Improving Your SEO In 2025

Success in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has always been a moving target despite it being one of the oldest digital marketing channels around. Technology has advanced at breakneck speed, along with user behaviour and Google algorithm changes (which will likely remain the largest search engine through 2025). 

Despite these constant challenges, SEO remains a cornerstone of digital marketing success. However, it is no longer just about rankings. Effective SEO now zeroes in on connecting your business with the right audience at the right time. The core principle — delivering valuable, relevant content, and user experiences — remain unchanged.

What has changed is how we achieve that goal.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed a dramatic evolution in SEO practices. The days of simply stuffing your pages with keywords and hoping for the best are long gone. Google’s algorithms are becoming harder to “game”, and the focus is now on user engagement, content quality, and technical optimisation. Businesses must shift their strategies toward a more holistic, user-centric approach.

This shift is driven by several disruptors, including:

The changes outlined above are shaping the current state of SEO. In the following chapters, we’ll share insider knowledge and actionable strategies to transform these challenges into opportunities. We’ve distilled our years of expertise into the tips and insights you’ll find below–consider this your roadmap to SEO success in 2025.

AI has undoubtedly captured the public imagination, sparking both excitement and apprehension across industries. While some may shy away from its perceived consequences, the reality is that AI is here to stay, and its influence on SEO is significant.

Resisting or dismissing AI is counterproductive; embracing it may unlock new efficiencies for your business. However, approach this technology with a realistic grasp of its limitations.

The integration of AI into content generation isn’t a new phenomenon. Tools like Grammarly and writing assistants like Jasper and Copy.ai have been around for a while. However, the meteoric rise of ChatGPT has brought AI content creation to the forefront. Its intuitive chat format and powerful language model, make it accessible and engaging, allowing users to converse with the tool and generate tailored material.

This ease of content production has led to a surge of AI-written content online, raising concerns about its impact on quality and originality. It has also sparked fears about Google penalising AI-generated content yet, Google has clarified that quality is paramount, whether the material is human or AI-authored.

According to a survey by Search Engine Journal, content generation is the top AI tool companies are willing to invest in.

AI is revolutionising SEO analytics by helping businesses process and interpret vast amounts of data quickly and accurately. Beyond basic metrics like site traffic and bounce rates, newer tools offer deeper insights into user behaviour, content performance, and competitor analysis. These tools can automatically identify patterns, trends and anomalies in your data, and provide actionable recommendations.

Some examples of AI-powered analytics tools include:

AI was a recurring theme in our discussion, and we felt it was important enough to warrant its own chapter.

According to Search Engine Journal, career competition was the primary concern for SEO professionals in 2023. When they conducted the same survey a year later, that concern significantly shrank. Today, the looming shadow of AI-powered search, spearheaded by Google, has taken centre stage.

You see, the widespread adoption of AI isn’t limited to businesses and marketers — Google itself is deeply invested in harnessing its power. This is evident in the evolution of Search Generative Experience (SGE), now rebranded as AI Overviews (AIO).

In essence, this new technology leverages AI to provide users with concise summaries and key takeaways at the top of search results, offering a snapshot of information on a given topic.

This marks a departure from traditional search engine results pages (SERPs), which typically present a list of web pages ranked based on relevance to the search query. AI Overviews aim to synthesise information from multiple sources, presenting users with a distilled and readily digestible “overview” directly within the results page.

While this shift may seem daunting, we believe Google’s intentions are rooted in user experience. They want to empower users to grasp complex subjects quickly, discover diverse perspectives and accomplish tasks more efficiently. In the past, combing through numerous search results and sifting through lengthy articles posed challenges. Google wants to streamline this process and present users with a distilled understanding upfront.

This feature was rolled out in May of this year in the United States and will expand to more countries by the end of 2024. To get a glimpse of this feature, we suggest you use a VPN and set it to the US.

At first glance, AI Overviews and Featured Snippets might seem similar, both providing quick information at the top of the search results page. However, AIO offers a broader perspective by compiling information from multiple sources to summarise complex topics. Featured Snippets, on the other hand, focus on a single, concise answer drawn from a single webpage.

Without a doubt, AI Overviews are a significant disruption you shouldn’t ignore. With concise summaries and key takeaways taking precedence on SERPs, users might find the information they need without ever clicking through to your website. These are referred to as “zero-click searches”. This potential decrease in organic traffic could impact your SEO efforts, especially if you rely heavily on high rankings for visibility.

While this is a massive development in SEO, note that its impact isn’t universal yet and varies across industries. Furthermore, observations suggest that, as of this writing, local keywords are less likely to trigger these overviews. So, while this shift warrants preparation, it shouldn’t be a cause for panic. Stay informed, be proactive and adjust your strategies accordingly as changes unfold.

Also, don’t forget that this feature is still in its experimental stage. The insights and recommendations provided in this chapter are based on current observations and professional predictions. As Google continues to refine and expand AI Overviews, the SEO landscape may evolve further.

