Search Drops Stayed at Normal Levels Through Google’s August 2025 Spam Update
Google's August 2025 spam update rolled out until September 22. Diib compared Google search traffic on 34,373 websites: 2.3% had a sharp search-only drop, at the low end of the 2.3–4.8% seen in weeks with no update.
Diib's data doesn't show a broad hit from Google's August 2025 spam update: sharp search drops were no more common than in an ordinary couple of weeks, during the rollout or after it ended. If your search traffic fell in September 2025, causes specific to your site, your competitors or seasonal demand deserve as much attention as the update.
There was no Google core update in September 2025. The update rolling out that month was the August 2025 spam update (August 26 to September 22), and in Diib’s data it didn’t line up with an unusual wave of losses: 2.3% of websites had a sharp drop in Google search visits in its first two weeks, at the low end of the 2.3–4.8% seen in two-week stretches with no update.
How search traffic moved during the September 2025 Google search algorithm update
We compared each website’s visits from unpaid Google search in the 14 days before the update (August 12–25) with the 14 days from its start (August 26–September 8). We included 34,373 sites with complete daily data and at least 150 search visits in the two weeks before. A site counted as a drop if its search visits fell 30% or more while its direct visits (people typing the address or using a bookmark) held within 30% of normal. That filters out tracking problems and outages. Because the rollout took almost four weeks, we also checked the two weeks after it finished.
| Comparison | Sites | Search visits down 30%+, direct steady |
|---|---|---|
| First two weeks of the update (from Aug. 26) | 34,373 | 2.3% |
| Two-week periods with no update (10, May–Nov. 2025) | 34,021–35,553 | 2.3%–4.8% |
| Two weeks after the rollout ended (from Sept. 22) | 34,285 | 4.8% |
| Same-length gaps with no update (7, May and Oct. 2025) | 33,898–35,579 | 3.9%–5.7% |
The typical website kept all of its usual search visits. Travel and transportation sites were the only large group clearly above normal: 4.2% of 2,016 dropped, against 3.0% in update-free weeks. That’s the end of summer travel season, and travel sites rose in the same weeks of 2026 too, so the update may not be the reason.
Six weeks later
Of the 785 sites that dropped, 74% were still down by a quarter or more in days 29–42 after the start (September 23–October 6), and 15% were back within 10% of normal. Drops in update-free periods were about as sticky (62%–77% still down), in line with Diib’s look at recovery after Google updates.
What this data can’t tell you
Timing alone doesn’t prove the update caused any one site’s drop; seasonal demand, site changes and competitors can look the same. One day in the before period (August 21) had partial data, and leaving it out puts the drop rate at 2.4%. Google marked the rollout complete as of September 22; some coverage says September 21. See what businesses need to know about Google’s 2026 updates, all Google update coverage, or the history of Google algorithm updates for earlier years.
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