Quality of content under scrutiny with Google's March 2025 core update
Google's latest core update, rolled out in March 2025, has brought about significant changes in the digital landscape. The update, aimed at rewarding high-quality, valuable content, has shaken up the rankings of many websites.
The focus is now on thorough, well-structured content that answers questions comprehensively and anticipates follow-ups. Content at risk includes AI-generated or overly templated content, keyword-first, value-second pages, and outdated content libraries.
Assessing a site's content for usefulness and relevance to the audience is crucial in this new era. A content audit can help identify areas for improvement and ensure that a site reflects expertise, has clear authorship, and shows trust signals.
Brand credibility is more important than ever. Sites that demonstrate real expertise, have clear authorship, and show trust signals, such as links to original data and real bylines, are likely to perform well. On the other hand, anonymous or generic content is less likely to rank high.
The update has also highlighted Google's emphasis on helpfulness. Content that is thin, unoriginal, or created to game the algorithm is being removed from the search results. Quality over quantity is the new mantra, with fewer valuable posts preferred over many shallow ones.
The E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and Experience) framework is becoming a litmus test for site quality. Sites that can demonstrate their expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness, and experience are likely to rank higher.
Lingering outdated content can negatively impact a domain's quality and hinder newer content's performance. It's important to regularly update content to ensure it remains relevant and valuable.
Media websites such as HuffPost and the Washington Post experienced significant negative impacts from the March 2025 Google update, with traffic losses exceeding 50%. Major publishers like Business Insider also faced drastic traffic declines leading to layoffs. Overall, large news sites lost about 64 million visits from Google between February 2024 and February 2025, partially offset by only small gains in AI-driven recommendations. No specific websites were reported to have positive impacts from this update.
On a positive note, sites like Reddit and Yelp, which are rich in first-hand experience, detail, and authenticity, have seen increased visibility post-update.
Google's direction is now towards focusing on the overall quality and purpose of an entire site, not just a few strong-performing pages. This update serves as a sign for sites to reassess the quality and purpose of their content strategies, focusing on creating high-value, high-trust, human-led content.
In conclusion, the March 2025 Google update underscores the importance of creating valuable, high-quality content that resonates with the audience. Sites that can demonstrate their expertise, have clear authorship, and show trust signals are likely to thrive in this new landscape.
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