Introduction
Google’s search engine plays a crucial role in how people search for information online. Changes to its algorithm can significantly impact the strategies businesses employ for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). As Google’s search algorithm evolves, it becomes crucial for businesses to stay updated and mould their approaches to maintain their online visibility and drive organic traffic. This blog will describe the impact of Google’s algorithm updates on SEO in 2025, highlighting significant trends and successful strategies for navigating the ever-changing search landscape.
Overview of Google's algorithm updates
Google’s algorithm updates strongly emphasise user experience and search quality. Some key developments include:
1. Content quality updates
Core updates
Google continues to roll out broad core updates periodically. These updates aren’t targeted at specific niches or tactics but rather assess the overall quality and relevance of web pages. They often lead to significant shifts in search rankings, rewarding sites that demonstrate E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and penalising those with thin content, poor user experience, or spammy practices.
Helpful content updates
These updates reinforce Google’s focus on content created primarily for people, not search engines. They aim to reward content that is genuinely helpful and informative and provides a positive user experience. Content that appears designed solely to rank in search results without offering real value to users is more likely to be negatively impacted.
Product review updates
These updates specifically target product review content, emphasising the importance of in-depth analysis, original research, and demonstrated expertise. Generic reviews that simply summarise product specifications are less likely to rank well. Google wants to see reviews that offer valuable insights and help users make informed purchase decisions.
2. Spam and manipulation updates
These updates are designed to combat websites that try to “game” the system and manipulate search rankings using unethical or “black-hat” SEO tactics.
Google remains vigilant in its fight against spam. Recent spam updates have focused on:
Link spam
These focus specifically on artificial link-building practices. Google looks for patterns that suggest manipulative link building, such as:
- Buying links from low-quality websites
- Creating networks of websites just to link to each other
- Excessive guest posting purely for backlinks. Natural editorial links from relevant, quality websites are what Google wants to see.
Content spam
This addresses automatically generated content, scraped content, and other forms of low-quality or duplicated content. Google is getting better at recognising and devaluing content that lacks originality and value.
Manual actions & penalties
When Google identifies a website breaching its webmaster guidelines, it may impose manual action, leading to a substantial decline in rankings or potentially total exclusion from search results. Recovering from these penalties can be quite challenging and often requires a thorough cleanup of the website’s SEO practices. It’s crucial to adhere to Google’s guidelines to avoid manual actions.
3. User experience & technical updates
These updates emphasise the importance of website usability, accessibility, and technical performance. Google intends to incentivise websites that offer a smooth and safe user experience.
Page experience updates
The page experience update evaluates websites based on several user-centric metrics, collectively known as Core Web Vitals, along with mobile-friendliness and security.
Core Web Vitals
They are a crucial part of Google’s Page Experience update, which considers user experience as a ranking factor. Essentially, Core Web Vitals measure how quickly and easily users can interact with a page and how stable that experience is. There are three specific metrics that make up Core Web Vitals:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): LCP measures loading performance. Pages should load within 2.5 seconds for a good user experience.
- First Input Delay (FID): FID evaluates interactivity. Pages should respond to user input within 100 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): CLS assesses visual stability. Pages should have a CLS score of less than 0.1 to avoid unexpected layout shifts.
Mobile-friendliness
Websites need to be tailored for mobile devices, using responsive layouts that adapt to different screen dimensions. Mobile-friendly sites are prioritised in rankings, especially with the shift to mobile-first indexing.
Security (HTTPS)
Websites using HTTPS encryption are favoured over those using HTTP. HTTPS encrypts communication, safeguarding sensitive data transmitted between browsers and websites.
Mobile-first indexing updates
Google’s indexing and ranking processes primarily depend on the mobile version of a website. This means that even if your desktop site is perfect, your mobile site must be optimised. Mobile-friendliness, mobile page speed, and a seamless mobile experience are essential.
Indexing and crawling updates
These updates focus on how Googlebot discovers and indexes content. Google is always improving how it crawls the web to understand websites. This includes improvements to how it handles JavaScript, understands site structure, and prioritises content. A well-structured website with a clear sitemap and good internal linking helps Googlebot effectively crawl and index your content.
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4. Search intent and relevance updates
These updates aim to provide search results that match what the user is looking for and their intent.
E-E-A-T updates
E-E-A-T refers to Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness which Google uses to assess content quality. It’s particularly important for YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics, which cover health, finance, legal advice and other such subjects that can influence an individual’s wellness and quality of life. Google places greater importance on YMYL content as it has a direct impact on people’s lives. Demonstrating E-E-A-T is crucial for ranking for websites which focus on these areas.
