SEO expert finds improved content performance after June 2025 core update

Marie Haynes, a recognized SEO expert who has been practicing search engine optimization since 2008, published an analysis on July 18, 2025, documenting how multiple websites experienced substantial improvements following Google's June 2025 core update. According to Haynes' research, published on mariehaynes.com, sites that demonstrated measurable gains shared common characteristics centered around comprehensive, helpful content delivery.

The June 2025 core update completed its rollout on July 17, 2025, after beginning on June 30, 2025, according to the Google Search Status Dashboard. This marks the second major core update of 2025, following the March 2025 update that concluded on March 27, 2025.

According to Haynes' analysis, Google's MUVERA technology played a significant role in the improved content detection capabilities demonstrated during this update. "I truly believe Google's MUVERA technology has allowed them to do even more at finding content that is likely to meet searcher need," Haynes stated in her social media post on July 18, 2025.

MUVERA represents a breakthrough in vector search technology that allows Google to perform searches with the accuracy of multi-vector search while maintaining the speed of single-vector search. This advancement enables Google to identify specific parts of content that satisfy searcher needs more effectively than previous systems.

The Department of Justice versus Google trials revealed that Google uses traditional ranking systems to initially retrieve results, then applies AI systems including RankBrain for re-ranking. These systems utilize vector search technology. Prior to MUVERA's implementation, vector searches matched queries with documents based on topical coverage indicators. Other signals such as links and clicks helped approximate which pages would best serve searchers.

According to Haynes' analysis, the new search capabilities can determine detailed information about specific content within documents. "This means that Google got better at finding content that is likely to be helpful," she explained in her research documentation.

Haynes examined websites across five distinct categories: gaming advice, baby guidance, language learning, health and wellness, and technical SEO content. Her methodology involved comparing Google Search Console data from June 30-July 15 against the previous period, then identifying keywords that showed significant ranking and click improvements.

For her analysis, Haynes developed a tool using Gemini prompts combined with her knowledge stored in a vector database. "I'm thoroughly enjoying building it with the help of the Gemini CLI," she noted in her research documentation.

Gaming content shows recovery potential

One gaming advice website examined by Haynes demonstrated measurable gains despite remaining below previous traffic levels. According to her analysis, the site experienced increasing clicks and improved ranking positions across multiple keywords. "Still, it should be noted that this site is only getting a tiny number of clicks each day. Hopefully this improvement is the start of something good," Haynes observed.

The improved gaming page provided comprehensive information in multiple formats, including quick-reference tables and detailed descriptive lists. According to Haynes' tool analysis, the page offered "actionable, practical guidance" that moved beyond simple listings by providing specific instructions on where and how to acquire game items.

Baby advice content demonstrates authority signals

A baby advice website showed significant improvements with both clicks and keyword rankings continuing to increase. Haynes examined a page that experienced substantial click increases, finding that it provided comprehensive guidance covering technique definitions, implementation steps, validation methods, and problem-solving approaches.

"This page excels at meeting these needs through its thoughtful structure and detailed content," according to Haynes' analysis. The page featured question-based headings that mirrored parental concerns, extensive FAQ sections, and realistic expectation-setting that normalized common challenges.

Language learning content provides cultural context

Perhaps most notably, a language learning website showed dramatic improvement despite AI's capabilities in language instruction. One page increased from 88 clicks in the two-week period before the June core update to 768 clicks afterward - an increase of more than 700%.

The successful page went beyond simple translation by providing crucial cultural context and usage nuances. "This page is exceptionally helpful because it understands the true intent behind a query for a foreign language phrase," according to Haynes' analysis. The content explained formality levels, regional differences, and grammatical construction patterns.

Health and wellness content shows impressive gains

A health and wellness site demonstrated substantial post-update performance improvements. The site featured comprehensive product reviews based on personal testing, with the author providing before-and-after photographic evidence of effectiveness.

According to Haynes' analysis, the successful page established authenticity through personal narratives, educated users about ingredients to avoid, and provided detailed honest reviews including product limitations. "The author isn't afraid to point out flaws. They note when companies have incomplete ingredient disclosures," the analysis noted.

