Google’s June 2025 Core Update

What Just Happened? Google’s June 2025 Core Update Explained

Google’s June 2025 Core Update officially wrapped on 17 July, leaving many in the SEO community wondering: what actually changed?

Unlike previous updates that triggered significant ranking fluctuations, this one appears more subtle - yet its underlying tech may be far more advanced than we realise.

Here’s what you need to know.

A Quiet but Powerful Update

The update began on 30 June & was completed by 17 July. It was described as a routine core update aimed at surfacing more relevant, satisfying content. But behind the scenes, Google may have rolled out some major technological upgrades.

MUVERA & GFM: The Likely Driving Forces

Two AI-powered systems are believed to be at the heart of this update:

• MUVERA: A next-gen retrieval model drastically reducing irrelevant results, cutting down candidate documents by 5 - 20x without losing quality. The aim? Faster, smarter search.
• Graph Foundation Model (GFM): An advanced AI trained on graph-based data. It helps Google better identify spam, assign trust, & understand relationships between sites, topics & entities - making the web a more reliable place.

Together, these systems may be enhancing Google's ability to connect searchers with truly trustworthy content.

SEO Impact: Stable, Not Shocking

Despite some calling it a "big update", most sites didn’t experience dramatic shifts. Some previously affected by the Helpful Content Update recovered, while others saw minor drops. Overall, SEO experts are reporting calm waters rather than chaos.

What You Should Do Now

• Stay consistent with quality content aligned to E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness & Trust).
• Don’t overreact to small ranking shifts - observe long-term trends.
• Disavow with caution - Google confirmed the update reflects long-term patterns, not recent spammy links.

While this update may seem quiet on the surface, the technology beneath it signals Google’s continued focus on relevance, trust & search precision. It’s another reminder that building long-term content value is the only sustainable SEO strategy.