The State of SEO: Trends, Insights and Predictions for 2025

2024 was a memorable year for SEO. 

It was the year AI finally came of age and started showing its potential impact on search results. 

Google came up with the Search Generative Experience and quickly rebranded it to AI Overview. 

While SEO professionals entered 2024 feeling confident of their position, they head into 2025 amid a cloud of uncertainty. 

But it’s not all bad news. 

Plenty of SEO pros have witnessed SEO success even in the turbulent times of AI and constant changes to Google’s algorithm. 

One thing’s for certain: SEO is neither dead nor dying. In fact, as we’ll see, it’s more important than ever! 

Let’s break down SEO in 2024 to understand what 2025 has in store for us. 

Key Takeaways 

• Google is raising the bar on Search Results through AI overviews and changes to its algorithm.
• AI Overviews have had a mixed impact on enterprises, with some reporting a considerably positive impact.
• Users want authentic, engaging and trustworthy content in less time. 
• Alternative Media, such as infographics, videos and reels, is on the rise.
• The Hybrid SEO approach (partly outsourced, partly in-house) has worked best for most enterprises. 

Top SEO Trends in 2024

Before we examine the state of SEO in 2025, let’s recap the transformative year that was 2024: 

1. AI is here, it’s here for good 

2024 was definitely the year AI took over the internet. And it looks like it’s not going away any time soon. 

47% of all user queries are already showing AI Overviews. What’s more, users appreciate the addition of AI to their search experience as long as the results aren’t misleading. 

The rise of AI Overviews (previously Search Generative Experience) has supplemented the already-existing Featured Snippets, Zero-Click Searches and People Also Ask Questions. 

2. Biggest Challenges

While on the one hand, 2024 was the year of AI, it was also a period of turbulent changes for the SEO Community. While in 2023, content creation was #1 on the list of difficulties for SEO professionals, here’s how the list looks for 2024: 

• Algorithm Changes
• Link Building
• Technical SEO 

As you can see, content creation is not even among the top three challenges faced by the SEO community. 

3. Biggest Barriers to SEO Success 

So, what were the barriers that blocked the path to SEO success in 2024? The professionals had three important concerns: 

• Lack of budget and resources 
• Google’s algorithm updates
• Increased competition on the SERP

What catches our eye is that Google’s algorithm update was both, the biggest challenge as well as the biggest barrier to success. However, as you can see below, several companies were also positively impacted by the changes.

4. How Are SEO Pros Measuring Success?

Next, let’s look at how SEO pros measured success in 2024. The top three metrics include: 

• Keyword rankings
• Organic Page Views
• Click-Through Rates

As you can see, none of these metrics include business-centric measures, such as conversions, subscriptions and SEO ROI. 

So, 2024 was definitely the year of long-term investment for the SEO community. 

5. What’s Worked?

Lastly, let’s see what strategies and tactics have resulted in SEO success in 2024. According to SEO professionals, these include: 

• Superior content compared to competitors.
• Alternative media strategies, such as publishing infographics and creating videos.
• Public relations and journalism to increase awareness and visibility.
• Guest Posts to boost domain authority.
• Focus on EEAT and becoming a trusted source to become more visible to Google’s algorithm.

What’s interesting is the list doesn’t include an explicit investment in pivoting to an AI-focused SEO strategy, which we anticipate will change in 2025. Regardless, 2024 has been a year in which SEO professionals have fought the AI battle through indirect means. 

Looking Ahead – The State of SEO in 2025

Now that we’ve recapped the trends of 2024 let’s look ahead toward the horizon and find out what 2025 has in store for us. 

How is SEO Changing?

Let’s start with the most important question that’s on everyone’s mind, how is SEO actually changing? 

There are three answers to this question. 

1. Generative AI 

The rise of Generative AI has transformed the internet. Anyone can write content, paint images or create videos with the touch of a button. 

While this has democratized the internet, it has flooded it with generic content. 

So, Generative AI is one definite disruption that has left many SEO professionals anxious about what’s next. 

2. Generative AI in SEO

While Generative AI for users is an inductive way of creating content, Generative AI in SEO does the opposite. It deduces answers from existing content to answer user queries. 

The featured snippet and the AI Overview are two examples of Generative AI in SEO. 

So, Generative AI has affected both the demand side and the supply side of SEO. 

3. New Generation of Internet Users 

The third important development in SEO is the average user’s expectation. The younger generations consume a large part of their information from the internet. 

Gone are the days of directories, dictionaries, atlases and maps. This is the age of texting, Wikipedia, Google searches and Google Maps. 

