GoogleCore UpdateConfirmedHigh impact
December 2025 core update
Third and final core update of 2025, running for eighteen days across the holiday period.
What changed
Google ran the December 2025 core update from 11 to 29 December, its third of the year. It was announced with the standard core update guidance and no accompanying policy change. As with earlier December releases, retailers noted the timing across the peak trading period.
Timing
Rollout began 11 December 2025. Google declared it complete on 29 December 2025, 18 days later. Rankings typically remain unstable for the whole rollout window, so measurements taken inside it are not a reliable read on the outcome.