While SEO fundamentals — keywords, quality content, technical optimisations and backlinks — remain the bedrock of any successful strategy, the digital marketing landscape will continue to evolve in 2025. It might not be a complete rollercoaster ride, but there are plenty of twists and turns to keep us on our toes. We know the general direction we’re all headed, yet there are always hidden trails and new challenges to conquer.
It goes without saying that staying ahead of the curve is non-negotiable, whether you’re a businessperson looking to increase traffic or an SEO professional aiming to deliver desirable results for your clients. After all, with the neck-breaking pace of user behaviour shifts and algorithm updates, what worked yesterday might not cut it tomorrow.
In this guide, we at Online Marketing Gurus (OMG) will go through the top trends that are set to shake things up in 2025. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be armed with the knowledge to conquer the search rankings and leave your competitors in the dust (or in Google’s latter pages, where you can practically hide a dead body).
Trend 1: AI-powered search and AI Overviews
This year, AI-powered search has evolved beyond simple keyword matching, diving deeper into the intent behind queries and delivering more personalised results. We at OMG see this trend continuing in 2025.
Google’s AI Overviews feature is one of the most striking examples of this evolution. These AI-generated summaries appear at the top of search results, offering users a concise overview of the topic and often answering their questions directly without the need to click through to a website. This could revolutionise how users interact with search results, impacting click-through rates and requiring a tweak in traditional SEO strategies.
To thrive in this AI-driven search, here are a few actionable tips:
- Optimise for featured snippets and knowledge panels — Featured snippets and knowledge panels are prime candidates for inclusion in AI Overviews. By structuring your content to directly answer common questions and providing clear, concise information, you increase your chances of being featured in these coveted positions.
- Create comprehensive, well-structured content — AI algorithms favour content that thoroughly addresses user queries. Focus on creating informative, well-organised articles, blog posts and guides that cover all angles of a topic.
- Utilise structured data — Structured data helps search engines understand the context and content of your web pages. By implementing schema markup, you can provide explicit clues about the type of information on your site, making it more likely to be included in AI Overviews.
Trend 2: Core Web Vitals reign supreme
In the quest for higher search rankings, user experience has emerged as the new battleground, and it’s not hard to see why. Today’s savvy users have diminished attention spans and demand lightning-fast, seamless experiences. Enter Core Web Vitals, a set of metrics that quantify the aspects of web page performance that directly impact user experience. In 2025, these vitals will continue to be key ranking factors.
What exactly are Core Web Vitals? Let’s break it down:
- Largest contentful paint (LCP) — This measures how long it takes for the largest element on a page to become visible. A slow LCP can frustrate users waiting for content to load.
- First input delay (FID) — This gauges the responsiveness of a page when a user first interacts with it (e.g., clicking a button). A high FID means a lag between the user’s action and the page’s response, leading to a poor experience.
- Cumulative layout shift (CLS) — This tracks the visual stability of a page. If elements jump around unexpectedly as it loads, it results in a high CLS score, which can be disorienting for users.
To ensure your website delivers a smooth user experience, start by using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to audit your site and identify areas for improvement. Next, prioritise mobile-first design, as mobile usage continues to dominate. You should also optimise images by compressing them without sacrificing quality and consider implementing lazy loading to defer the loading of images until they’re needed.
Remember, a fast, responsive and visually stable website not only appeals to users but also gets a thumbs-up from search engines.
Trend 3: Video SEO
It’s no secret that video content is already dominating social media platforms, capturing attention, driving engagement and fostering a sense of community. However, video is also making significant waves in search results, often appearing in prominent positions for a wide range of queries. This presents a massive opportunity for businesses to tap into the power of video to boost their visibility and connect with their audience on a deeper level.
The potential benefits of incorporating video into your SEO strategy are substantial. Videos can increase dwell time on your website, signalling to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. They’re also highly shareable, which can expand your reach and attract new visitors. Moreover, video provides a dynamic and engaging way to showcase your products, services or brand story.
To leverage video content for SEO, here’s what you can do:
- Create high-quality, informative videos — Invest in producing videos that are not only visually appealing but also provide valuable information or entertainment. Think tutorials, product demos, behind-the-scenes glimpses or even humorous skits that align with your brand.
- Optimise video titles, descriptions and tags — Just like with written content, optimising your video metadata is crucial for SEO. Use relevant keywords in your titles and descriptions and add descriptive tags to help search engines understand the content of your videos.
- Transcribe your videos — Adding transcripts to your videos is a win-win for both accessibility and SEO. It makes your content available to a broader audience, including those with hearing impairments or those in environments where they can’t turn on the sound (like a crowded office or a quiet library). Moreover, transcripts provide additional text-based content that search engines can crawl and index.
Trend 4: Voice search
The rise of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant has ushered in a new era of search — one where keyboards become optional. Voice search is no longer just a novelty feature. For many, it’s a rapidly growing trend that’s changing how people interact with search engines. As we head into 2025, optimising for voice search is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses looking to maintain visibility and reach their target audience.
Voice search queries often differ from typed searches. They tend to be longer, more conversational and phrased as questions. Think, “Hey Siri, where’s the nearest coffee shop?” rather than “coffee shop near me.” This shift requires a new approach to keyword research and content optimisation. Instead of focusing solely on short-tail keywords, businesses need to consider long-tail ones and natural language phrases that align with how people speak.
To stay ahead of the curve, optimise your website for voice search by putting more TLC into your FAQ pages, using structured data to provide direct answers to common questions and ensuring your site is mobile-friendly for on-the-go voice searches. Consider the intent behind voice queries, which are often local or informational in nature, and tailor your content accordingly.
Some things never change — content will still be king in 2025
While we’ve covered some of the hottest trends that will probably demand attention in 2025, that doesn’t mean you should keep your eye off the tried-and-true postulates of SEO. The biggest of which being creating helpful, relevant and user-centric content.
Google’s increasing emphasis on expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) reinforces the importance of crafting content that demonstrates your credibility and authority in your field. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing and thin content — Google’s algorithms are now smart enough to discern user intent and reward content that genuinely satisfies searchers’ needs.
User intent is the driving force behind search behaviour, and understanding it is crucial for content creators in 2025. By aligning your content with the searcher’s intent, you’ll not only improve your rankings but also establish yourself as a trusted resource in your niche. So, while content is still king, user intent is queen.
The Guru’s take
As we’ve seen, the SEO landscape of 2025 is a dynamic blend of evolving technologies and unwavering fundamentals. The businesses that will truly thrive are those that embrace a holistic approach to SEO. It’s no longer enough to focus solely on keywords or technical optimisations. You need to understand your audience, create content that genuinely helps them and deliver seamless experiences across all platforms.
At Online Marketing Gurus, our seasoned experts — backed by over a decade of experience and numerous industry awards — have their fingers firmly on the pulse of these changes. We understand that traversing this ever-shifting terrain can be daunting, which is why we’re offering a helping hand.
To get you started, we’re offering a free website audit with no strings attached. An audit of this calibre is something marketers will charge you approximately $4000 for, yet we’ll give it to you for free. It’s a comprehensive, 50+ page deep dive into your entire digital ecosystem — covering SEO, PPC, Facebook and beyond. Think of it as an X-ray for your online presence, revealing hidden opportunities and areas for improvement.
Contact us today to learn more.
