What Google’s June 2025 core update means for creators

Now that the dust has settled around Google’s June 2025 core update—and with the August spam update hot on its heels—we have clearer data to make more informed SEO recommendations. The June update, which ran from June 30 – July 17, brought one of the biggest shake-ups to search results we’ve seen in a while, but it also rewarded patterns and created more opportunities than setbacks.

Just as with our previous analysis, there are caveats to consider when assessing the impact of algorithm updates. It’s very difficult to draw meaningful conclusions in aggregate because the data can be viewed in many different ways. Focusing on averages doesn’t take outliers into consideration, and it only tells one side of the story. 

With all that in mind, there are still valuable lessons to learn from the data, so we wanted to share it with you.

June 2025 core update results

Raptive network results

We gathered data from more than 4,100 Raptive sites, and here’s some of what we saw: 

• Overall, sites were more than 1.5 times more likely to gain traffic as they were to lose traffic. 
• Sites with fewer than 1M monthly pageviews saw the strongest traffic increases, a sign that Google may be distributing visibility more broadly rather than rewarding those with more traffic.
• Nearly 60% of sites hit hard by the September 2023 Helpful Content Update rebounded in June, with weekly traffic up 20% from pre-update levels. 
• Overall results were mixed by vertical; food, travel, and entertainment improved while finance and tech saw decreases. 

Broader industry results

Reports from across the industry suggested that the trends we saw were widespread. Glenn Gabe of GSQi called HCU recoveries “the biggest surprise” of the rollout, noting that some sites “came back from the dead.” 

Lily Ray at Amsive shared similar findings, with independent creators regaining visibility after months of traffic declines. Amsive also reported that major retailers like Amazon, Target, Wayfair, and Best Buy were hit by the June update, while established websites with clear human voices gained ground. 

These results support the strategy behind our SEO playbook, which emphasizes expertise, trust, and originality, regardless of a website’s audience size. 

How the data can inform your SEO strategy

Google’s updates each yield unpredictable results, but we’re seeing patterns emerge that you can apply to your own strategy. By understanding what worked you’ll be better equipped to refine your content, strengthen your technical foundation, and prepare your site for the next update—whatever it may bring.

Content activity matters

We analyzed over 3,500 sites in our network specifically to uncover the relationship between measurable SEO tactics and pageviews, before and after the June 2025 core update. Monthly content activity stood out as an important theme. 

During the three-month period of this analysis, we found that, on average per month:

• Sites with consistent or increased pageviews also published one or more new posts, and made at least five updates to existing posts. 
• Sites with decreased pageviews of 5% or greater typically only published or updated zero or one new posts. 

This finding reinforces our data-backed playbook that creating more content and refreshing existing content puts you in a better position to weather algorithm updates, provided you’re producing high-quality content that resonates with your audience. 

Content quality tactics emerge

We analyzed page quality signals across top market share food sites in our network, examining correlations between site-level and page-level elements and their performance outcomes. Although this particular analysis focused on food, the results can be useful to sites of all verticals.

Key site-level findings

We analyzed a selection of site-level elements, including byline attributes, schema, and About page attributes. Two byline elements stood out as the strongest differentiators between sites that grew and sites that lost traffic:

• Date logic: 76% of sites who saw growth implemented one-date logic, compared to 50% of those who declined. 
• Full author name: 84% of sites who gained traffic displayed a full author name in the byline, compared to 67% of sites who lost traffic. 

These elements align directly with the best practices we consistently emphasize: clear authorship, transparency, and trust signals help both readers and search engines understand content quality. 

Key page-level findings

We reviewed the same dataset of sites by absolute traffic loss across several page-level signals, including scroll time to main content, video type, engagement indicators, and table of contents. Two factors stood out: 

• Highly engaged content: URLs that gained traffic after the update saw nearly 4x more recipe ratings (where applicable), 3x more comments, and almost 3x the total engagement compared to URLs with declining traffic. This suggests that more genuine reader interaction strongly correlates with better performance. 
• Helpful pre-recipe sections: URLs with increased traffic often include ingredient notes, step-by-step guidance, and process photos. Thin, short content was less favored. 

These factors show that helpful, recipe-related content—especially elements leading into a recipe card—has a significant impact. This finding applies to creators of all verticals: clear, expert-driven, visual content continues to drive stronger performance. 

Be prepared for future core updates

The formula for success doesn’t change with each algorithm update. Creators who continue to create high-quality, helpful content for readers are most likely to come out ahead. Prioritize clarity, depth, and usefulness in every post, whether that’s offering step-by-step recipe guidance, thoughtful context around a topic, or rich visuals that support the experience. 

It’s just as important to keep your site buttoned up from a technical and E-E-A-T standpoint. Ensure your bylines are transparent, author and About pages are well-developed, and your site conveys trust and expertise at every turn. From page speed to structured data, technical health matters as much as content quality. 

Although the search landscape is changing, the fundamentals of SEO remain the same: serve your readers first, keep your site in top shape, and build long-term credibility. Core updates may shake the snow globe, but sites committed to real value and trust signals will always be in the best position to weather change.