December Core Update, Preferred Sources & Social Data

The December 2025 core update is the main story this week.

Google confirmed a new broad ranking update, clarified how often core changes happen, expanded Preferred Sources in Top Stories, and started testing social performance data in Search Console Insights.

Here’s what matters for your work.

Google Releases December 2025 Core Update

Google has released the December 2025 core update, its third core update of the year.

Key Facts

The rollout started on December 11, and Google says it may take up to three weeks to complete. This follows the March and…