March Update: 4 Losers per Winner in Germany

A detailed analysis of Google’s March core update in Germany has revealed a clear imbalance in search performance, with far more websites losing visibility than gaining it. The findings, published by SISTRIX, highlight how different sectors were affected in very different ways following the update rollout.

The data suggests that the impact of the update was not evenly distributed. Instead, certain types of websites experienced widespread declines, while only a smaller group managed to improve their visibility in search results.

Overview of the March Core Update

The March core update began rolling out on 27 March and was fully completed by 8 April, lasting around 12 days in total. It was the first major core update of 2026 and came shortly after Google’s spam update earlier in the month.

SISTRIX’s analysis focused specifically on the German search market. The study identified 134 domains that experienced confirmed visibility losses, compared with only 32 domains that recorded gains. This means that for every site that improved, several others declined, showing a clear imbalance in outcomes.

To build the dataset, SISTRIX reviewed over 1,300 domains that showed notable visibility changes. It then applied strict filtering methods, including long-term visibility tracking over 52 weeks and daily trend analysis to confirm consistent movement rather than short-term fluctuations.

Stronger Impact on Commercial Websites

One of the clearest patterns in the data was the impact on online shops. E-commerce websites accounted for the largest proportion of losing domains, spanning multiple industries.

Retail categories such as fashion, electronics, gardening, and business-to-business supply services were all affected. Even some well-known German retail brands saw noticeable declines in visibility, suggesting that larger size or established presence did not necessarily protect sites from ranking losses.

This indicates that commercial websites may have been particularly sensitive to the changes introduced by the update, especially those relying heavily on search traffic for product visibility.

Declines Across Information-Based Tools

Another noticeable trend was the decline in language and educational tools. Several websites offering services such as translations, grammar assistance, conjugation tables, and study support all experienced simultaneous drops in visibility.

This group formed one of the most clearly defined clusters within the losing domains. The consistency of the decline across multiple similar sites suggests that this type of content may have been affected in a more systematic way rather than through isolated ranking changes.

Recipe and Content Platforms Under Pressure

Food and recipe websites also experienced mixed results, with several well-known platforms seeing declines. Some of these sites have been under pressure for some time due to increased competition from featured snippets and AI-generated answers in search results.

However, the impact was not uniform. While some recipe sites lost visibility, at least one major platform remained stable, showing that performance varied depending on the site and its positioning.

This reflects a broader trend in content-heavy industries, where search features and changing user behaviour continue to influence traffic patterns.

User-Generated Content and Social Platforms

User-generated content websites were also affected in the German market. One of the most notable examples saw a significant drop in visibility, continuing a longer-term downward trend that began earlier in 2025.

Social platforms were also included among the declining sites, suggesting that community-driven content was not immune to the update’s effects.

These changes may reflect ongoing shifts in how Google evaluates information quality and relevance, particularly for platforms that rely heavily on user submissions.

Who Benefited From the Update

In contrast to the larger group of losers, only a small number of domains saw gains following the update. These winners were primarily made up of official organisations, established brands, and institutional websites.

Government sites and well-known companies featured strongly among the improving domains, suggesting a possible preference for authoritative or trusted sources in certain search categories.

A cluster of airport websites across Germany also saw consistent growth, which stood out as one of the clearest grouped patterns among the winners. This suggests that the improvements were not random but may reflect a broader shift affecting specific types of institutions.

A few international platforms also recorded gains in German search visibility, although these increases often started from relatively low baseline levels.

What the Data Suggests Overall

The findings indicate that the March core update had a stronger negative impact overall, with many more sites losing visibility than gaining it. However, the effects were not evenly spread across all industries or website types.

Commercial sites, content-heavy platforms, and user-generated content websites appeared more vulnerable, while official and established institutional sites showed more resilience.

That said, the data is limited to the German market and focuses mainly on larger domains with measurable visibility levels. Smaller websites are not included in the dataset, meaning the full picture may be more complex.

Unanswered Questions

One of the key questions raised by the analysis is whether these changes are driven purely by algorithm updates or whether they also reflect shifts in user behaviour. The growing role of AI tools in search experiences may also be influencing how users interact with certain types of content.

At this stage, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions. As with all core updates, rankings are likely to continue adjusting over time as Google refines how it evaluates content across the web.

Final Thoughts

The March core update clearly reshaped visibility across the German search landscape, with a significantly higher number of losers compared to winners. While some sectors were hit harder than others, the overall trend points towards increased volatility in search performance.

For website owners, the key takeaway is that no site type is entirely protected from core updates. Performance can shift quickly, and ongoing monitoring remains essential to understand how changes in search algorithms may affect visibility over time.