Google’s December 2024 Core Update Launches Ahead of the Holidays

Google surprised everyone by starting the rollout of December 2024 Core Update right after the November Core Update, which ended earlier this week.

For website owners and SEOs who were expecting a break during the holidays, this news might feel like a bummer.

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It could change how well websites perform during one of the busiest times of the year.

The Dec. 2024 core update is rolling out, and we expect it will complete in two weeks.

If you’re wondering why there’s a core update this month after one last month, we have different core systems we’re always improving. This past blog post explains more: https://t.co/N5p3KsJyiI

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 12, 2024

Why December? Understanding the Timing of the Core Update

Many people were hoping for a smooth lead-up to Christmas, but this update’s timing suggests that some websites might experience keyword volatility, traffic drops, or ranking shifts—which are usually signs of major core updates.

What makes this update especially important is that it’s expected to roll out over two weeks, which could overlap with Christmas celebrations. This might make some website owners a bit nervous.

The November Core Update was pretty small, as Barry Schwartz mentioned earlier this week. But this latest update is being treated differently by Google.

They say it’s for improvements to a different set of core systems, so it could be more than just a little tweak.

Sundar Pichai’s Vision for Google Search in 2025

Interestingly, this rollout aligns with other major announcements from Google, including the introduction of Gemini 2.0 Flash features for AI Overviews and Sundar Pichai’s statement heralding transformative changes for Google Search in 2025.

“Search itself will continue to change profoundly,” Pichai said. “I think you’ll be surprised, even early in [2025], by the kind of new things search can do compared to where it is today.”

SEOs and site owners should keep a close eye on analytics and keyword rankings right now.

These updates can be a bit confusing, but they also give us a chance to adapt to how Google searches are changing.

We’ll keep you posted as we figure out how this update affects us and what the new year brings.

The current December 2024 Core Update brings to mind a similar scenario from November 2023 when Google rolled out a core update shortly after another in October.

Back then, Google provided detailed guidance to clarify its approach to search ranking updates and what creators should consider.

Here’s a summary of the key points from Google’s 2023 guidelines:

Google explained that its search ranking systems are continuously updated to present the most relevant and helpful content to users.

Each update focuses on improving a specific system within the core ranking process.

For example, the November 2023 update targeted a different core system than the October update. Despite this, the guidance for core updates remained consistent across both.