Online Marketing Gurus Joins iMedia 2025, Reveals What’s Next for SEO

What’s Next for SEO? OMG Discusses Future Trends at iMedia Online Retail Summit 2025

Online Marketing Gurus (OMG) participated in the iMedia Online Retail Summit 2025, held from April 30 to May 2 at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort in Gold Coast, Australia. The three-day event brought together marketing leaders, retail executives, and technology partners from Australia and beyond, with a shared goal of exchanging ideas and shaping the future of digital commerce.

“iMedia continues to be a strategic platform for us,” said Safwan Chowdhury, Chief Growth Officer at OMG. “This access to expert-led discussions and high-level conversations is invaluable for any business serious about growth.”

Chowdhury also delivered a keynote presentation on the evolving state of SEO. His talk, titled “SEO Uncovered: What’s Changing, What Matters, and How to Stay Ahead,” explored the latest developments in search engine optimisation and provided strategic guidance on how businesses can maintain visibility and performance in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

The Changing SEO Landscape: Key Takeaways from the Keynote

Safwan’s keynote addressed critical shifts in SEO practice, drawing on current trends, emerging technologies, recently surfaced internal data from Google, and his hands-on experience managing SEO strategies for a wide range of businesses from fast-scaling e-commerce brands to large retail groups. This perspective offered attendees insight not only into what’s changing, but also into how brands are actively adapting their strategies on the ground to maintain performance and resilience.

1.SEO in 2025: Why It’s More Important That Ever

Safwan opened the keynote by spotlighting a significant trend: the rising cost of paid media. Marketers across industries are facing increasingly expensive CPCs on platforms like Google Ads, making owned media channels like SEO more valuable than ever.

He broke down several key reasons behind this increase in ad costs:

• Rising Demand: With more businesses competing for online attention, ad space has become more expensive.
• Economic Pressures: Inflation and macroeconomic instability have forced brands to tighten performance thresholds, which has only raised the stakes and costs of paid media.
• Platform Changes: Google’s switch to making “broad match” the default keyword type drove more clicks, but not necessarily more quality traffic.
• Seasonal and Industry Trends: During key periods like holidays or sales seasons, intense bidding wars drove up CPCs even further.

For marketers, this means one thing: SEO isn’t just an option; it’s an essential, long-term strategy for sustainable traffic and growth.

2. The Future of SEO and AI-Driven Search

From there, the session shifted into what’s changing under the hood of search itself. Safwan explored the rise of AI-powered search engines like Google Gemini and Bing’s AI chatbot, which are already altering how users discover information and make buying decisions.

Key highlights:

• AI is now built into search experiences. ChatGPT, Bing, and Google are delivering AI-curated answers and shopping recommendations.
• Transactional search hasn’t been affected..yet. But informational and discovery-based searches are being reshaped by AI-generated content and overviews.
• What does this mean for SEO? Brands need to start optimising for AI-driven discovery, not just traditional keyword search.

How to Stay Visible in AI Results:

• Use structured data and clean product feeds
• Collect and showcase trusted, verified reviews
• Focus on educational, experience-based content
• Ensure your site has technical schema markup
• Build strong authority signals with high-quality backlinks

Safwan noted that Google’s stance on AI-generated content hasn’t changed: it’s acceptable, as long as it provides value. Think of AI as your assistant, not your content strategy.

The SEO Framework for 2025: Technical, Links, Content

To succeed in 2025’s SEO environment, brands need to build with intention, starting with strategy, refining structure and content, and building authority consistently. Safwan unpacked OMG’s three-step TLC Framework: Technical, Links, and Content; a methodical approach to SEO that’s proven effective for brands across industries.

Step 1: Start With the End in Mind

• Conduct a situational analysis of your market and competitors.
• Perform keyword research based on online buying behaviour to capture long-tail traffic.
• Use AI as a research and planning tool, but don’t rely on it alone.

Step 2: Optimise Structure and Content

• Study market leaders to benchmark site structure, URLs, and content quality.
• Use AI to help plan your site architecture and content strategy.
• Content length still matters, but quality outweighs quantity. Google continues to reward relevance and depth over content for content’s sake.
• Understand the “Unhelpful Content” update and ensure all content is user-focused and experience-rich.

E-E-A-T is Critical in 2025:

Google’s ranking framework now includes an extra “E” for Experience:

• Experience: Show first-hand knowledge in your content.
• Expertise: Create long-form, expert-level content and FAQs.
• Authoritativeness: Use internal linking and high-authority external publications.
• Trust: Verified reviews and testimonials boost both E-E-A-T and conversions.

Safwan also touched on SERP feature distribution, noting that capturing rich results and AI overviews requires strategic formatting and markup.

Step 3: Build Authority with Links That Matter

Backlinks remain a critical part of the SEO equation, but not all links are equal. Safwan explained how to build offsite authority in a way that’s both strategic and authentic:

• Run a competitive analysis to identify where top-ranking competitors are earning backlinks. Use tools like Ahrefs to legally “spy” on competitor link strategies and uncover opportunities.
• Focus on category and key product pages; pages with strong commercial intent that can directly drive rankings and revenue.
• Measure URL Rating to prioritise link targets in hyper-competitive spaces.

The takeaway? The number and quality of referring domains still hold strong statistical weight in improving your rankings.

Final Thoughts: A Time for Smart, Evidence-Based SEO

Safwan’s keynote at iMedia didn’t just explore what’s new; it provided marketers with a roadmap. In a landscape shaped by economic pressure, AI innovation, and algorithmic shifts, SEO success in 2025 depends on having a clear, data-backed strategy rooted in technical foundations, content excellence, and authentic authority-building.

As marketers left the Gold Coast conference, the message was clear: those who invest in structured, evidence-driven SEO today will be the ones who stay ahead tomorrow.

A Space for Insight and Connection

Beyond the main program, the iMedia Conference offered an environment for collaboration, professional development, and networking. Attendees engaged in a range of activities including drink making and painting sessions, encouraging dialogue outside the traditional conference setting. For Online Marketing Gurus, the event served not only as a platform to contribute insights but also as an opportunity to exchange ideas with both local and international industry peers. The diversity of perspectives, from independent retailers to global brands, provided valuable context on the challenges and innovations shaping the future of digital marketing. 

Ready to Grow With the Best?

Online Marketing Gurus, awarded SEO Agency of the Year at the 2025 Global Search Awards, partners with over 1,000 Australian businesses to drive measurable growth through our data-led SEO services, PPC management, and paid social strategies. From scaling fast-growing eCommerce brands to transforming enterprise-level campaigns, we focus on results that move the needle: higher rankings, lower acquisition costs, and increased revenue. 

Contact us today for a free $4,000-worth digital growth strategy tailored to your goals.

About the author

Danny Andrawes

Danny Andrawes, Chief Executive Officer of OMG, plays a pivotal role in shaping the agency’s strategic direction. With nearly 20 years of experience, he progressed from Content Specialist and Digital SEO Specialist to CEO, leveraging his impressive background in SEO/SEM delivery, client acquisition and retention, and change management to enhance OMG’s service offerings. Danny’s leadership emphasises client partnerships and the integration of cutting-edge tools to optimise digital campaigns, positioning OMG as a trusted partner for businesses worldwide.