4 trends that will influence in SEO in 2025
Every year, experts try to predict what trends will dominate the world of SEO. That way, we can all start to strategize and plan for the year ahead with some sense of what might influence search and users.
Today we’re going to take a quick look at what happened in search in 2024, and which trends might be key to SEO success in 2025.
Rewind: What happened in search in 2024?
It’s been a big year at Google, and not always for the best of reasons! Let’s rewind to see what the big stories in SEO have been in 2024.
Google API Leak
In mid-March 2024, we saw the world of SEO lit up with discussion about API leaks that had surfaced on GitHub. The authenticity of these documents was confirmed by both ex-employees of Google and anonymous sources, then analyzed by SEO experts. This was one of the biggest insights we’ve had into the Google’s practices around things like NavBoost, navigational intent, and how Chrome plays its role.
Google’s Antitrust Lawsuit
While the API leak had a major impact on the SEO community, perhaps the highest impact story in search was the DOJ’s Antitrust suit against Google. In August, the DOJ ruled that Google’s monopoly on search violated antitrust laws, and this has ignited debate over what should happen next. With the number of services Google is tied to, will they be required to sell some of these off? Google has stated it intends to appeal the ruling, but in September the DOJ filed another antitrust suit around advertising.
Core Updates
Every year we see new core updates rock the boat in search, and 2024 was no different. The updates this year led to significant changes in traffic, and had webmasters and SEOs alike questioning what kind of content Google was trying to prioritize. The March Core Update sought to tackle spammy generative content, and prioritizing high quality content. The next update in August aimed to surface more useful, helpful content from smaller publishers after feedback from a previous update that many said seemed to punish smaller creators.
Claude, SearchGPT and the rise of AI
The growth of AI didn’t slow down in 2024, as we saw the continued rise of AI’s role in search. OpenAI launched SearchGPT in October, expanding on their ChatGPT product. SearchGPT allows users to get a more personalized, relevant search experience using conversational natural language the same way they would use ChatGPT. Anthropic also launched a new version of Claude, which can also provide answers to more natural language based questions, complete tasks, and help with things like form-filling and code-writing. These products represent a significant shift in the way tech companies expect people will want to use search in the future.
Google rolls out AI Overview
And in a similar vein, Google also rolled out their newest use of AI - the AI Overview. Now appearing at the top of SERPs in certain regions, the AI Overview pulls information from search results to provide users with a summary to their query. They can expand further through the sources provided, and see additional resources that may help them. This has led to SEOs discussing the concept of “zero click search”, and what it might mean for the future of optimization.
Now that we know what the big stories of the year were, let’s look ahead to what may happen in 2025.
#1 - AI will continue to change creation, search, and user behavior
AI tools are becoming more advanced, with new developments and breakthroughs coming all the time. This means that they’re becoming more well known and their use more widespread, with people starting to see the benefits of its application. As tools like SearchGPT and Claude become more commonplace and continue to improve, this will start to change search as we know it. This will happen in three primary ways - content creation, the search experience, and user behavior.
Content creation
While Google and other search engines are trying to crack down on generative or spam content as a result of AI, it doesn’t mean that AI is entirely banned from use in content creation. There are plenty of valid ways to use AI in SEO content - assistance in identifying keywords, suggestions for optimization, topic generation, proof reading etc. Tools like Claude can help with brainstorming, ideation, correcting, and even summarizing content for use in other applications.
Search experience
We know now that these new AI tools are changing the way we see SEO and search, and that Google is clearly taking notice with developing tools like the AI Overview. This demonstrates that AI is making search engines change the way they think about UX and what users actually want from their search experience. The concept of “zero click search” is becoming more of a reality for some queries, the notion that you can get an answer for a query without ever clicking a link such as a quick informational search. For some queries, however, this isn’t a concern at the moment such as with ecommerce where research and a purchase process is required to satisfy intent.
User behavior
Users now are getting more experienced with AI tools and their functions. This will inevitably change their behavior as they engage with search, as they’ll be used to a more natural, conversational approach to queries. This will feed into the sort of keywords and phrases they’ll use to form their queries. It also increases the expectation of “next” queries, in other words looking at what a user may ask next following their current query. Beyond just what they expect from search engines, users will also expect brands to have a policy on AI - what they use it for, limitations, how they use user data etc.
#2 - Originality and diversification in content will grow in importance
With the growth of AI, users and search engines alike will become more aware of potential AI created content. Google has already put more emphasis on authenticity in content, demonstrated through actions like adding Experience to E-A-T, and discussing the need for originality in core updates. The concept of original, authentically created content will be a key focus that will rise in tandem with the growth of AI and its applications.
Alongside this, it may be necessary for brands to diversify their content across platforms to reduce their reliance on Google. This is in part due to uncertainty around ongoing antitrust suits, but with the rise of other platforms like social search and AI and changing user behaviors, what is considered “satisfying intent” will change also. In this way, brands need to think beyond Google, and look to create original content across a variety of platforms to futureproof their SEO strategy in 2025.
#3 - Social search will increase and inform strategy
Users are increasingly moving away from Google depending on the kind of content they’re looking for. In some cases, clicking a link on an SERP just won’t cut it. For ecommerce, they’re looking to places like YouTube, Tiktok, Instagram and more for peer review and visually rich content. The same goes for local search - bars, restaurants, events, and more, are becoming more discoverable on these social platforms. And they expect brands to be on these platforms too, creating and engaging with content and users. It’s a way for brands to employ SEO tactics while also creating a potentially more meaningful connection with customers than a traditional search engine would allow.
As platforms better suit search intent and develop the features necessary to do so, consumers may too move to these platforms for specific types of search. There is some uncertainty with platforms like Tiktok with ongoing calls for restrictions and outright bans, however social media s a whole isn’t going away anytime soon.
#4 - Optimization will involve going beyond keywords
It’s safe to say that SEO has always been about more than keywords, however in 2025 this will be more relevant than ever. Things like search intent, predicting user behavior, enhancing UX, and more will be a greater focus for brands and sites who want to truly optimize their SEO in 2025. Rather than optimizing for search engines, it will be about focusing on what users actually want from your experience.
Brands in 2025 should closely align their UX strategy with their SEO strategy. Focus on pain points in your user experience and the challenges your potential customers face. Discover their intent - not just with search terms, but with finding your brand and the purchase they may make. A deeper understanding of this experience will enrich your strategy, allowing you to go beyond just optimizing for keywords.
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At the end of the day, no one can truly predict what will happen in the year ahead. What will happen with Google’s antitrust suit? What new tools with AI develop? And that’s without thinking about potential tools, trends, or news that may impact search we don’t even know about yet. But for now, these are the major trends to consider when mapping out your 2025 SEO strategy. Going into the year fully informed will mean you can create a strategy that makes the most of what search engines have to offer, while also looking ahead to what may be in store elsewhere.