1. The Basics Still Matter – While AIO presents a new dimension in search, the foundational principles of SEO remain critical. Websites consistently ranking well in traditional search results are more likely to be featured. This means mastering the SEO basics within your niche — link-building, quality content, and technical optimisation — remains paramount. If you’re already ranking well, consider yourself ahead of the curve. With a few strategic tweaks, you can position your content to be featured prominently in these new Overviews.
2. Intent is Everything – Google is getting smarter at understanding the intent behind user searches. It’s no longer just about matching keywords but about comprehending the user’s needs and providing the most relevant information. To align with this, you must meticulously craft your pages to address the core intent of your target audience.
3. Don’t Beat Around the Bush – Google recognises that attention spans are shrinking, and users crave instant answers. To ensure your content is featured, optimise for clarity and conciseness. Structure your pieces with clear headings, bullet points and concise paragraphs that deliver information efficiently. Honestly, these optimisations are somehow similar for claiming Featured Snippet spots.
4. Prioritise Readability – Complex sentence structures and jargon-heavy language can hinder comprehension. Opt for short, straightforward sentences and plain language accessible to a broad audience. Use visuals like images and infographics to break up text and enhance understanding.

The asterisk in the title denotes that while content quality will always be paramount, its true measure is now its relevance to searcher intent. In other words, hyper-targeted, quality content is the new king.

The notion of “quality content” is continuously evolving, and in 2025, it will be more closely tied to Google’s E-E-A-T principles: Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. As we learned this year, it’s no longer sufficient to simply produce well-written, keyword-rich content — businesses must demonstrate in-depth knowledge and showcase relevant experience. The same survey by SEJ reveals that aligning with E-E-A-T is the top objective for SEO professionals this year — a trend that will likely continue in 2025.

In addition, we at OMG noticed that first-hand opinion pieces are now ranking higher, which means you shouldn’t just regurgitate information but also curate content that blends your audience’s needs with your unique thoughts and insights as a credible source.

As mentioned, user intent has become more crucial today than ever. Content must now directly address user queries and meet their search intent, whether informational, transactional or navigational.

A notable shift we observed at OMG is the growing emphasis on targeted traffic. Our Gurus noted that attracting massive, generic audiences isn’t always the optimal strategy anymore. Instead, it’s more productive to tailor content to resonate with the users who align with your business objectives.

Backlinks remain crucial for SEO, and we don’t see their importance fading anytime soon. However, 2024 has seen link-building become a bit more challenging, partly due to increased scrutiny on link quality and the rise of AI-generated content.

This is where quality content shines. Your website must be a treasure trove of information, insights and solutions that others in your industry find genuinely valuable. By consistently producing content that educates, inspires or solves problems, you create a compelling reason for others to link to your site. Building a reputation as a go-to resource naturally attracts links from authoritative sources and elevates your SEO performance.

1. Conduct a Content Audit — Compile a list of your website’s blog posts, landing pages, product descriptions, and other relevant pages. Gather key metrics for each piece, including traffic, engagement (time on page, bounce rate), conversions, and keyword rankings.
2. Quality Assessment — Evaluate each piece of content based on E-E-A-T principles, readability, relevance to user intent, and overall value provided. Categorise your content according to performance and quality, such as high-performing, underperforming, outdated or in need of improvement.
3. Refresh or Replace Underperforming Pages — Once your audit has identified pages with low metrics, decide whether to revitalise them or replace them entirely with more relevant and valuable content.
4. Prioritise User Intent — understand your target audience and their search intent thoroughly before creating new content Analyse search trends and identify the questions and problems your audience seeks answers for.
5. Showcase E-E-A-T — Back up your claims with data, cite credible sources, and feature subject matter experts. This is even more crucial if your business falls under the YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) industries, such as finance, healthcare or legal services.
6. Optimise for Readability — Make your content easy to read and understand. Use precise language, short sentences, and subheadings. Break up text with visuals and bullet points.
7. Keep It Original — Avoid duplicate content and focus on creating unique, valuable insights. AI-generated copies can be helpful, but make sure they’re edited and refined to reflect your brand voice and expertise.
8. Diversify — Incorporate visuals, such as images, infographics, and videos, to enhance engagement and cater to different learning styles. Videos are becoming increasingly popular as a dynamic way to present information. Consider creating explainer videos, product demonstrations, or behind-the-scenes glimpses to capture attention and provide value in a visually appealing format.
9. Measure and Refine — Track key metrics to understand your content’s performance. Use this data to refine your strategy and create even better content in the future.

While the tried-and-true fundamentals of SEO remain unchanged, the dynamic nature of this practice guarantees there’s always something new on the horizon. In this chapter, we’ll explore some key areas to watch in 2025, ensuring you stay ahead and adapt your strategies accordingly.

