Search Engine Recap - December 2025

We’re back with a new monthly recap, covering Google’s December Core Update, Year in Search, and the integration of Social Channels in Google Search Console. Here is an overview.

Google rolled out its December Core Update

Google rolled out its December 2025 Core Update between December 11 and December 29, with the goal of better highlighting relevant and satisfying content across all languages and domains.

Like the previous core updates in March and June 2025, this update does not target specific ranking factors. Instead, it reassesses how content quality is evaluated overall. As a result, fluctuations in rankings and traffic are normal while Google’s systems recalibrate. Google reiterated that there are no quick fixes and that improvements may take time before they are reflected.

Businesses are advised to closely monitor performance, as the impact of this update has been particularly significant. Everyone should therefore continue to focus on high-quality, fresh, and user-relevant content that aligns with Google’s emphasis on usefulness and search satisfaction. In other words, E-E-A-T remains a critical element of SEO in 2026 - whether we’re talking about traditional or AI-driven search.

Google introduces ‘Social Channels’ in Search Console

Google has introduced a new Social Channels feature in Search Console Insights, allowing website owners to see how connected social media profiles (such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and others) perform in Google Search alongside website metrics.

The view includes familiar performance data such as total clicks and impressions from Search to each social channel, top trending social pages, search queries driving users to these channels, and audience locations.

This integration aims to provide a more holistic view of a brand’s online presence by combining search performance for both websites and social channels in one place. The feature is currently experimental and is being gradually rolled out to a limited number of properties, enabling marketers to better understand the intersection between social and search.

Google introduces Preferred Sources in Search

Google has launched a new Preferred Sources feature in Search, giving users the ability to customize which news outlets and websites they see more often in Top Stories by selecting their favorite sources.

Once selected, articles from these sites are shown more prominently when they publish fresh and relevant content, and may also appear in a dedicated “From your sources” section on the search results page.

Users can select multiple preferred sources directly from the Top Stories carousel or via a preferences interface, and previous selections from the earlier experimental version are retained. The feature was first launched in the US and India and is now being expanded globally and to more languages - giving users greater control over their news experience while helping publishers strengthen audience engagement.

Google upgrades Search Live with its Gemini model

Google has upgraded Search Live with a more advanced Gemini model, improving the feature’s ability to understand and respond to real-time searches.

The update enhances language comprehension, contextual awareness, and relevance, resulting in more detailed and accurate answers, summaries, and recommendations directly in search. For marketers and content creators, this means content must be even better aligned with nuanced user intent and high relevance, as the upgraded AI model is more capable of distinguishing quality.

Google’s focus is to make Search Live responses more conversational, useful, and closely aligned with what people actually mean when asking complex or evolving questions. Overall, the Gemini upgrade aims to make live, AI-assisted search more natural and helpful - bringing the experience closer to true conversational AI.

Google releases its ‘Year in Search’

We wrap up with Google’s Year in Search 2025 report, which reveals the most trending global searches of the year and highlights what captured people’s curiosity across entertainment, news, sports, and culture.

The most trending global search was Google’s AI tool Gemini, reflecting massive interest in AI. Other high-interest topics included major sporting events, pop culture phenomena, viral toy trends, and the latest tech such as the iPhone 17 - alongside major geopolitical developments.

The list shows how search behavior blended informational needs with cultural moments and global events, offering insight into what people cared most about in 2025.

Takeaways and recommendations

December 2025 delivered a number of Google updates that, in many ways, give us a clear indication of what should be prioritized in 2026.

The latest core update caused major fluctuations, underscoring that Google’s guidelines require businesses to stay up to date with the latest trends and to work continuously with E-E-A-T - not merely as a “quick fix.” This means SEO strategies demand ongoing action every month, not just once in a while.

In addition, Google’s Social Channels in Search Console show that Google - like other search engines - is placing increasing importance on social presence, aligning with the growing value of UGC (User-Generated Content) and brand mentions.

Finally, Year in Search once again highlights how crucial it is to stay on top of trends - both globally and locally - to keep pace with developments. Use these insights to build a content strategy that aligns with what your specific audience is searching for this year.

Need guidance on how your business should respond to these updates? Get in touch with Bonzer. As a specialized SEO agency, we help companies reach the top of both traditional and AI-powered search every single day.