After nearly 18 months of punishing updates, this might be the first time creators are finally getting a break, and it’s about time.
Google’s latest Core update, which began rolling out on June 30, officially wrapped up on July 17, 2025.
Usually, a Google update does not have anyone feeling optimistic. But this time around was different.
You’ve probably seen the chatter around traffic bouncing back.
Most of the conversation out there is anecdotal, with bloggers sharing personal spikes or dips. But at Stay22, we’re in a unique position. With data from over 4,000 travel bloggers and creators, we see the broader trends across the ecosystem.
This gives us a clearer, more objective view of what’s really going on.
We are pleased to report that, a week into the update, traffic has started to move in a meaningful, trackable way.
So, What Just Happened?
About a week into the update, we noticed a shift.
We started seeing a traffic lift across the board.
Here’s a snapshot of 2025 page views from ~3,500 partners who joined in 2024 or earlier:
Since the beginning of the Google Update, we’ve seen an 11% bump in impressions across the Stay22 network.
The week of July 14th to 20th (when the update finished), compared to the same week in June, we saw an 18% increase.
That’s something worth getting excited for.
So if your site is suddenly getting more love from search, you're not imagining it. It’s happening across thousands of creators, and it’s the first time in over a year we’ve been able to say this.
Rewinding to the HCU Hit
To understand why this matters so much, you need to go back to the fall of 2023.
That’s when Google dropped the Helpful Content Update, and it slammed a lot of independent publishers.
Rankings tanked for creators, sometimes by 50%, 75% and even 95%.
For a lot of folks, it felt like all the work they’d been putting in for years just got wiped off the map.
In our own data, we observed a 20% drop in traffic across the Stay22 network in October alone.
Here’s Google’s definition of the update:
“This was a system designed to better ensure people see original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results, rather than content made primarily to gain search engine traffic.”
By that standard, many of the creators who were penalized should’ve been rewarded. These were real people publishing genuinely helpful travel content, precisely the kind of content Google claimed it wanted to surface.
For many in the creator economy, it felt like being punished for doing everything right.
Yeah, it stung. And for months and months afterward, not much changed.
So… What’s Different Now?
Google described this update as “a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.”
Coming from Google, this could mean anything. However, they have recently acknowledged that some updates had unintended effects.
At a recent summit, Google admitted their systems had started favoring big-name publishers. That wasn’t by design, it just evolved that way.
Travel blogger Tomiko Harvey attended the summit, and shared this insight in her recap:
"They told us directly that more traffic has flowed to major publications, and they’re actively trying to correct that. It’s not an overnight fix."
Knowing Google has had this on their radar might make this update come as less of a surprise. This update could be a first attempt to walk that back.
What to Do Right Now (Besides Refreshing Search Console)
This isn’t a “we made it” moment, but it might be the first real sign that the tide’s turning.
Here’s what we suggest:
- Check your analytics. Look for any sudden lifts, especially on posts that had flatlined.
- Watch for Discover or snippet placements. Some are coming back.
- Revisit your “lost” content. Stuff that disappeared might be ranking again.
- And if traffic’s back? Make it count. Optimize for conversions.
Stay22’s AI technology finds missed opportunities, captures every reader, and personalizes your affiliate links, so every reader has the best opportunity to be turned into revenue. You work hard to attract visitors to your content, so make sure those visitors turn into revenue.
Why This Moment Matters
Alright. We’ve got to keep it real.
Things could shift again. Google’s never been one to leave things alone for long. But after over a year and a half of radio silence, even a modest boost is worth paying attention to.
So if you’ve been grinding away through all the algorithm weirdness, publishing good stuff, fixing links, trying to build something real, we see you.
This doesn’t erase what happened in the fall of 2023. But it’s the first real sign that maybe the playing field is leveling out, even just a little.
And if you’re not working with Stay22 yet, now’s a great time to plug in. We’ve got the data to spot these changes early, and the tools to help you actually benefit from them.