SEO glossary

Google core updates

A Google core update is a significant, broad change to Google's search ranking algorithms and systems, released several times a year. Core updates don't target specific sites or pages. They change how Google assesses content overall, so some pages rise and others fall without either having broken a rule.

Reviewed by Gareth Hoyle, Managing Director
Last reviewed 31 October 2026

How often do core updates happen?

Google announces each one on its Search Status Dashboard with a start and finish date. It confirmed four in 2024 (March, August, November and December), three in 2025 (March, June and December) and two in 2026 up to the end of October, in March and May. Rollouts have taken from six days, for December 2024, to 45 days for March 2024.

Google also releases smaller core updates that it doesn't announce, because they aren't widely noticeable.

What changed in March 2024?

Google called the March 2024 core update more complex than usual, with changes to several core systems, and said there was no longer one signal or system for identifying helpful content: that work became part of its core ranking systems. When the rollout finished on 19 April 2024, Google said searchers would see 45% less low-quality, unoriginal content.

What to do after a drop

Google says a drop is not a penalty. It advises waiting a full week after an update completes before analysing Search Console data, avoiding drastic changes for small drops, and reviewing the whole site against its helpful content self-assessment for large, sustained ones. Improvements can take several months to register, sometimes not until the next core update.

Example

A recipe site loses a third of its organic traffic during a core update. Comparing Search Console data for the two weeks before the start date with the two weeks after completion shows most of the loss sits on thin roundup pages, while detailed single recipes held their positions. The team rewrites or merges the roundups and leaves the pages that still perform alone.