Google’s June 2025 Algo Update: We Killed Publishers. Here’s the Proof.

You open Google Discover.

You see an article that says:

“More than 80 publishers lost 20-50% of their traffic due to Google’s June update.”
Source: Exchange4Media

And what’s funny?
Google itself ranked this news article in Discover.

So let’s get this straight –
Google’s update wrecks publisher traffic…
Then Google ranks a news story about how badly publishers are bleeding…
On a platform where those same publishers are trying to get traffic.

Chef’s kiss. Algorithmic irony.

Is that what the new update was for?

To make sure we see how we’re losing traffic?

Like:

“We killed the ecosystem. But hey, we’re transparent about it.”

The one question no one is answering:

If 80+ publishers lost traffic… who gained it?

Traffic doesn’t vanish.
It’s a zero-sum game.

• So did Google keep it?
• Did AI summaries eat it?
• Did YouTube, Reddit, or affiliate blogs benefit?
• Or is it all going to Google-owned properties?

Because let’s be honest –
Not a single publisher is celebrating “massive traffic growth in June.”

So where did all that traffic go?

What should publishers do now?

Stop acting like this is temporary. It’s structural.

• Build user loyalty
• Build your app
• Build subscriptions
• Build community
• Build things Google can’t quietly kill at 2AM with an update

Because clearly, the house always wins.
And this time, they even showed you the eviction notice in your Discover feed.