Why Google Is Favoring Specialization Over Generalist Content
Google’s December core update reinforced a trend that has been building for years:
Specialized brands and category experts are increasingly outperforming broad, generalist sites.
The update, which rolled out across most of December, triggered noticeable changes across:
- Product recommendation queries
- Mid-funnel ecommerce searches
- Software-related terms
- News and Discover visibility
The biggest impact was seen on “best of” queries, where Google appears to be reassessing who is best positioned to answer commercial-intent searches.
The Core Pattern: Depth Beats Breadth
Across multiple industries, the update rewarded sites that show direct, category-specific authority, while reducing visibility for sites that cover many topics without deep specialization.
This shift is most visible in queries where users are evaluating options rather than learning definitions.
Examples include:
- “Best ”
- “[Product] for [specific use case]”
- “Top tools for [business need]”
In these cases, Google is increasingly favoring:
- Brands
- Specialist retailers
- Dedicated category platforms
Over:
- Broad publications
- General ecommerce marketplaces
- Multi-topic content hubs
Publications Lose Ground on “Best Of” Content
Many publication-style sites saw declines for “best of” queries that were previously treated as informational.
Google now appears to interpret many of these queries as commercial in nature, prioritizing sources with direct product ownership or category authority.
This means:
- Editorial guides are losing visibility
- Brand catalogs and category pages are gaining
- Aggregated recommendation lists are becoming less competitive
For publishers, this marks a continued erosion of product-focused search territory.
Ecommerce: Specialists Win, Generalists Slip
In ecommerce, the update followed a similar logic.
What Changed:
- Large, broad retailers lost rankings on mid-funnel queries
- Niche brands and specialized retailers gained visibility
- Category-specific expertise mattered more than scale
This suggests Google is prioritizing:
- Clear product focus
- Category relevance
- Depth of expertise
Over:
- Wide but shallow product coverage
For ecommerce brands, this is a positive signal. For large marketplaces, it’s a reminder that size alone is no longer a ranking advantage.
SaaS Searches Favor Dedicated Platforms
Software-related queries also reflected the specialization trend.
Broad platforms and general business publications dropped for queries related to:
- Industry-specific software
- Role-based tools
- Small business use cases
Meanwhile, SaaS companies with:
- Dedicated landing pages
- Clear audience targeting
- Focused product messaging
Saw improved visibility.
Google appears to reward clear product-to-problem alignment rather than brand recognition alone.
News Publishers Experienced Heavy Volatility
News publishers were among the most affected during the update.
Key observations:
- Significant ranking fluctuations across Search, Discover, and Google News
- Visibility losses were not limited to one region
- Discover traffic declines were especially sharp for some publishers
Unlike ecommerce and SaaS, where changes were directional, news volatility was more erratic, suggesting surface-level differences in how the update applied.
Discover Volatility Raises Planning Risks
For publishers, Discover continues to grow as a traffic source — but it is also highly sensitive to core updates.
When Discover visibility drops:
- Traffic loss can be immediate
- Recovery is unpredictable
- Revenue impact is magnified
This creates a planning challenge for publishers that rely heavily on Discover without a clear topic focus.
Topic Authority Signals Are Likely at Play
Google’s emphasis on topic authority provides important context for this update.
Rather than rewarding sites that cover everything reasonably well, Google increasingly favors sites that:
- Go deep in specific areas
- Demonstrate consistent expertise
- Publish content tightly aligned to a niche
This applies differently across:
- Web Search
- Discover
- News surfaces
But the underlying theme remains consistent.
Why “Best Of” Queries Are Changing
A key insight from this update is how Google interprets intent.
Many “best of” queries appear to be shifting from:
Informational intent
to
Commercial intent
That change has major implications.
If Google sees the query as commercial:
- Brands have an advantage
- Publishers face direct competition from manufacturers and retailers
- Generic recommendation content becomes less effective
What This Means for SEO Strategy in 2026
For Brands & Retailers:
- Invest in category-specific landing pages
- Strengthen product authority signals
- Focus on depth over range
For SaaS Companies:
- Create dedicated pages for clear use cases
- Align messaging with specific audiences
- Avoid generic, catch-all software pages
For Publishers:
- Reduce reliance on broad “best of” content
- Build authority in narrower verticals
- Diversify traffic beyond Discover
- Reassess commercial content strategy
Final Takeaway: Google Is Doubling Down on Expertise
The December core update didn’t introduce a new direction — it intensified an existing one.
Google is continuing to:
- Reward specialization
- Reclassify intent toward commercial outcomes
- Reduce visibility for generalist content in competitive queries
In 2026, winning search visibility increasingly depends on how clearly your site earns the right to rank for a specific category — not how broadly it tries to compete.
