Google Confirms Rollout of December 2025 Core Update, News Sites Experience Ranking Volatility
Global / Nigeria — Google has officially confirmed the rollout of its December 2025 Core Update, marking the third and final major algorithm update of the year. The update began on December 11, 2025, and is expected to take up to three weeks to fully deploy. During this period, websites across the world are recording noticeable fluctuations in search rankings.
Google described the update as a broad core update, meaning it affects all categories of content, languages, and regions globally, including Nigeria and the wider African digital space.
What Google Says Has Changed
According to Google, the December update is designed to improve how its systems identify and rank relevant and satisfying content for users. During the rollout window, search visibility may shift daily as ranking systems recalibrate.
A major focus of the update is a stricter application of Google’s E-E-A-T framework, which evaluates content based on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. For news publishers, this places increased emphasis on original reporting, context, and clearly explained relevance rather than surface-level aggregation.
Google also reiterated that user satisfaction signals play a central role, prioritizing pages where readers find clear answers without quickly returning to search results.
Documentation Update Signals Continuous Changes
Just days before the rollout, Google updated its official documentation to clarify that smaller, unannounced updates now run continuously alongside major core updates. This means websites may see improvements or declines outside scheduled rollouts, depending on content quality and consistency.
Impact on News Publishers
Industry observers note that news blogs relying on brief summaries, duplicated press releases, or thin rewrites face a higher risk of traffic losses under the new update.
Publishers producing comprehensive coverage, background explanations, and clear “why it matters” reporting are recording greater stability during the rollout.
Technical performance is also under closer scrutiny. Google is placing stronger weight on mobile usability, site speed, and error-free navigation, with slow-loading pages and broken links more likely to lose visibility.
Ongoing Volatility Expected
Google has advised publishers not to make hasty changes during the rollout period, noting that ranking volatility is normal until the update completes, likely in early January 2026.
Digital analysts say the December update reinforces a long-term trend in search: visibility increasingly favors depth, clarity, originality, and user trust over speed alone.
As the rollout continues, publishers are closely monitoring analytics and audience behavior to assess how the changes reshape content visibility heading into the new year.
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