BERT & MUM updates
BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) and MUM (Multitask Unified Model) are AI models that help Google better understand natural language and complex queries. They allow Google to understand the context and nuances of search queries, leading to more relevant and accurate search results. These updates emphasise the importance of writing clear, natural, and contextually relevant content.
AI-powered search (SGE - Search Generative Experience)
5. Local search updates
These updates improve the relevance and accuracy of local search results. It considers various factors including relevance, distance, and prominence, to rank local businesses. A complete and optimised Google Business Profile (GBP), positive customer reviews, and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information are essential for improving visibility in local searches.
Vicinity update
This update focuses explicitly on the proximity of a business to the searcher. It emphasises the importance of location in local search results. Businesses closer to the searcher are more likely to rank higher.
How Google’s algorithm updates impact SEO strategies
Google’s algorithm updates are designed to provide users with higher-quality search results and an improved user experience. These updates significantly influence SEO strategies, requiring businesses and marketers to adapt continuously. Below, we explore the key areas impacted by Google’s updates and how they shape modern SEO practices.
1. Impact of content quality and relevance updates on SEO
Google’s focus on content quality and relevance has intensified with updates like Core Updates, Helpful Content Update, and Product Reviews Update. These updates aim to prioritise high-quality, user-focused content while penalising low-value or manipulative content.
Websites with thin, AI-generated, or low-value content may drop in rankings
Google’s algorithms are increasingly adept at identifying content that lacks depth or originality. Thin content—such as articles with minimal word count, repetitive information, or content generated solely for SEO purposes—can lead to ranking drops. Similarly, AI-generated content that doesn’t provide real value to users is flagged and demoted.
Content demonstrating expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trust (E-E-A-T) ranks higher.
Google emphasises E-E-A-T as a critical ranking factor, especially for YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics. Websites that showcase expertise, real-world experience, and authoritative insights are rewarded with higher rankings. For example, medical advice from certified professionals or financial guidance from industry experts is prioritised over generic or unverified information.
Affiliate-heavy and generic product reviews without real insights get penalised.
The product reviews update targets low-quality reviews that lack depth or originality. Affiliate-heavy content that merely lists product features without providing genuine insights, comparisons, or user experiences is penalised. Google rewards detailed, well-researched reviews that help users make informed decisions.
2. Impact of Spam and link manipulation update on SEO
Google’s spam and link manipulation updates aim to preserve the quality of search results by imposing penalties on unethical SEO methods. These updates target black-hat tactics that manipulate rankings artificially.
Black-hat techniques like keyword stuffing (overloading content with keywords), cloaking (showing different content to users and search engines), and hidden text (text invisible to users but visible to bots) are flagged and penalised. Websites using these tactics risk losing rankings or being removed from search results entirely.
Low-quality backlinks from spammy sites can hurt rankings
Google’s link spam update devalues backlinks from low-quality or irrelevant websites. Links from spammy directories, link farms, or unrelated sites can harm a website’s credibility and rankings. SEO strategies must focus on earning high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative sources.
Paid and unnatural link-building schemes are devalued
Google’s algorithms can detect unnatural link-building practices, for example, acquiring links or engaging in link schemes. Websites engaging in these activities risk penalties, including manual actions that can significantly impact rankings.
3. Impact of user experience updates on SEO
Google’s updates increasingly prioritise user experience (UX) and technical SEO, ensuring that websites are fast, accessible, and user-friendly.
Slow, poorly optimised websites see ranking drops
The page experience update and core web vitals emphasise metrics like loading speed (Largest Contentful Paint), interactivity (First Input Delay), and visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift). Websites that fail to meet these benchmarks may experience ranking drops, as slow-loading pages frustrate users and increase bounce rates.
Mobile-first indexing prioritises mobile-friendly pages
With mobile-first Indexing, Google primarily uses the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing. Websites that aren’t optimised for mobile devices—such as those with unresponsive designs or poor mobile navigation—may lose visibility in search results.
Websites with intrusive pop-ups, poor navigation, or security issues suffer lower rankings
Intrusive pop-ups, confusing navigation, and lack of HTTPS encryption can negatively impact user experience. Google penalises websites that hinder usability or compromise security, as these factors detract from a positive user experience.
