The June 2025 Google Core Algorithm Update: What You Need to Know

On June 30, 2025, Google launched its June core algorithm update, the second major algorithm change this year, with a global rollout that took up to three weeks¹. Now that the rollout is complete and the update has spread across rankings and visibility, site owners are reporting significant fluctuations. Some are seeing dramatic drops, while others report recovery and gains over the past couple of weeks².

What This Update Brings

This June 2025 Google core algorithm update emphasizes topical authority, E‑E‑A‑T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust), and prepares for the wider spread of AI-driven features, like AI Overviews³. Early indicators show heightened volatility across all industries, with news, health, finance, and shopping sectors being especially affected.

For example, results in the kratom industry are changing dramatically, with many ecommerce brands once again surfacing on page one of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Since the last Google core algorithm update, top pages have been dominated by authoritative informational sites, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Mayo Clinic, and more. 

In the past, Google has largely noted that the AI Overviews (AIO) are not available for kratom and cannabis-related searches, but we’re noticing that the AIO is now appearing for many kratom and cannabis-related queries. 

Who Else Is Affected?

• News publishers: SimilarWeb reports that zero‑click results on news-related queries have increased from 56 percent to nearly 69 percent, reducing publishers’ traffic from over 2.3 billion to under 1.7 billion visits monthly⁴.
  
• Sites previously hit in March 2025: A number are seeing partial recoveries starting around July 6⁵.
  
• Universities and local services: Local packs fluctuated and AI Overviews impacted CTR, even when rankings held steady⁶.
  

What You Should Monitor

1. Ranking volatility: Expect daily swings in positions and traffic through mid-July³.
2. Search Console metrics: Track impressions, clicks, and average positions for key queries³.
3. SERP feature changes: Note shifts in AI Overviews, featured snippets, and People Also Ask boxes⁷.
4. Competitor metrics: Use tools like SEMrush Sensor or MozCast to benchmark your niche trends⁷.
   

What You Should Do

• Avoid knee-jerk fixes during and after the rollout³. Google’s advice remains: Focus on creating helpful, people-first content¹.
• Audit content quality: Evaluate depth, clarity, and author expertise. Thin, outdated pages are vulnerable.
• Enhance E‑E‑A‑T: Update content with real credentials, firsthand knowledge, and authoritative sources. We had YMYL clients who experienced a loss in impressions but an increase in clicks, signaling that the Google core algorithm update is filtering out irrelevant traffic and directing relevant traffic to high-authority sources. E-E-A-T content attracts the right audience, naturally leading to more clicks and conversions.
• Improve technical SEO: Ensure mobile speed, schema markup, and crawl accessibility, as these are still ranking factors.
• Optimize for AI-driven features: Structure content for easy parsing, i.e., use FAQs, concise answers, tables, and bullet-point lists.
  

Why This Update Matters

The June 2025 core algorithm update signals Google’s deeper push toward AI-enhanced search. AI Overviews are now taking share from traditional organic listings, leading to zero-click behavior even when rankings remain unchanged. Sites that combine expert-written content, clean structure, and technical health are better positioned for both traditional and AI-driven search visibility.

FAQs

What exactly happened with Google’s June 2025 core algorithm update?

This was a full core update, meaning it didn’t target a specific ranking factor, like spam, speed, or just helpful content. Instead, it recalibrated how Google evaluates site quality overall. 

Why did rankings drop even though nothing changed on the site?

Because these updates aren’t just about what you did. They’re about how everyone else stacks up too. Picture a reshuffled deck: even if your card didn’t change, your spot in the order might. Google reprioritized what it considers strong content and authority signals across industries. The shift isn’t always about what’s wrong. Sometimes it’s about what someone else is doing right.

Is the June 2025 algorithm update all about content again?

Yes, and no. Content quality still matters greatly. But this Google core algorithm update placed more weight on how well content demonstrates subject authority. Internal linking structure, content depth, real topical clusters… these are all being assessed in a tighter context now. A blog alone isn’t enough. The site needs to feel like it was built by someone who knows the topic inside and out, which means a strong content strategy, not just content.

Did AI content get hit in the June 2025 core update?

Not directly, but thin, generic, or regurgitated pages (AI-written or not) lost traction. The June 2025 algorithm update rewarded sites that show originality, insight, and depth. AI tools can help, but not without direction, human editing, and actual expertise. That’s been true for a while, and now the algorithm reflects it more aggressively.

Is technical SEO still relevant with the new June 2025 Google update?

Absolutely. A clean site, proper crawl paths, and logical hierarchy aren’t bonuses. They’re expected. Google core algorithm updates like this one won’t fix a broken structure, and they won’t magically lift a technically sound site either. It’s not a standalone win, but get it wrong, and your content may not even get a chance.

Should I wait or start fixing things now after the June 2025 Google algorithm update?

