How to check if you were impacted by an update
1) Confirm rollout timing
Only assess after the update finishes. For core updates, wait at least a week after completion before you analyse; then compare a week or month before the rollout began vs after it ended.
2) Use Google Search Console
– In Performance → Search results, set Compare dates (pre‑ vs post‑window) and review at three levels: site, page, query. Focus on clicks, CTR and average position. Impressions are important but less impactful, you’d have the same impressions if you drop from a 3 to a 9 ranking, but very different clicks.
If you’ve maintained traffic or are within 5% and you’ve got a busy day, close your laptop, you’re good.
If you’ve taken a bigger hit, or want to drill deeper to double check certain pages or queries haven’t fallen off. Start filtering by your important page URLs or keywords.
3) Segment before you speculate
Drops often cluster. Break out:
– Branded vs non‑branded queries (GSC query filter).
– Content types (top‑of‑funnel guides vs service pages).
4) Check policy risk (for spam updates)
If you saw big volatility around late Aug → late Sept, audit for policy pitfalls:
– Scaled content abuse (thin, copied templates, mass‑produced pages).
– Site reputation abuse (third‑party content ruining your domain’s authority).
– Other spam patterns listed in Google’s Spam Policies for Search.
If you were negatively impacted, analyse exactly where the hit happened and then follow the action plan below.
30‑day action plan
Week 0–1
Stabilise & Learn
- Confirm dates, set your GSC/GA4 comparisons per above.
- Label the timeline in your reporting (annotations help teams remember what changed, when).
Week 1–2
Triage Your Pages
- Make a short list of pages that lost the most clicks or queries where average position slipped.
- If what you were providing wasn’t honestly useful information, take the hit, disregard the pages and reevaluate your strategy. Respectfully, you’re the reason for these updates.
- If they were honestly useful then write what searchers likely wanted (their intent) vs what your page actually gives.
- Go and review all the top 10 organic pages after the rollout, jot down all the headings and content they have. Whatever you don’t have is your new content plan.
Week 2–4
Improve What Matters
- Elevate helpfulness & clarity on affected pages: tighter intros, better sub‑headings, add missing FAQs, show first‑hand experience (photos, data, processes), and cite sources where relevant.
- Strengthen UX: Run a technical audit or at least a page speed check; quicker loads, clearer CTAs, and cleaner layouts should help regardless.
- Internal linking: Ensure your strongest guides and service pages support each other with descriptive anchors.
- De‑risk for spam: Unpublish/deindex low‑value pages, thin affiliate roundups, or third‑party content riding your domain’s reputation. That’s exactly what recent spam updates aim to catch.
“There’s no magic toggle after a core update, just go and make better content. Improving depth, usefulness and EEAT compounds across future updates”. Rob Sharif, SEO.
Why updates will hit AI produced sites harder
Because anyone can now produce passable content at scale with copy/paste prompts and AI tools becoming more prominent, Google has tightened enforcement against low‑quality, unoriginal or manipulative output. The March 2024 changes and ongoing policy updates are designed to reduce low‑quality results and surface helpful content, and enforcement has only intensified through 2025.
The rules and purpose of SEO strategy have never changed, but as quantity is easier than ever, quality has never mattered more.
How to make ‘update-proof’ content in 2025
- State the answer early. Make the top 100–150 words unmistakably useful. For instance, you didn’t need to read this whole blog.
- Show first‑hand experience. Add process photos, data snapshots, examples and who wrote the piece.
- Tighten structure. Use scannable H2/H3s, short paragraphs, and an FAQ block with schema that mirrors real questions.
- Link out to authoritative sources where it helps the reader.
- Assess if there’s any traffic reaching low‑value pages. Fold duplicates into one page, consolidate thin fragments into one strong resource, and deindex pages that don’t truly help anyone.
- Never, ever, ever paste content from an AI tool without training it in your brand voice and strategy. At the very least edit and proofread it.
If you ever see a big swing after a core update, it’s not a targeted hit from Google, it’s a warning shot. They know what you’re doing.
It’s a signal that your content and experience can be clearer, more original, or more obviously expert. That’s the heart of SEO and the heart of every update cycle. Keep serving people first, and updates become checkpoints.
If you’d like some guidance on your SEO strategy, talk to our team.
