to do" url: https://seomadman.com/updates/december-2025-core-update section: updates language: en published: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z author: Adam Hafez topics: ["Core updates"] --- # December 2025 core update: dates, what changed and what to do ## The short answer Google's December 2025 core update started on 11 December 2025 and finished on 29 December 2025, an 18-day rollout inside the three weeks Google had allowed. Google announced it only on the Search Status Dashboard, with no blog post and no impact figures, two days after documenting that smaller core updates also happen unannounced. ## Key takeaways - The Search Status Dashboard dates the rollout from 11 December 2025 to 29 December 2025, an 18-day run. - Google said at launch that the rollout may take up to three weeks, and it finished inside that window. - Google published no Search Central blog post and no impact figures for this update. - On 9 December 2025 Google documented that smaller core updates happen too and are not announced. - Google's core update guidance applies: wait a week after completion, then compare like-for-like weeks. ## What Google changed Google's only announcement was the Search Status Dashboard entry: "Released the December 2025 core update." It published no Search Central blog post and named no specific system or change. Its standing documentation describes core updates as "significant, broad changes to our search algorithms and systems" that "don't target specific sites or individual web pages." Two days before the release, on 9 December 2025, Google added a section to that documentation on smaller core updates. It says Google makes these continually and that they "are not announced because they aren't widely noticeable," but can still lift a site that has improved its content. ## When it rolled out The [Google Search Status Dashboard](https://status.search.google.com/incidents/DsirqJ1gpPRgVQeccPRv) logged the release on 11 December 2025 at 09:25 PST with the note that "the rollout may take up to 3 weeks to complete." Google posted on 29 December 2025 at 11:05 PST that "the rollout was complete as of December 29, 2025," a total of 18 days. No other confirmed update in our timeline overlapped this rollout, so a change inside those dates is easier to attribute than usual. ## What is known about its impact Google did not publish any impact figures for this update. Its documentation says most sites "don't need to worry about core updates and may not even realize one has happened," and that pages which move down "aren't necessarily bad"; other pages may simply serve the searcher better. Treat any percentage you see attributed to this update as a third-party estimate, and check its method. ## What site owners should do Google's standing core update guidance sets out the steps: - Wait until the rollout has finished, then at least one more full week. - Compare the week after with a week before the update began, not with the rollout window. - A small drop (position 2 to 4) needs no drastic action; a large, sustained drop warrants a site-wide self-assessment against Google's helpful, reliable, people-first content questions. - Avoid quick fixes. Improve content in ways that help readers; delete content only as a last resort. - Recovery can take months, though Google says smaller, unannounced core updates can also reflect improvements before the next major one. ## How to check whether it affected you In Search Console, set the Performance report to a range spanning late November 2025 to mid January 2026 and compare clicks for the week before 11 December with the week starting 5 January. Look at Web, Image, Video and News search types separately, as Google recommends. The [Google Algorithm Updates timeline](/updates) lists every confirmed update with its dates. ## Related updates - The [June 2025 core update](/updates/june-2025-core-update) was the core update before it. - The [March 2026 core update](/updates/march-2026-core-update) was the next one. - The [February 2026 Discover update](/updates/february-2026-discover-update) was the next confirmed update of any type. ## Frequently asked questions ### When did the December 2025 core update start and finish? The Google Search Status Dashboard records the release on 11 December 2025 at 09:25 PST and completion on 29 December 2025, with the completion note posted at 11:05 PST that day. ### Did Google explain what the December 2025 core update changed? No. Google announced it on the Search Status Dashboard only, without a Search Central blog post. Its standing description applies, that core updates are broad changes to its search algorithms and systems that do not target specific sites. ### What are smaller core updates? On 9 December 2025 Google added a section to its core updates documentation saying it continually updates its algorithms, including smaller core updates that are not announced because they are not widely noticeable. Improvements can show up through them, not only at the next major core update. ### What should I do if my site dropped during the December 2025 core update? Google advises waiting at least a full week after the rollout finishes, comparing that week with a week before it started, and only doing a deeper site-wide assessment for large, sustained drops. It advises against quick fixes. ## Sources 1. [December 2025 core update (incident)](https://status.search.google.com/incidents/DsirqJ1gpPRgVQeccPRv) - Google Search Status Dashboard (primary) 2. [Google Search's core updates and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-updates) - Google Search Central (primary) 3. [Latest Google Search documentation updates](https://developers.google.com/search/updates) - Google Search Central (primary)