Hi, everyone. There really, really isn’t enough time to write a detailed newsletter today, so we only plan to cover the biggest SEO topic of the week.
Google’s March 2025 core update concluded yesterday after running for two weeks. This was the first core update of the year. Google helpfully described it as a “regular update” (whatever that means), aimed at better surfacing relevant and satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.
Many websites experienced positive and negative rankings fluctuations during this core update. There are a few trends worth pointing out now that things have stabilized. Forums got killed. So did websites with programmatic content. Retail websites were a mixed bag– notonthehighstreet.com and uniqlo.com got boosted while Zara and Amazon got shafted. Pinterest, Reddit, and Instagram all benefitted from this core update. You can click the thumbnail above this paragraph to watch an 11 minute video that provides a deeper analysis.
As many of you have likely noticed, Google frequently augments search results with Gemini-generated info snippets. Some people supposedly enjoy them, but most feedback has been negative. There isn’t definitive evidence of the March 2025 core update impacting these AI Overviews, but a Google spokesman made it clear that there are no imminent plans to fundamentally change the way Google Search works. Last week at Search Central Live in New York City, Liz Reid plainly stated that “the search bar isn’t going away anytime soon.”
Our first closing link is a Wall Street Journal article about the growing phenomenon of LinkedIn influencers. Weird. Next, from Hootsuite, 11 Instagram giveaway ideas that will get you new followers. Third, from Later, a guide to pulling off branded photo dumps. Finally, from The New York Times, Why Are We Living in the Golden Age of ‘Gut Soda’? If you’re interested in learning about the ways effective marketing makes a strange product appeal to a lot of people, this is the article for you.
Have a wonderful weekend.