This has also impacted older users and the internet itself.

Now that the internet is here to stay, more and more people are demanding trustworthy answers, authentic sources and engaging learning experiences. 

Areas of Focus in 2025

So, how do these changes impact the state of SEO in 2025? According to us, it demands five things from SEO strategies: 

1. Better alignment with EEAT

Google is still the conduit we must use to meet our users in the marketplace of ideas and products. 

And Google will only boost your website’s visibility if you meet its EEAT standards.

Because of the rise of AI, which provides seemingly objective and neutral answers to user queries, Google will rely on EEAT signals to provide users with safe, authoritative and engaging answers.

2. Focusing on Technical SEO

Technical SEO includes things like site speed, backlinks, site maps and knowledge graphs. 

It is the process through which you structure your website to become more visible to search engine crawlers. 

This is very important because Google, Bing and other search engines will also train AI algorithms. So, we’re not just talking about current rankings but also future visibility. 

Our advice: focus on the basics and clean up the technical aspect of your SEO strategy. 

3. Improving Data Collection & Analysis

SEO is a process through which you can achieve any goal you want. These goals can include engagement, awareness, conversion or an increase in subscribers. 

However, you can only achieve these goals if you know what’s working and what needs to be improved. 

For this reason, data collection and analysis is now more important than ever. 

Plus, with cookies soon to go extinct, it’s very important that you adopt a legal way of collecting, storing and analyzing user data for your online ecosystems. 

4. Forums Are On The Rise 

One of the most unexpected developments in SEO in 2024 has been the rise of forums. They have found a dedicated spot on Google’s SERP.

Forums like Quora and Reddit are places where people gather to discuss common topics, ask burning questions and build communities. 

It is vital for businesses to partake in this community-building exercise through their employees as well as business accounts. 

5. Social Media More Important Than Ever 

And we can’t talk about forums without mentioning social media. 

From TikTok to LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) to Meta, every social media platform has rebranded itself in recent years. These platforms have also witnessed expanding user bases in more and more regions around the world. 

They’re having a huge impact on SEO, especially in achieving Top-of-the-Funnel Metrics. 

The way businesses operate has changed: from “build it and they will come,” we have shifted to “we must go where the customers are.”

The evidence of this is the use of influencer marketing and LinkedIn ads to boost brand awareness.

So, SEO in 2025 will require multi-form content, diverse strategies and omnichannel delivery. 

10 Secrets to SEO Success in 2025

So, how can you march forward into 2025 and overcome the challenges of SEO in the upcoming year? As a veteran growth marketing agency, we’ve prepared some insider tips to help you out: 

1. Optimize for AI Overviews

Our first tip corresponds to the first major shift in SEO: the rise of AI. 

While it is true that only 47% of searches feature AI Overviews and 53% of all search results are still unaffected by AI.

However, as we have seen, AI is here to stay. In the near future, AI Overviews will inevitably take over search results. Plus, the focus of all SEO efforts will be to optimize for AI Overviews. 

So, now is the time to board the AI train and invest in the future of SEO. 

2. Focus on EEAT Signals

Historically, Google’s EEAT standards have played a huge role in determining search results, and this trend is not going away any time soon. 

In fact, if anything, Google’s focus on the EEAT signals will only increase because users are looking for more authentic experiences. 

Here’s how you can enhance the EEAT signals of your content: 

• Reserve a part of your content to directly address user queries and related questions.
• Use references to case studies and research papers to showcase authority.
• Include author bios with every piece of content.

These three methods will help your content stand out to EEAT standards. 

3. Use Alternative Media

The face of the internet has changed over time. Today, people don’t just search with text, they also search through images: Google witnesses over 12 billion image searches every month. 

Moreover, the profile of the average internet user has also changed. The younger generations are more used to interacting via social media, memes, reels and video content. 

So, now’s the time to go long and invest in alternative media. We suggest: 

• Supplement text with vibrant images and video content. 
• Include accurate metadata on all alternative media.
• Focus on omnichannel distribution of content to boost visibility. 

4. Invest in Zero-Click Infrastructure

The rise of featured snippets is one of the most exciting developments in the state of SEO in 2025. 

It has supplemented Zero-Click Searches which allow users to get direct answers without going through multiple sources.

Here’s how you can try to get your content into the featured snippet section: 

• Prepare content that directly answers specific questions around the keywords you’re targeting. 
• Include FAQs with every piece of content, be it a sales page or a blog post. 
• Structure your content for better readability by including bullet points. 