This area of SEO is not new at all, but it deserves mentioning as we believe it will continue to be a game-changer for a vast range of businesses in 2025.

For companies with a brick-and-mortar presence or those serving a specific geographic area, local SEO is an absolute necessity. In our practice, we’ve witnessed the undeniable power of local searches, especially in service-oriented sectors such as healthcare and real estate.

These users are not just casually browsing but actively looking for solutions near them. Optimising for local SEO ensures your products and services stand out in these high-intent searches. Key strategies include:

Driven by the increasing popularity of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search is rapidly transforming how people interact with search engines. It’s most relevant for local SEO, as most of these searches are location-based — with users seeking nearby businesses, services or information.

Driven by the increasing popularity of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice search is rapidly transforming how people interact with search engines. It’s most relevant for local SEO, as most of these searches are location-based — with users seeking nearby businesses, services or information.

It’s no surprise how visual content has emerged as a dominant force in marketing, and its impact on SEO is evident. In 2025, optimising videos and images will be as crucial as refining written content. With platforms like YouTube becoming major search engines, businesses need to harness the power of video SEO to reach a broader audience and improve their overall search visibility.

Visual search tools like Google Lens are also reshaping how users interact with search engines. By allowing users to search using images, these tools open new opportunities for businesses to connect with potential customers. Optimising images with descriptive file names, alt text and relevant captions is key to ensuring your visual content appears in relevant search results.

Visual search tools like Google Lens are also reshaping how users interact with search engines. By allowing users to search using images, these tools open new opportunities for businesses to connect with potential customers. Optimising images with descriptive file names, alt text and relevant captions is key to ensuring your visual content appears in relevant search results.

To tackle the challenges, consider a framework based on ROI-driven decisions. Start by identifying your primary SEO objectives, such as increasing organic traffic, generating leads or improving brand awareness. If you’re facing budget constraints, prioritise high-impact activities that directly contribute to those goals.

Additionally, focus on the basics that are sure to provide results — technical optimisations, strategic content creation, and link-building. Here are other recommendations to consider:

This might come off as a shameless plug coming from a digital marketing agency, but there truly is immense value in outsourcing your SEO. At its core, outsourcing gives you access to a team of experts who live and breathe SEO and possess the in-depth experience to handle the ever-changing search environment. This frees you and your team to focus on core business activities.

Outsourcing also provides access to specialised tools and technologies that might be impractical for smaller businesses. These tools can streamline processes, automate tasks, and provide valuable insights that empower you to make informed decisions. Additionally, an agency can conduct comprehensive audits, identify areas for improvement and implement data-backed strategies aligned with your goals.

Leveraging an SEO agency can potentially help you achieve better ROI with less trial and error.

Throughout this eBook, we’ve explored the dynamic nature of SEO and how businesses can adapt to thrive in 2025. The key takeaway is that SEO has never been a static set of tactics — it’s an ongoing process of adaptation and refinement. As Google’s algorithms become more sophisticated and user expectations evolve, you can stay ahead by focusing on user-centric strategies, quality content, and technical excellence.

Frequent algorithm updates and SERP volatility are the new normal. It’s no longer about chasing short-term gains but building a sustainable SEO foundation that can weather any storm. Focus on long-term strategies like producing high-quality content that aligns with user intent, building authoritative backlinks and optimising for technical performance. These are SEO fundamentals for a reason.

You can also stay agile by regularly monitoring your SEO performance and proactively adjusting your strategies in response to significant updates. Don’t panic if you experience a sudden drop in rankings — analyse the changes, identify potential causes, and implement necessary adjustments.

Also, consider diversifying your traffic sources beyond Google by maximising social media, email marketing, and other channels. This will reduce your dependence on SERPs and safeguard your online visibility.

We believe the best approach to future-proofing your SEO is data-driven. This led to our long-standing slogan: “Evidence, not opinion.” Hunches and “hot takes” about the future of SEO are a dime a dozen, but if you invest in advanced analytics to gain deeper insights into user behaviour, content performance, and competitor strategies, you can always make informed decisions and stay ahead of the pack.

If you’re ready to take your SEO to the next level, Online Marketing Gurus is here to help. Claim your free, no-strings-attached audit of your entire online presence — SEO, social media, and PPC. We’ll generate a comprehensive 50-page report that reveals where you stand and how to improve. Let’s work together to unlock your online potential in 2025 and beyond.

Danny Andrawes is the Chief Executive Officer at Online Marketing Gurus, a powerhouse team of over 200 digital marketing professionals. With over a decade of experience in the industry, his expertise spans a wide range of disciplines, including SEO, digital strategy, customer acquisition and analytics, among others.

Under Danny and the founding and leadership team, Online Marketing Gurus has flourished into a multinational agency serving clients in Australia, the United States, the UAE and Singapore. His strategic guidance and leadership have been instrumental in the agency’s impressive growth — allowing it to serve over 1,000 businesses every month.