The Google March 2025 Core Update, which officially rolled out on March 13, has sent shockwaves through the online business world, leaving many website owners in distress. Reports of plummeting traffic, declining sales, and erratic ranking behavior have flooded SEO forums, with some business owners calling this update one of the harshest in recent memory.
Massive Traffic Drops and Vanishing Sales
For many website owners, the update has slashed organic traffic overnight, disrupting sales and revenue streams. An e-commerce business owner described the situation as “a disaster”, explaining that while their rankings remained relatively stable, hardly any traffic was coming from Google. Worse still, the visitors they did receive were from irrelevant regions, making conversions nearly impossible.
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Another retailer reported that sales had dropped by 50% in a single day, with zero transactions recorded the next morning. “It feels like my site has been wiped off Google’s map,” they said. Some site owners suspect the inconsistencies in traffic may be linked to Google switching data centers, causing fluctuations that make it impossible to plan or predict performance.
Google Discover and News Sites Take a Hit
Google Discover, a critical traffic source for many publishers, has also seen a sharp decline, with some site owners reporting that their articles are no longer appearing in users’ feeds. One publisher shared frustration over seeing only a handful of websites dominating Discover, fueling speculation that Google may be favoring select publishers over smaller news sites.
Search Console data suggests that Google may be reassessing content categories, as many site owners reported losing a significant number of impressions since Wednesday. This has led some to question whether Google’s emphasis on high-quality, helpful content still holds weight in ranking decisions.
Is Google Favoring Big Publishers?
A growing theory among frustrated website owners is that Google is “cleaning out” smaller publishers in preparation for a future where it only pays select media outlets for their content. Some argue that this update is not about improving search quality but about consolidating control over which websites remain visible in organic search.
What’s Next?
With third-party SEO tracking tools reporting extreme volatility, there is still uncertainty about whether the ranking fluctuations are due to the update itself or tracking errors. However, the impact on businesses is undeniable—for many, Google’s latest algorithm change is not just an update but a devastating shake-up that threatens their online survival.
As the dust settles, one question remains: Has Google reshaped the search landscape permanently, or is this just another temporary storm?
