Didn’t we just do this?
Two big Google updates almost at exactly the same time? No. We just had a Spam Update, and this is a Core Update. Spam Updates occur when Google decides that nefarious practices to game the search results need specific attention. This isn’t just because of a single website completely ignoring Google’s guidelines, but when there is a widespread issue.
Core Updates are Google making changes to how their search results work in general. These mostly focus on identifying good content and promoting it. There have been Core Updates released every March since 2022, and the one in 2024 coincided with another Spam Update.
So why is it a problem if the two come out back-to-back?
Generally speaking, if you’re sure you’re doing everything right and in line with Google’s Search Essentials (formerly known as “Webmaster Guidelines”), then you’ve got nothing to worry about (probably). The problem is that even with the best intentions, there might be edge cases where your website is either not doing something as well as it should, or is doing something that Google’s new rules will consider just the wrong side of a line.
There’s also the danger of false positives. A lot of inoffensive content creators saw their entire businesses wiped out by a Google update, just because Google decided that their content wasn’t “helpful”. So, don’t believe for one second that your content might not suddenly find itself on the receiving end of a misdiagnosis. It could be sheer bad luck that robs you of almost all your traffic from the search engine that has a 90% market share worldwide.
The problem with two updates coming out so close (or overlapping), is that it becomes more difficult to diagnose which one impacted your website and how to remedy that problem. Were you hit by the spam update, and you need to clear up your act? Or was the core update just promoting all of your competitors, and you need to up your game?
How can Google legally have this much power?
Um. This is a tricky question. Google did lose their anti-trust case about their search monopoly (that’s the one decided in 2024, the one in April 2025 was about their advertising tools also being monopolistic), with the remedies being appealed by both Google and the DoJ. So, while it has been decided that Google’s monopoly on search, which allows them to essentially wipe out a lot of businesses by simply not showing their websites in the search results, was obtained and maintained through illegal means, the situation is allowed to continue while the US courts grapple over what the solution to that is.
