Google: Not all sites will fully recover with future core algorithm updates

When Google launched the March 2025 core update last week, Google said there will be a series of improvements aimed to help “better surface relevant, satisfying content” from content creators “thoughtout this year.” But you should not expect all sites to fully recover by the end of the 2025 year, that simply won’t happen.

What Google said. Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, in a conversation on X with Travel blogger, Nate Hank, explained that there is a caveat to the statement about surfacing those sites better in Google Search again. Sullivan wrote, “With the important caveat that this doesn’t mean all sites will go back up to wherever they were if they are down from a previous peak.”

Some sites don’t deserve to rank. That means that not all sites will rank as well as they did because, as Sullivan wrote, “some sites with great content and hearts in the right place still don’t provide a satisfying page experience.”

Sullivan added, “But our systems themselves need to get better; it’s not all on creators sites that really do have good, solid content.”

Different systems impact different sites. In addition, different core ranking systems may impact one site but not the other, in the same way. “From the group you were with that came out and generously shared your time, not everyone is impacted by exactly the same ranking systems,” Sullivan said. That means, you need to wait for the system or systems that impacted your site in earlier updates, will have a positive impact in future updates – and honestly that might never happen.

Search evolves. Plus, search evolves. What Google ranked in 2023 is not what Google wants to rank in 2025. Sullivan wrote, “Our results have continued to change since 2023, including showing more social content, for example. The results are going to continue to evolve.”

Why we care. Google is committed to continue to make improvements to its search algorithms and systems. Google is aware of the issues many of those who went to the web creator summit won’t recover, Google said that already.

But do expect more Google updates to its core ranking systems throughout 2025, as we have seen with previous core updates and we will see in future core updates this year and in 2026 and beyond.