Technical SEO content benefits from expertise

Haynes also analyzed her own website's performance, examining a page about the "fan-out technique" that showed ranking improvements. The page provided expert-level explanation of a technical industry term with concrete examples and practical implementation guidance.

"This page is exceptionally helpful for the query 'query fan out' because it's a timely, expert-led explanation of a new and technical industry term," according to her analysis. The content featured side-by-side screenshot comparisons and actionable optimization strategies.

Content quality indicators emerge from analysis

Haynes' research identified common characteristics among improved pages. Successful content demonstrated comprehensive coverage that anticipated follow-up questions, clear evidence of first-hand experience, strong structural organization with scannable formatting, and inclusion of helpful visual elements.

"These pages don't just answer a question; they go deeper by offering actionable steps, troubleshooting for potential problems, and crucial context that a user might not have known they needed," according to her summary analysis.

The research highlighted that effective pages build trust through personal anecdotes, detailed testing documentation, and unique insights while maintaining excellent user experience through clear headings, lists, and visual aids.

Algorithm advancement impacts traditional ranking signals

According to Haynes' interpretation, the June 2025 core update represents an advancement where traditional SEO signals like links, authoritativeness, and click patterns became less important than AI assessment of complete page content.

"I think this was another advancement in which traditional signals for SEO like links, authoritativeness, and click patterns became less important than the system's assessment of the entirety of the content on a page," she explained.

Google's announcement described the June core update as designed to "better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites." Previous coverage on PPC Land documented the update's announcement on June 30, 2025, following widespread speculation about ranking volatility observed throughout June 28-29.

The update marks the second confirmed major algorithm adjustment of 2025. Google's March 2025 core update lasted 14 days and demonstrated mixed impacts across website categories, according to PPC Land's previous analysis.

Industry implications for content strategy

The documented improvements suggest that Google's enhanced content evaluation capabilities may favor smaller sites producing genuinely helpful content over those relying primarily on traditional authority signals. This shift could represent significant changes for the search marketing industry.

Recovery patterns documented across multiple sites showed that ranking improvements often coincided with enhanced feature snippet visibility and inclusion in AI Overviews. Industry observers noted that sites gaining rankings also achieved broader visibility across Google's search features.

The analysis comes amid broader concerns about Google's AI features impacting website traffic. AI Overviews have created what industry experts call "The Great Decoupling" - where websites receive increased impressions while experiencing decreased clicks.

However, Haynes' research suggests that truly helpful content may still find success within Google's enhanced AI-powered search environment. The documented improvements indicate that comprehensive, authoritative content addressing user needs completely continues to gain recognition from Google's systems.

For content creators and SEO professionals, the findings suggest focusing on depth, expertise demonstration, and complete user need satisfaction rather than traditional optimization techniques. The emphasis on helpfulness and comprehensive coverage aligns with Google's stated objectives for improved content surfacing across diverse website types.

Timeline

• June 28-29, 2025: Initial ranking volatility detected by tracking tools before official announcement
• June 30, 2025 07:30 PT: Google announces June 2025 core update rollout beginning
• July 2, 2025: First confirmed ranking fluctuations appear in search results
• July 6-10, 2025: Recovery patterns begin emerging for previously impacted sites
• July 17, 2025 01:00 PT: Google completes June 2025 core update after 16-day rollout
• July 18, 2025: Marie Haynes publishes comprehensive analysis of improved sites
• March 13, 2025: Google releases March 2025 core update
• March 27, 2025: March 2025 update completion after two-week rollout

Summary

Who: Marie Haynes, SEO expert practicing since 2008, analyzed multiple websites with owner permission alongside Google's search ranking systems and the broader SEO community monitoring algorithm changes.

What: Comprehensive analysis documenting significant traffic and ranking improvements across five website categories following Google's June 2025 core update, with research identifying common characteristics of successful content including comprehensive coverage, first-hand experience demonstration, and excellent user experience.