If traffic dropped, don’t freeze, but don’t panic either. Dig into what lost ground, look at which pages fell and which competitors gained, and reverse-engineer patterns. Your goal should be to improve the site, rather than just chasing the algorithm. Think: better internal linking, more helpful content, author credibility, and UX cleanup. Fixing those always helps, no matter the update.

Recovery and Outlook

• Sites hit in March are seeing partial recovery as of early July².
• Volatility may persist beyond the official roadmap, especially as Google layers in new AI features.
• Continued focus on user-first content and technical excellence offers the best chance to not just recover, but outperform over time.
  

Real-World Impact: Insights from Our Ecommerce Clients

To help you better understand how the Google core algorithm update can influence site performance, we’re going to highlight trends and metrics we’ve observed throughout our client portfolio.

Metrics Drops: YMYL Clients

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) is a term that Google uses to refer to websites that have the potential to impact people’s health, finances, and happiness. Within this vertical are companies that sell cannabis, mushrooms, or knives. 

Unsurprisingly, the June 2025 core updates had a potent effect on YMYL sites due to the algorithms’ tightening their scrutiny. However, not all of them were hurt by the update. 

For example, MN Nice Botanicals trended upward. Although they had a 24% reduction in impressions, that loss was offset by a 9.49% increase in clicks. We can assume the Google core algorithm update helped to filter out irrelevant traffic and that the site’s high-quality content attracted the right audience and signaled authority to Google.

Interestingly, the inverse is true for Architect Knives. They gained 10.04% in impressions but lost 6.34% in clicks. One might assume that this could be related to AI Overviews that are notorious for causing zero-click searches. The silver lining is that LLM citations do drive brand awareness, visibility, and recognition.

Only one YMYL client, 1 Stop Vapor, saw a reduction in both impressions (-1.87%) and clicks (-4.21%). Those losses are relatively negligible, however, so the June 2025 Google core algorithm update may not be to blame at all.

A handful of our YMYL clients experienced all-around growth following the update. The majority of them were long-term clients with robust, established SEO frameworks and strong domain authority. These positive outcomes clearly show that top-tier SEO drastically improves your chances of not only weathering stormy updates, but coming out ahead.

Metrics Drops: Non-YMYL Clients

We only had 14 clients with negative results, and ten of them were below 50 hours for our digital marketing services and 40 or below for SEO hours. 

Two of the remaining four were YMYL clients. The other two high-hours/non-YMYL clients that were negatively affected by the Google core algorithm update were still within the first six months of their SEO campaigns (SEO takes time!), and both have had behind-the-scenes bottlenecks that made it difficult for us to adequately prepare.

Again, this data clearly gives credence to the mantra that strong SEO and digital marketing significantly reduce the negative impact of algorithm updates.

Metrics Improvements

The industries that saw the most positive growth following the June 2025 core updates were sportswear, office supplies, and women’s apparel. This shows that not all sectors were negatively impacted. 

Furthermore, all three of those industries are highly competitive. One can deduce that the Google core algorithm update rewarded those clients for producing E-E-A-T content. A solid content strategy is just one of the many reasons why strong SEO is the key to outperforming the competition during algorithmic changes.

General Observations

Ultimately, even our clients who were negatively impacted by the June 2025 Google algorithm update didn’t experience significant losses. The majority of the week-over-week comparisons showed a positive or negative change of 10% or less, +/- 3%. Clients who surpassed these thresholds, like MILSPIN, S&R Sport, Palmetto Woodshop, and Army Surplus World, had been with us for over a year and/or were already on a strong upswing.
Crucially, 80% of our clients who had positive outcomes after the Google core algorithm update had 40+ SEO hours with us. Higher hours mean a stronger SEO foundation, which translates to less volatility, more resilience, and a much higher chance of coming out on top when the dust clears. SEO matters.

Be Ready for the Next Update

The June 2025 core update is a reminder that SEO must be holistic, i.e., content must be genuine and expert, experience-first, and technically sound to succeed. Monitor your metrics, rinse and repeat improvements, and build resilience against future algorithm shifts.

Need help navigating the June 2025 Google core algorithm update and turning it into an opportunity for growth? Reach out to Coalition Technologies for a digital marketing strategy built on real data, expert SEO, and measurable results.

References:

1. https://searchengineland.com/google-june-2025-core-update-rolling-out-now-457731
2. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-june-2025-core-update-weekend-volatility-39753.html
3. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-rolls-out-june-2025-core-update/550161/
4. https://www.seroundtable.com/similarweb-google-zero-click-search-growth-39706.html
5. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-june-2025-core-update-recoveries-39735.html
6. https://www.uniranks.com/factors/web-impact/how-the-june-2025-google-algorithm-update-impacts-university-websites
7. https://www.semrush.com/blog/semrush-ai-overviews-study/