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Media Briefing: Google’s latest core update a reminder that pageviews can’t remain the primary metric

Media Archives - Digiday · Sara Guaglione · last updated

This week’s Media Briefing looks at the impact of Google’s latest core algorithm update on publishers’ search visibility, and how the changes signal a shift in rewarding scale and pageviews.

  • Top U.S. news publishers lose search visibility
  • The Atlantic sues Google, Arena Group leans into creators, and more.

Top U.S. news publishers lose search visibility

For years, big publishers treated Google as a distribution utility: publish a lot, cover everything and let domain authority do the rest. The December core update — rolled out Dec. 11–29 — is another sign that bargain is breaking. In multiple readouts, volatility hit news hard, and the sites that appear to be holding up best are those that behave less like general-interest news hubs and more like “the best answer” engines.

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