4. Impact of search intent & AI-powered updates on SEO
Google’s AI updates, like BERT, MUM, and the Search Generative Experience (SGE), help Google understand what people are looking for when they search. This way, they can provide more relevant search results.
Google’s AI updates better understand search intent and natural language queries
Algorithms like BERT and MUM enable Google to interpret complex, conversational queries more accurately. This means content must align closely with user intent—whether informational, navigational, or transactional—to rank well.
Content that resonates with user intent captures higher rankings
For instance, a user searching for “how to make pancakes” expects step-by-step instructions, while a query like “best pancake recipes” seeks a list of options. Content that directly addresses these intents is prioritised over generic or irrelevant information.
AI-generated search summaries (SGE) may reduce click-through rates (CTR) for simple queries
The Search Generative Experience (SGE) provides AI-generated summaries directly in search results, answering user queries without requiring a click-through to a website. While this enhances user experience, it may reduce CTR for websites targeting simple, informational queries.
5. Impact of local search updates on SEO
Local SEO is heavily influenced by Google’s updates, which prioritise proximity, relevance, and authenticity.
Proximity matters more – businesses located closer to searchers rank higher
Google’s local search update emphasises proximity, ensuring that businesses near the searcher’s location appear higher in results. For example, someone searching for “pizza places” will see results for nearby pizza stores first.
Google Business Profile (GBP) updates can affect local rankings
Changes to GBP, such as updated categories, accurate business information, and high-quality images, can impact local rankings. Businesses must keep their profiles updated and optimised to maintain visibility.
Spammy local SEO tactics (fake reviews, keyword stuffing in business names) get penalised.
Google cracks down on unethical local SEO practices, such as fake reviews, keyword stuffing in business names, or creating fake listings. These tactics can lead to penalties, including removal from local search results.
6. Impact of AI Search (SGE) on SEO
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) represents a shift toward AI-driven search, requiring SEO strategies to evolve.
AI-driven search will benefit websites that provide unique, structured, and valuable content.
To thrive in the era of AI search, websites must focus on creating unique, in-depth content that offers real value. Using structured data markup (schema.org) can assist search engines in comprehending and presenting content more effectively in AI-generated summaries.
How you can adjust your SEO strategy to stay ahead of Google's updates
1. Content quality updates
Google’s focus on quality demands a user-first approach.
Strategy:
- Create truly valuable content: Go beyond simply covering a topic; offer unique insights, original research, or a fresh perspective. Focus on depth and comprehensiveness, addressing all aspects of the user’s query.
- Humanise AI-generated content: AI tools can be helpful for generating drafts or outlines, but human oversight is crucial. Add your own voice, expertise, and storytelling to create content that resonates with readers.
- Embrace E-E-A-T: Showcase expertise through author bios, credentials, and relevant experience. Build authority by citing reputable sources and demonstrating in-depth knowledge. Establish trust through transparency, accuracy, and consistent delivery of high-quality content.
- Elevate product reviews: Provide genuine, hands-on reviews based on real experience. Include detailed comparisons, discuss pros and cons, and use original photos. Avoid generic, affiliate-focused content that lacks real value.
- Refresh and update: Consistently evaluate and refresh current content to guarantee it stays pertinent and precise., and reflects the latest information and trends.
2. Spam and manipulation updates
White-hat SEO is the only sustainable approach.
Strategy:
- Practice ethical SEO: Avoid any tactics that attempt to manipulate search rankings. Concentrate on producing meaningful content and fostering authentic connections.
- Earn high-quality backlinks: Focus on acquiring links naturally through guest posting on relevant sites, engaging in digital PR, and creating content that others want to link to.
- Regularly audit backlinks: Use SEO tools to identify and disavow any spammy or low-quality backlinks that could be harming your site’s reputation.
- Use keywords naturally: Optimise for user intent and relevance rather than stuffing keywords into your content. Focus on natural language and conversational search.
3. User experience & technical updates:
A positive user experience is essential.
Strategy
- Optimise Core Web Vitals: Improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) for fast loading, First Input Delay (FID) for quick interactivity, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for visual stability.
- Secure your website: Implement HTTPS to protect user data and build trust. Address any security vulnerabilities and ensure your site is safe to browse.
- Optimise crawlability: Use a clear and logical site architecture, implement proper internal linking to help search engines discover your content, and use structured data markup (schema.org) to provide context.