When: Analysis published July 18, 2025, examining performance changes during the June 2025 core update period (June 30-July 17, 2025) compared to previous periods, with data covering the two-week periods before and after the update implementation.

Where: Research covered websites across gaming advice, baby guidance, language learning, health and wellness, and technical SEO content sectors, with findings published on mariehaynes.com and promoted through social media channels.

Why: Google's implementation of MUVERA technology and enhanced AI systems enabled better identification of helpful content, potentially shifting away from traditional ranking signals toward comprehensive content quality assessment, demonstrating the search engine's continued focus on surfacing genuinely useful information for searchers.

Key terms explained

Core Algorithm Update

A comprehensive modification to Google's search ranking system that affects how websites are evaluated and positioned in search results. These updates typically involve changes to multiple ranking factors simultaneously, potentially causing significant shifts in organic traffic patterns across millions of websites. Google releases several core updates annually, each requiring weeks to fully implement across their global infrastructure. The June 2025 update demonstrated how these changes can dramatically alter website visibility and traffic patterns.

MUVERA Technology

Google's breakthrough in vector search technology that enables searches with the accuracy of multi-vector search while maintaining the speed of single-vector search. This advancement allows Google to identify specific parts of content that satisfy searcher needs more effectively than previous systems. MUVERA represents a significant technical evolution in how search engines process and understand content, moving beyond simple topical matching to detailed content analysis within documents.

Vector Search

A search methodology that uses mathematical representations called vectors to understand content meaning and context rather than relying solely on keyword matching. This technology enables search engines to identify semantically relevant content even when exact keywords don't appear in the text. Vector search powers many modern AI applications and represents a fundamental shift from traditional text-based search algorithms toward meaning-based content discovery.

AI Overviews

Google's implementation of artificial intelligence to provide comprehensive answers directly in search results without requiring users to visit source websites. These features synthesize information from multiple sources to create summary responses for complex queries. AI Overviews significantly impact website traffic by reducing click-through rates, as users receive answers without needing to navigate to individual websites, representing a fundamental shift toward zero-click search experiences.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The practice of optimizing websites and content to improve visibility and rankings in search engine results pages. SEO encompasses technical website improvements, content optimization, link building strategies, and user experience enhancements designed to increase search engine relevance scores. Effective SEO requires understanding search engine algorithms, user intent, and competitive landscape dynamics, with strategies continuously evolving as search engines advance their ranking systems.

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google's free web service that helps website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site's presence in search results. GSC provides data on search performance, indexing status, crawl errors, and security issues. For SEO professionals, it serves as the primary tool for understanding how Google perceives and ranks website content, offering insights into click-through rates, impressions, and ranking positions for specific keywords.

Helpful Content Update

A specific Google algorithm adjustment implemented in September 2023 that targeted websites producing content primarily for search engine optimization rather than user value. This update significantly impacted numerous websites by reducing their visibility in search results. The system evaluates whether content demonstrates genuine expertise and provides meaningful value to users versus content created solely to achieve higher search rankings.

RankBrain

Google's machine learning artificial intelligence system that helps process search results and better understand user queries. RankBrain works as part of Google's overall ranking algorithm to interpret queries and determine which pages are most relevant for specific searches. The system learns from patterns in search behavior and content interaction to improve result relevance, particularly for complex or previously unseen queries.

Traffic Attribution

The methodology used to assign credit for conversions or user actions across multiple marketing touchpoints in a customer journey. Attribution models determine how marketing channels receive recognition for influencing purchase decisions, website visits, or other valuable user behaviors. Different attribution approaches include first-click, last-click, linear, time-decay, and data-driven models that distribute credit based on statistical analysis, helping marketers understand the true value of their various marketing efforts.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on a specific link after seeing it in search results, calculated by dividing clicks by impressions. CTR serves as a key performance indicator for both organic search results and paid advertisements, indicating how compelling and relevant content appears to users. Changes in CTR can signal shifts in user behavior, content quality, or search engine algorithm modifications, making it a critical metric for digital marketing optimization strategies.