Initial reviews of Google’s December core update suggest that niche-focused websites benefited more than broad, general platforms. News publishers, in particular, experienced significant ranking fluctuations across multiple Google surfaces.
- Media websites appear to have lost visibility for wide “best of” searches, with brands and product-focused sites taking their place
- Large, general retailers declined on mid-stage product searches, while niche retailers and category-focused brands gained traction.
- News organizations saw major ranking shifts across Search, Discover, and Google News.
Google’s December Core Update: Brands Take Over “Best Of” Searches
Google’s December core update rolled out between December 11 and December 29. Early insights following the update highlight a recurring trend: websites with strong expertise in specific categories are outperforming broader, all-purpose sites across multiple industries.
What Changed After The Update
According to Solís’ observations, Google appears to be prioritizing content that closely aligns with search intent and demonstrates clear subject authority. This shift is most visible in “best of” content and mid-funnel product-related searches.
Impact On Publishers
Media outlets lost rankings for broad and comparison-based queries that Google previously categorized as informational. In many cases, brands and commercial websites with direct product ownership replaced them.
For example, GamesRadar guides dropped in rankings for searches such as:
- “Best Steam Deck games”
- “Best co-op games”
- “Upcoming video games”
Meanwhile, official catalog pages from Nintendo and Epic Games gained visibility for the same keywords.
Impact On Ecommerce Sites
Large, general retailers declined for mid-funnel product queries, while niche sellers and brand-owned sites gained prominence due to clearer category authority.
Macy’s saw ranking drops for searches like:
- “Women’s winter boots”
- “Winter coats”
- “Men’s cologne”
At the same time, Columbia, The North Face, and Fragrance Market improved their positions for those terms.
Impact On SaaS Websites
General-purpose SaaS platforms and publisher-led content lost ground for software-related searches. In contrast, specialized software providers gained rankings with focused landing pages and in-depth resources.
Sites such as Zapier, Adobe, and CNBC declined for searches including:
- “Accounting software for small business”
- “Sole trader accounting software”
Meanwhile, FreshBooks and Xero improved visibility using dedicated solution pages.
Solís described the update as “another step toward rewarding specialization and expertise, while surfacing more commercially relevant content from brands and focused retailers rather than broad ecommerce platforms or publications.”
News Publishers Faced Significant Volatility
News organizations were among the most affected during this update.
Will Flannigan, Senior SEO Editor at The Wall Street Journal, shared SISTRIX data indicating that India-based news outlets lost U.S. search visibility. Publications such as Hindustan Times, India Times, and Indian Express all showed noticeable declines.
Will Flannigan, Senior SEO Editor at The Wall Street Journal, shared SISTRIX data indicating that India-based news outlets lost U.S. search visibility. Publications such as Hindustan Times, India Times, and Indian Express all showed noticeable declines.
“There was extreme volatility among news publishers during the December core update,” Gabe noted on LinkedIn. “This wasn’t limited to India-based sites—publishers across many countries, including major U.S. outlets, saw sharp drops or gains.”
Several publishers also reported sudden drops in Discover traffic. Gabe shared that many sites “lost a significant amount of Discover visibility and traffic.”
Topic Authority May Be A Factor
For news publishers, these shifts are important to monitor alongside Google’s Topic Authority system, which highlights expert sources for time-sensitive or specialized news queries.
When Topic Authority launched, it emphasized depth and subject expertise. The volatility seen in December suggests Google continues to favor authoritative coverage, though ranking behavior may vary depending on surface and query intent.
Why This Update Is Important
This update reinforces a long-standing challenge for generalist websites. Maintaining broad rankings becomes increasingly difficult when brands and specialists publish content tightly aligned with specific product categories.
Data from NewzDash, shared by John Shehata, shows that traffic to news publishers from Google Web Search dropped from roughly 51% to 27% over two years. During the same period, Discover traffic increased significantly.
While this doesn’t explain Google’s intent directly, it helps clarify why Discover-related losses are especially damaging during core updates.
The pattern also indicates that Google may now treat many “best of” searches as commercially driven rather than purely informational.
In ecommerce, niche retailers are outperforming large marketplaces on mid-funnel searches because they demonstrate deeper product expertise. For publishers producing product recommendation content, competition increasingly comes directly from the brands themselves.
For news organizations, Discover volatility presents a major planning challenge. Traffic losses can happen quickly for publishers without a clear topical focus.
Source Reference: Search Engine Journal