- Address indexing issues: Regularly monitor Google Search Console for crawl errors, broken links, and other indexing issues. Ensure your sitemap is up-to-date and properly submitted.
- Prioritise mobile-first design: Ensure your website is fully responsive and provides an optimal experience regardless of the user’s device.
- Optimise images: Compress images to minimise file sizes, enhancing loading speeds for mobile users.
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): Provide content from servers closest to your users to significantly reduce loading times and improve performance.
- Minimise JavaScript and CSS: Streamline the code required for the page to load, improving speed and efficiency.
- Implement lazy loading: Load images and other resources only as they become necessary, reducing initial load time and improving user experience.
4. Search intent & relevance updates
Understanding user intent is key.
Strategies:
- Align content with search intent: Determine the user’s goal behind a search query (informational, navigational, or transactional) and create content that directly addresses that need.
- Use natural language: Optimise for conversational search by using natural language and long-tail keywords. Think about how users would phrase their questions in a conversation.
- Enhance credibility: Showcase your expertise by featuring qualified authors, citing credible sources, and providing in-depth analysis.
- Optimise for featured snippets and SGE: Structure your content with clear headings, FAQs, lists, and tables to enhance the likelihood of being included in featured snippets or AI-generated summaries.
- Leverage structured data: Use schema markup to assist search engines in grasping the context and significance of your content by improving its visibility in rich results and SGE. Include reviews, ratings, author bios, awards, and other relevant information.
- Conduct in-depth keyword research: Go beyond surface-level keywords to uncover the motivations driving user searches. Utilise powerful keyword research tools to identify relevant keywords, assess their search volume, and evaluate the competitive landscape.
- Develop content that directly addresses user inquiries: Make sure your content gives clear and helpful answers to user questions. It will eventually build trust and authority in your niche.
5. Local search updates
Local SEO requires a targeted approach.
Strategies for better local SEO rankings
- Claim and optimise your Google Business Profile: Always keep accurate business information current, which includes business hours, service areas, and contact details.
- Encourage customer reviews: Actively seek customer reviews and respond professionally to positive and negative feedback. Engaging with customers will eventually strengthen your online reputation.
- Create local citations: Ensure consistency of your business information across numerous online directories and platforms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and relevant industry-specific sites.
- Leverage local keywords: Integrate location-based keywords into your website content and marketing materials to improve local search relevance (e.g., “best pizza in [city]” or “[service] near me”).
- Provide location-specific services: Think about offering services tailored to local customers, such as local delivery options, in-store pickup, or hosting community events to foster goodwill and engagement.
- Maintain NAP consistency: Make sure that your name, address, and contact number are uniform across your website, GBP listing, and all other online directories.
SEO best practices after Google’s algorithm updates
As the digital landscape of SEO continually evolves, adopting a proactive and adaptable strategy is essential to ensure your website remains competitive.
Emphasise user experience
Prioritise delivering an exceptional user experience across all devices and platforms. This involves ensuring fast load times, intuitive navigation, and a seamless design that caters to mobile and desktop users, ultimately leading to improved engagement and satisfaction.
Invest in high-quality content
Dedicate yourself to producing insightful, useful, and captivating content that connects with your intended audience. Consider your visitors’ needs, concerns, and interests, and strive to produce pieces that inform and inspire action.
Keep up with Google's algorithm updates
Regularly monitor Google’s Webmaster Blog and other reputable sources to stay informed about the latest algorithm changes and SEO best practices. Staying educated on these developments will empower you to adapt your strategies promptly.
Adopt new technologies
Consider how AI and ML (machine learning) can be used in your SEO efforts. These tools can enhance data analysis, optimise content distribution, and refine user targeting, providing a significant edge in a competitive marketplace.
Review and adjust your SEO strategy
Continuously analyse your website’s performance using tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics, and make necessary adjustments based on data and insights.
How can you stay ahead of future Google algorithm updates?
Recent shifts in Google’s algorithm have transformed the SEO landscape, emphasising user experience, content quality, and technical expertise. By comprehensively understanding these updates and adjusting your methods accordingly, you can enhance your website’s search rankings, attract a larger pool of organic visitors, and achieve your business objectives. Embracing Google’s latest offerings and executing a data-driven SEO strategy will enable your website to thrive in the fast-paced, ever-evolving world of search. If you’re unsure about how to implement these strategies, getting advice from experienced SEO experts can make a big difference. Schedule a free consultation with us to learn how we implement all core and spam updates of Google in SEO, content marketing, and web designing.
