Review Google’s March 2025 Update

[T J Tutor]

Today I had several newsletters drop into my inboxes. All of them about the Google March 2025 Update. Here are the general highlights from them. All of them with the same conclusions.

What some are experiencing:
AI-generated, low-value content? Devalued.
Spammy backlinks with no authority? Ignored.
Sites with thin authority? Plummeting.

Any SEO needs to have three things at the very least (but should go deeper, much deeper):
Professional Content Writers
Professional Technical SEO
Professionally Sourced Natural Backlinks

PER GOOGLE AI:
Google's March 2025 core update, which ran from March 13 to March 27, was a "regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites," according to Google Search Central.

Here's a sampling of their detailed breakdown:

Purpose:
The update aimed to improve the relevance and quality of search results by refining Google's core ranking system.
Google's Advice:
Google emphasized the importance of focusing on creating high-quality, user-centric content rather than trying to address specific ranking fluctuations after an update.

I have seen this same pattern, as have all of us, for years now. Google keeps squeezing the crap out of cheap, combative, black hat SEO techniques of course, but they also are being very heavy handed over the past year, and going forward, against those that are convinced they don't need professional looking sites, professionally written and frequently updated content, and natural and valuable linking.

They are continually and extremely focused on quality, quality, and more quality in all aspects of anything and everything online within their scope.

All of us need to remember, this is their business! They built it, they promote it, they are the biggest and most successful. If you are going to swim in your neighbors pool, you must obey their pool rules or get booted. "No glass in the pool area!"

Google is very "appearance" aware. They know from experience that when you and I click a link from their platform the results reflect on them as well as the site owners. You could have the finest cheap tricks in the world for ranking, but if the destination from that click results in a poor experience, Google gets blamed! So, just like you and I, if we go to restaurant that is ranked high on Yelp and have a horrible experience, Yelp knows it reflects on them.

The volume of SEO emails I get daily is enough to "choke a horse". 80%, or more, coming from India. I have no hatred or disgust for India, but they do produce some of the worst SEO freelancers and companies on the planet and always pushing their cheap price as no reflection on their quality. My nutritionist and my neurologist are both from India, I love them, they are excellent DR.'s. That country just has this "low brow" element in the marketing world.

If you are incorporating SEO, or about om start, make sure the destination focus is exceptional high quality. Otherwise, you may as well fish for a lunker using an old tire as bait!

 

[Graybeard]

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[Graybeard]

Let's be real --Google's playing the old: Do as I say, not as I do game with AI. They're stuffing their own products full of AI while penalizing the rest of us for doing the same thing. Classic Google bullshit!

Google is saying: 'we changed the game again because too many of you figured out how to win.' They've been battling SEO 'spam' since dinosaurs roamed the internet, and somehow it never goes away.

When Google preaches about user centric content and quality, what they really mean is *whatever keeps people clicking our ads.* That is what it is.

 

[azgold]

If you are going to swim in your neighbors pool, you must obey their pool rules or get booted. "No glass in the pool area!"

They don't want anybody to pee in their pool and lower the quality of the 'water'.

they do produce some of the worst SEO freelancers and companies on the planet

We get a fair number of those "experts" in registrations. I doubt that the people who hired them realize that they show up in spam reporting databases, which in turn sullies the reputation of the sites if the 'experts' are using the same info here as they do elsewhere.

They're stuffing their own products full of AI

Microsoft does it, too. Probably not to the same extent as G.

[...] they also are being very heavy handed over the past year, and going forward, against those that are convinced they don't need professional looking sites, professionally written and frequently updated content, and natural and valuable linking.

Newbies will find out the hard way they need a starting budget to stand a chance if they're taking the SEO route. I suppose they can still set up to practice their designing or developing skills before they launch though. I guess.

 

[azgold]

Question guys:

Do you think that Google is doing this because of an increase of competition? A desperate bid to create a bigger gap between themselves and the competition to continue increasing targeted ad space and revenue? They're used to being top dog, probably don't want that to ever change.

I guess my real question is, do you think they feel threatened? Yeah, I know that's probably the world's stupidest question but we're living in strange times and my brain works in mysterious ways.

I know that they're a business and have to make profits, I only ask because it sounds more urgent or desperate or something. Maybe it just sounds that way to me. Elitist.

Eliminating BH is a good thing, I think. I see that as a positive but those with low budgets could find it extra challenging now to compete. They'll have to learn fast how to satisfy the Google gods, either with enough money for professional services or learning the skills to present a professional polish, which ain't bad.

It used to be that people were advised not to have your site looking too professional, as that creates mistrust. How times have changed. And whenever G does an update, it's always sweeping, throws people off-kilter sometimes.

Having the ability to pivot is essential for site owners and marketers who want any rank. They have to grow with G and not pee in the pool. So, does the Google pool need to be shocked? (swimming pool reference)

 

[T J Tutor]

Google's playing the old: Do as I say, not as I do game with AI. They're stuffing their own products full of AI while penalizing the rest of us for doing the same thing. Classic Google bullshit!

100% agree, always the case.

