Tag Archive for: SEO rankings

March 2025 Core Algorithm Update Starts Rolling Out To Google Search

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Google has started rolling out the latest major core algorithm update to its search engine, according to an announcement from the company yesterday. This update is expected to take approximately two weeks to fully finish rolling out. 

In a LinkedIn Post from Google Search Central, the company said:

“Today we released the March 2025 core update to Google Search. 

This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites. We also continue our work to surface more content from creators through a series of improvements throughout this year. Some have already happened; additional ones will come later.”

This is the first core algorithm update of 2025, following the December 2024 core update. 

What To Expect

Unlike the last few core algorithm updates, Google has given very little information about what to expect from the latest rollout. This makes it hard to know what areas of search rankings are likely to be most affected by the algorithm update. 

That said, Google has given broad advice in the future about what to do if your rankings or traffic see a significant decline following a core algorithm update:

Avoid doing “quick fix” changes (like removing some page element because you heard it was bad for SEO). Instead, focus on making changes that make sense for your users and are sustainable in the long term.

Consider how you can improve your content in meaningful ways. For example, it could be that rewriting or restructuring your content makes it easier for your audience to read and navigate the page.

Deleting content is a last resort, and only to be considered if you think the content can’t be salvaged. In fact, if you’re considering deleting entire sections of your site, that’s likely a sign those sections were created for search engines first, and not people. If that’s the case for your site, then deleting the unhelpful content can help the good content on your site perform better.

For more information about recovering from a core algorithm update, Google suggests reviewing its advice for creating content that is reliable and helpful for your users.

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Google Says It Will Start Explaining Its Specific Search Result Rankings

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Google is rolling out a new addition to its “About this result” feature in search results which will explain why the search engine chose a specific result to rank.

The new section, called “Your search & this result” explains the specific factors which made Google believe a specific page may have what you’re looking for.

This can include a number of SEO factors, ranging from the keywords which matched with the page (including related but not directly matching terms), backlink details, related images, location-based information, and more. 

How Businesses Can Use This Information

For users, this feature can help understand why they are seeing specific search results and even provide tips for refining their search for better results. 

The unspoken utility of this tool for businesses is glaringly obvious, however. 

This feature essentially provides an SEO report card, showing exactly where you are doing well on ranking for important keywords. By noting what is not included, you can also get an idea of what areas could be improved to help you rank better in the future.

Taking this even further, you could explore the details for other pages ranking for your primary keywords, helping you better strategize to overtake your competition.

What It Looks Like

Below, you can see a screenshot of what the feature looks like in action:

The information box provides a quick bullet point list of several factors which caused the search engine to return the specific result.
While Google only detailed a few of the possible details the box may include, users around the web have reported seeing information about all of these factors included:

  • Included search terms: Google can show which exact search terms were matched with the content or HTML on the related page. This includes content that is not typically visible to users, such as the title tag or meta data.
  • Related search terms: Along with the keywords which were directly matched with the related page, Google can also show “related” terms. For example, Google knew to include results related to the Covid vaccine based on the keyword “shot”.
  • Other websites link to this page: The search engine may choose to highlight a page which might otherwise appear unrelated because several pages using the specific keyword linked to this specific page.
  • Related images: If the images are properly optimized, Google may be able to identify when images on a page are related to your search.
  • This result is [Language]: Obviously, users who don’t speak or read your language are unlikely to have much use for your website or content. This essentially notes that the page is in the same language you use across the rest of Google.
  • This result is relevant for searches ih [Region]: Lastly, the search engine may note if locality helped influence its search result based on other contextual details. For example, it understood that the user in Vermont, was likely looking for nearby results when searching “get the shot”.

The expanded “About this result” section is rolling out to English-language U.S. users already and is expected to be widely available across the country within a week. From there, Google says it will work to bring the feature to more countries and languages soon.

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