While featured snippets don’t guarantee click-throughs, it is equally true that the #1 ranked results may not make it to the featured snippet. Thus, featured snippets are a great way to diversify your SEO strategy. 

5. Improve Indexing Strategy

A search engine keeps track of websites on the internet through an index. Every time we search for something, it presents us with the best results from its vast index of billions of websites. 

Every search engine uses a different mechanism to engineer its index. So, Google’s will be different from Bing’s. Why is this important? 

Because Bing is the search engine that powers ChatGPT, Microsoft’s CoPilot AI as well as Meta’s AI. Plus, Perplexity has announced that it will have its own index.

So, if you want the AI of the future to pick up and display your content, you must change your indexing strategy. 

And with Google’s monopoly being challenged in different parts of the world, now is a great time to invest in an indexing strategy that caters to multiple search engines. 

6. Backlinking is Still the King of Domain Authority

Domain authority is one of the most important factors behind SERP rankings. It conveys that you command trust, authority and respect in your field. 

One of the best ways to build authority is to use smart backlinking tactics. 

We highly recommend that you partner with well-known websites and contribute guest posts to reputable aggregation sites to boost your domain authority. 

7. Keyword Research is More Important Than Ever 

As we’ve seen, keyword ranking is a key measure of SEO success. And this is true for all SEO professionals. 

So, you can bet your top dollar that your competition is doing everything to rank on competitive keywords in your field. 

Our advice: search for emerging trends to rank on keywords before your bigger competitors. This will help you gain a strong foothold and a competitive edge. 

And if you’re already the biggest fish in the sea, it’s time to double down on ensuring that you conquer the summit of every keyword in your industry. 

8. Learn How to Use AI

If the supply side of SEO (the search engines) is using AI to optimize search results, the demand side (websites and users) isn’t far behind. 

The rise of ChatGPT, Midjourney and Monica means anyone can generate text, images and video with one click. 

But, as we have seen, this has only flooded the internet with generic content. 

We suggest that you take a smarter approach to using AI for SEO. This includes using AI to do what it does best: 

• Prepare outlines
• Get topic recommendations
• Conduct keyword research 
• Check content for errors 

We don’t recommend you use it to generate content wholesale. The key is to use AI to enhance the quality of your content while freeing up content creators to focus on creative assignments. 

9. Build Knowledge Graphs

A knowledge graph is a structured base of knowledge that represents data. This can include objects, products, events, situations or even abstract concepts. 

Why are they important? 

Because LLMs and crawler algorithms that index websites can more easily understand information when presented through knowledge graphs. The sharper your knowledge graph, the more easily a crawler can “see” your website or understand how it would appear to the users.

So, we strongly suggest that you focus on creating entity-rich content to help the LLM present your brand to the users.

10. Adopt the Hybrid SEO model

Lastly, we would be remiss in our duty if we didn’t highlight the role of agencies in driving cutting-edge optimization in the SEO industry. 

Every time the Google algorithm evolves, SEO professionals begin reverse engineering search trends to figure out what has changed. 

So, we recommend you take a hybrid approach to your SEO efforts. It allows you to outsource the more clunky tasks, like technical SEO, while retaining an internal team for strategic SEO tasks. 

And it works! This is the most widely used SEO model in the world because it allows enterprises to leverage SEO expertise from veteran agencies that deliver results. 

SEO Isn’t Dead, It’s Just Freshening Up 

So, let’s go back to the question we started with: is SEO dead after 2024? 

We think you’ll agree with us when we say that it’s more alive than ever before. 

With more businesses shifting online, online visibility is more important than ever. In fact, SEO is a cost-effective strategy to help businesses quietly gain visibility compared to fleeting and expensive advertising. 

SEO is still the king of inbound marketing, and its crown is only getting heavier. 

The major shift has been in terms of how we envision SEO in the age of AI. 

Now is the time to double down on SEO and invest in SEO professionals, agencies and tools. If done right, it is the most promising avenue for increasing brand awareness and achieving full-funnel goals in 2025. 

But we understand your anxiety about the future of SEO. While you don’t want to lose out to your competitors, you also don’t want to waste precious resources. 

At LSS, we’re here to help you conquer the peak of your industry with innovative SEO tactics that focus on strategic outcomes you want to prioritize. 

Our mission is to use our wealth of SEO experience to create sustainable SEO practices that yield tangible results for your business. 

Explore our services to see which one fits your business best or connect with us to schedule an SEO consultation. Together, let’s make 2025 the year of SEO success.