However, while I do see your point on the balance, in the end all I care about is performance of my investments in their relationship with Google and with that I always benefit when I provide exactly what they claim to require. I simply do not care about their battle with black hat, scammers, spammers, etc., etc. I care about it here, but not there, that's their battle to fight! I don't care at all except for the cost of it which causes price increases to us honest advertisers to pay. More than 25% higher prices due to their battle in fighting fraud.

I do care about others that want to earn and that's the reason I posted it. Hating Google and criticizing them is fine, but when relying on them in a contractual and paid relationship, I (and others) need to know how we can benefit and it is simply true that sticking with providing high quality domain destinations online pays off. It pays BIG. Google is now mor than 80% of my paid traffic. It's unreasonably expensive, but in the end it pays. Just yesterday I spent nearly $1900 with them on two 30 minute campaigns and that directly resulted in over $4700 in commissions for a private jet charter service I work with. They are F**KED UP, I agree, but show me a better option.

 

[Graybeard]

That is kinda steep 1900 /4700*100 = ~40.42% ad expense.
Well I guess Google is literally your partner.
Still, you doubled your money: 4700/1900*100 = ~247.36 %

Is that example the exception or the rule? Do you get any ROMI --repeat sales from those ads?

It took us 4 or 5 repeat sales to cover the cost of a converted Google Ads referral to break even on the ad spend. But after time it was profitable for us but we were not affiliate, we were the seller of the "service" and we had a better margin than our affiliates did.

Google Ads when seen and not clicked have a great value in establishing name recognition ans branding for reason of their high volume. Popups converted rarely for us but have the same effect. Push or display would have the same effects.That's pretty much meaningless to affiliates but very important to branded sellers.

In the end game it is always what works the best today.

 

[Graybeard]

Question guys:

Do you think that Google is doing this because of an increase of competition? A desperate bid to create a bigger gap between themselves and the competition to continue increasing targeted ad space and revenue?

Because they can get away with it --they have the market, for now ... Things may change (read: Disruption --to date that has not been the case however).

 

[T J Tutor]

Is that example the exception or the rule?

It's about typical, maybe a slightly higher return than average. We typically hover around that return. Just five years ago it was a much higher return, but now our niches are starting to get the attention of some affiliate heavy hitters that have previously stayed out of our niche, which has driven the ad costs up for the same returns. Some of them are starting to come in with $50k to $100k daily budgets. Really obnoxious money. Thankfully, for most of them, the affiliate program managers are really strict about marketers with "sketchy" backgrounds from altogether unrelated fields. Most in our niche won't build relationships with any affiliates that have any hint of a black hat background. That said, a few heavy hitters with big pockets are finding their way in to compete with me and the others like me. It may be the beginning of the end for us "upper middle class marketers" (steady mid six figure earners). It's comparable to the "big box" stores, in a way, when they come in and a number of the local businesses suffer.

Last week I was contacted by the Etihad Aviation Group, we met Tuesday for a discussion about our partnering them. Then, they spilled the beans. They were looking long term to copy, to replicate, the affiliate by creating a completely AI driven affiliate marketing department. They believe that by copying my companies efforts, and that of others like me and my team, then programming their AI model's neural network with the collected data that they will eliminate the need to pay affiliates. Actually planning to replace the affiliate with an AI affiliate that's completely in-house. I learned later that seven of my nearest competitors were contact by them as well with pretty much the same offer. They're based in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates.

I have been blessed with a good position in relationships with some of the more prominent private charters and destination affiliate programs, but this is the first time I had one ask me to help them replace me. This may be a sign of things to come.

 

[T J Tutor]

Do you get any ROMI --repeat sales from those ads?

Oh yeah! They are incentivised properly. That is a significant part of how we get it done. Absolutely a result of the interoperability of how we make the charters and destinations available to them once they book through us. We have a rewards program that provides for very private destination upgrades and the more they book through us the more they get. It's a typical model in our niche, but because world wide there is a great growth in place for those that can afford to move up in their class, we are seeing new signups at a pretty good clip. There is definitely the continuation of the dividing of classes and the loss of the middle class. It's increasing the poor and hungry and it's increasing the well to do. The latter, of course, is our primary target.

 

[Graybeard]

Last week I was contacted by the Etihad Aviation Group, we met Tuesday for a discussion about our partnering them. Then, they spilled the beans. They were looking long term to copy, to replicate, the affiliate by creating a completely AI driven affiliate marketing department. They believe that by copying my companies efforts, and that of others like me and my team, then programming their AI model's neural network with the collected data that they will eliminate the need to pay affiliates. Actually planning to replace the affiliate with an AI affiliate that's completely in-house. I learned later that seven of my nearest competitors were contact by them as well with pretty much the same offer. They're based in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates.

They will still need a human to guide the AI.
The AI of today is not that savvy by itself.

 

[T J Tutor]

They will still need a human to guide the AI.
The AI of today is not that savvy by itself.

I did brush over some of that while in conversation, but I didn't want to give them all of my personal timeline thoughts on the matter.

This is an interesting area of AI going forward. I know a few have tempered some conversations on the topic, not wanting to accept that some of the industry leaders in niches are now looking to find a path past the need for "human" affiliates.

This will become a battle, but also very interesting.