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Google December 2025 Core Update: What Changed and How It Affects Your Rankings

This is Rahul Krishnan – An SEO Analyst in Palakkad and I’m sharing the latest Google core update with you. Google just finished rolling out its December 2025 Core Update, and it’s causing big changes in search rankings. If your website traffic has shifted up or down recently, you’re not alone. This update is reshaping how Google evaluates content quality, and combined with AI Overviews taking over search results, the SEO game has completely changed.

What Happened in December 2025?

Google launched the December 2025 Core Update on December 11 and completed it on December 29, taking just over 18 days. This was the third major update of 2025, following updates in March and June.

Unlike typical updates, this one showed unusual patterns. Rankings got very volatile around December 13th, then calmed down, before spiking again on December 20th. Many website owners reported sudden ranking changes—some gained positions while others dropped significantly.

What makes core updates different? They’re not targeting specific problems like spam or bad links. Instead, Google is re-evaluating all content across the web to show better, more helpful results to users. Pages can drop in rankings not because they did something wrong, but because Google now considers other content more relevant or helpful.

SEO in the Age of AI Overviews: When Users Don't Click Anymore

Here’s the biggest challenge facing website owners in 2025: approximately 60% of all Google searches now end without anyone clicking on a website, and this number has reached 65% by mid-2025. Why? Because AI Overviews give people answers right on the search page.

Think about it. When you search “how to boil eggs,” Google’s AI shows you the answer immediately. You don’t need to click any website. This is devastating for content creators who rely on traffic.

Research shows organic click-through rates dropped 61% when AI Overviews appear on search results. Even worse, 88% of queries that trigger AI Overviews are informational—exactly the type of content most websites create.

But there’s good news: brands cited within AI Overviews earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks compared to those not mentioned. The strategy has shifted from “ranking #1” to “being cited by AI.”

What you should do:
  • Create content that AI can easily reference and cite
  • Focus on becoming an authority in your niche
  • Structure your content with clear questions and answers
  • Don’t just chase rankings—chase AI visibility

E-E-A-T in 2026: Why Brand Authority Matters More Than Ever

Google cares deeply about E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The December update reinforced these signals stronger than ever.

Experience means showing you’ve actually done what you’re writing about. If you’re writing a recipe, did you cook it? If you’re reviewing a product, did you use it? Real experience beats generic information every time.

Expertise is about proving you know your stuff. This includes author credentials, consistent quality content in your field, and proper citations from reliable sources.

Authoritativeness comes from external recognition. When reputable websites mention your brand, when journalists quote you, or when industry experts reference your work, Google notices.

Trustworthiness is the foundation. Your website needs proper security (HTTPS), clear contact information, transparent policies, and regular updates showing your content stays current.

The December update particularly rewarded websites demonstrating strong E-E-A-T signals while penalizing thin, generic content that offers no unique value.

How AI Overviews Are Killing Traditional Traffic

Let’s be honest about the numbers. Major publishers like Business Insider saw organic search traffic fall 55% between 2022 and 2025, while HuffPost lost half its search referrals during the same period.

AI Overviews started appearing on just 6.49% of searches in January 2025, peaked at nearly 25% in July, then settled at around 15.69% by November. Even with this pullback, the impact remains massive.

Music blog Stereogum lost 70% of its ad revenue in 2025, with the founder directly blaming Google’s AI Overviews. Small publishers are struggling, and many have already shut down.

The reality check: Only 1% of users click through links inside AI Overviews. When AI gives the answer, people rarely need more information.

What's working:
  • Commercial and transactional content (buying guides, product pages) still gets clicks
  • Local searches maintain higher click-through rates
  • Bottom-of-funnel content where users want specific details performs better
  • Original research and data that can’t be summarized easily

Digital PR & SEO: Brand Mentions Fuel AI Search Visibility

Here’s something most website owners miss: approximately 34% of AI citations come from PR-driven coverage, with another 10% from social media channels. That means nearly half of AI visibility comes from earned media, not your own website.

Why? AI systems learn from and reference authoritative publications. When your brand appears consistently in trusted media outlets, it strengthens your entity recognition in AI systems. Brands are 6.5 times more likely to be cited through third-party sources than their own domains in AI-generated answers.

Think about brands like HubSpot or Wikipedia. They dominate AI responses not just because of great SEO, but because they’re mentioned everywhere. Their brand authority is undeniable.

Building an integrated PR-SEO strategy:

  • Get mentioned in authoritative publications – Focus on industry-leading media, respected trade publications, and established review platforms
  • Create citation-worthy content – Publish original research, comprehensive industry reports, and useful tools that others naturally reference
  • Engage in media outreach – Offer expert commentary on industry trends, collaborate with journalists on data-driven stories
  • Optimize for entity recognition – Maintain consistent business information everywhere, use structured data markup, build comprehensive author profiles

What You Should Do Right Now

The December 2025 update and the rise of AI search represent a fundamental shift. Here’s your action plan:

Immediate actions:

  • Audit your content for genuine expertise and experience
  • Add author credentials and real credentials to your content
  • Structure information clearly so AI can extract and cite it
  • Focus on comprehensive, helpful content that goes beyond surface-level information

Long-term strategy:

  • Build your brand authority through PR and media mentions
  • Create original research and data others will reference
  • Develop content for all stages of the buyer journey, not just informational queries
  • Track AI visibility as a new KPI alongside traditional rankings

Don’t panic if you lost rankings. Google consistently emphasizes there’s no quick fix for ranking drops from core updates. Instead of chasing algorithm loopholes, focus on making genuine quality improvements.

The Bottom Line

SEO in 2025 isn’t about gaming algorithms anymore. It’s about building genuine authority, creating exceptional content, and earning recognition across multiple platforms. AI search is here to stay, but that creates opportunities for those who adapt.

Interestingly, AI search visitors convert 23 times better than traditional organic traffic. While you might get less traffic, the quality of that traffic can be dramatically better.

The winners in this new landscape will be brands that focus on quality over quantity, authority over optimization tricks, and genuine value over search engine manipulation. The December 2025 Core Update is just one more step in Google’s evolution toward rewarding content that truly helps people.

Stay focused on your users, build real expertise, and the rankings will follow—whether in traditional search or AI-generated answers.

Thanks & Regards!!!