Top Trends Shaping SEO in 2025

Declaring SEO dead has become about as big of a cliche in the digital marketing world as "content is king." But while one tired axiom, though simplistic and annoying, appears to be true in many cases, the other has--up until now--proven to be mostly hyperbole. 

Sure, SEO has gone through a number of existential threats. And Google seems hell-bent on encroaching on ever-more SERP real estate. Instead of sending you on to an informative blog post or infographic for answers, they'd rather synthesize answers for you, keeping your precious attention for themselves.

But a few key strategies challenged Google's encroachment and, as third-party cookies have become harder and harder to come by, great content can usually find it's way to in-market customers. There are just too many searchers searching in too many ways to make marketers abandon search as a viable channel.

It turns out, the biggest threat to SEO is not from Google. And its not from people suddenly searching less--in fact they are searching more than ever. 

The biggest threat to SEO in 2025 and beyond comes from other platforms--newer search products, more trusted answer platforms and AI chatbots that can get you answers in new and interesting ways. After decades of dominant market share, Google is no longer the only game in town. And digital marketers have to learn new tricks to stay ahead of the curve. 

So without further ado, I bring you...

Top Trends Shaping SEO in 2025

🤖 AI integration into search results

Google has worked tirelessly since at least 2010 to keep users on the search engine as long as possible, instead of linking them to authoritative content. The latest effort comes in the form of AI Overviews--quick, synthesized answers at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). Sources for these (on Google at least) are listed so the effect is similar to a rich snippet. Focus on structuring your content to answer direct questions, tightly test content headlines for click-through rate, and closely track your content’s inclusion in these AI overviews to see which content is catching attention.

❓ The rise of answer engines

AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity are gaining traction as alternatives to traditional search. Optimizing your content to these platforms provides almost no benefit as sources are, at least in current designs, largely hidden from view. But there are certain types of searches that won’t produce AI results: local searches, brand, product and people names, and searches for specific websites. This also increases the importance of creating unique content on topics not well covered on search engines today, as these are less likely to produce compelling results from answer engines.

🕶️ Emphasis on E-E-A-T

Search engines are placing greater importance on content that demonstrates firsthand Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness--also known as E-E-A-T. Content creators should focus on providing unique insights and improving off-page signals. Things like establishing a personal brand, improving social media authority, getting positive comments and reviews and getting linked to by other authoritative voices are more important than ever. 

✍️ User-generated content gains importance

Platforms featuring user-generated content, such as Reddit and Quora, are experiencing significant increases in organic search traffic. Some users have switched to Reddit for search entirely. This trend indicates a growing user preference for authentic, experience-based information AND further shows Google’s commitment to E-E-A-T. Businesses can leverage this by engaging with these communities and encouraging genuine user reviews and discussions related to their products or services.  

🔍 AI tools transforming SEO workflows

The adoption of AI tools in SEO is becoming mainstream, with many professionals using AI for everything from content creation to data analysis. While AI can improve efficiency, its analytical powers are severely limited. Remember, AI is trained on web content in the same way that search engines are. Even if you train the chatbot on real data, the answers you get are likely to be very surface and one-size-fits-all. Vendors in this space should look to provide robust testing and data on any hypothesis or common assumption to stand out against bot analysis.  

📊 Focus on user experience and Core Web Vitals

Search engines continue to prioritize user experience as a ranking factor. Metrics such as page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and interactivity are critical components of Core Web Vitals. Ensuring that websites are optimized for these factors can lead to better rankings and improved user satisfaction. Addressing this can get technical. Reducing the size of images and javascript, utilizing browser caching, implementing lazy loading, leveraging a Content Delivery Network (CDN), and consistently monitoring page speed on desktop and mobile can all improve ranking.

🔎 Growth of alternative search platforms

With ongoing antitrust trials and increasing competition, alternative search platforms are gaining attention. This diversification means that SEO strategies may need to be adjusted to account for different algorithms and ranking factors across various platforms. Testing should lead the way here--are your web properties showing impressions in multiple search engines? Take notice of where your opportunities are and, if results look compelling, come up with a plan to address them. 

🗑️ Combating AI-generated spam content

The proliferation of AI-generated content has led to an increase in low-quality, spammy material online. To address this, search engines are refining their algorithms to prioritize authentic human voices and original content. Content creators should focus on delivering genuine value and unique perspectives to stand out, as well as creating multimedia content and growing authority across platforms. Authenticity and trustworthiness are key. 

At JSC, we've been experimenting with a few of these platforms. I've even written about some of them on this blog. Throughout this year, we plan to dig more deeply into these new tools--from ChatGPT to DeepSeek to Reddit to AI Overview to Gemini--in order to keep you up to speed on the latest in search, AI and how these tools will impact digital marketing throughout 2025 and beyond. 

See you soon!