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- Your Rankings Might Drop This Month. Here's How to Protect Them.
Your Rankings Might Drop This Month. Here's How to Protect Them.
Google’s June core update is here — and it's targeting your long-term trust.
Shane Barker
July 04, 2025
In partnership with
Disclosure: This content may contain few affiliate links, which means if you click on them, I will get a commission (without any extra cost to you).
📰 Hey there, marketers —
Google’s June 2025 core update is in full swing, and as always, the SEO space is split between panic and speculation.
Spam links? Disavow files? Link cleanup services? Everyone’s got a theory.
But this week, we got something more solid:
A rare straight answer from John Mueller.
He responded to a thread on X (we’ve included the screenshot below) and cleared up a major misconception about how core updates work. If you’re trying to figure out how to futureproof your rankings — you’ll want to read this.
Let’s dig in 👇
📉 John Mueller: "Core updates build on longer-term data"
As sites scrambled to explain sudden drops, one post on X stood out. SEO consultant Martin McGarry shared a screenshot showing traffic plummeting on a high-value keyword — right as a wave of spam backlinks hit the page.
“This is traffic up in a high-value keyword and the blue line is spammers attacking it,” he wrote. “Traffic disappears as clear as day.”
Some wondered: Is this what tanked the rankings?
Was it the backlinks?
Here’s John Mueller’s response:
That’s about as direct as it gets.
✋ So what does this mean for you?
Recent spam links won’t trigger a core update drop.
Google’s looking at the bigger picture — not what happened last week.
And the disavow tool? Still available, but most sites don’t need it.
If your rankings shifted recently, the culprit probably isn’t a few bad links — it’s your long-term trust signals.
So, let’s talk about how to build those.
🔐 How to Build a Site Google Trusts (And Ranks)
If you need to protect yourself from future updates, you need more than keywords and backlinks.
You need long-term trust signals. Here’s how to build them:
✅ 1. Create People-First Content (Not Google-First)
Google rewards content that solves real problems — not just hits word counts.
Focus on depth, not fluff
Include quotes, stats, and examples from real experience
Update pages regularly to keep them accurate and fresh
👨⚕️ 2. Build E-E-A-T On Every Page
Don’t just say you’re an expert. Show it.
Add contributor bios with credentials
Link to podcast interviews, webinars, or guest posts
Include your company’s physical address and contact details
Add trust markers: testimonials, reviews, case studies, awards
🧹 3. Audit and Prune Weak Content
Old, thin, or irrelevant content can hold your domain back.
Identify pages with low traffic + poor engagement
Consolidate overlapping articles
Use 301 redirects for outdated pieces that no longer serve users
Quality trumps quantity — every time.
⚙️ 4. Get Your Tech Right (Without Over-Optimizing)
Clean code isn’t everything — but broken basics still hurt.
Focus on:
Valid metadata (title tags, descriptions, schema)
Mobile usability
Fast load times
Proper heading structure
Indexability
Your site doesn’t need to score 100 — it needs to work.
🔁 5. Act Like a Brand, Not a Blog
Google trusts real brands. So act like one.
Secure your domain and social handles
Maintain brand consistency across channels
Get mentioned on podcasts, publications, forums
Encourage branded search behavior (“[Your brand] + reviews”)
💬 Final Word
If you’re watching rankings bounce around this month, don’t react out of fear.
Instead, zoom out. Core updates are about long-term patterns. Not short-term spikes. Not random spam attacks.
Trust takes time. But the results last way longer than any algorithm update.
💼 Need Help Navigating All This?
From algorithm-proof content to technical SEO audits to privacy-compliant site setups, we’ve helped over 950 business owners stay competitive—through every Google update.
If your rankings are slipping or your traffic’s acting weird, let’s fix it together.
No gimmicks — just a real strategy, customized to your goals.
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To your content marketing success,
Shane Barker