Rankings fluctuations in Australia, as of December 2025, are frequently linked to Google’s ongoing refinement of its Search Generative Experience (SGE) and its increasing emphasis on AI-powered overviews, alongside core algorithm updates impacting relevance signals.
Google’s SGE, now widely available to Australian users, presents AI-generated summaries directly within search results. This means that for some queries, traditional ‘blue links’ – including your website – are displayed less frequently, or further down the page. The system works by analysing a broad range of sources to create these overviews, prioritising information deemed most helpful. Google’s ranking systems currently incorporate factors like E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) assessed through structured data and content analysis. In December 2025, Google Australia also confirms increased weighting of local signals, including precise business listing data verified through Google Business Profile, and signals from the Australian Domain Name System (auDA). Updates to the Helpful Content System, continually rolled out, also penalise content created primarily for search engine ranking rather than user benefit. Google has announced in 2027 that SGE will incorporate more personalised results based on user search history, further complicating ranking predictability.
Ultimately, Google’s search ranking systems function by evaluating websites against a complex set of algorithms and signals to determine the most relevant and useful results for Australian searchers.
