A lot has happened within SEO in 2024.
As we go into 2025, we have to ask ourselves:
What could change in 2025?
Not just for SEO and link building agencies, such as Outreach Mama, but for the whole sector and every company that relies on SEO and link building agencies to generate and increase web traffic, conversions, and sales leads.
Let’s explore 10 predictions for SEO in 2025 👇
1. Search = AI: AI = Search
From 2025 onwards. AI will matter a lot more!
Not in terms of content creation, but tailoring content to appear in Google AI Overviews and SearchGPT results.
People are turning away from AI-generated content. However, search engines are making AI more effective at retrieving content, so that’s what you need to focus on: Making your SEO content more AI-friendly.
Securing and building backlinks play a big part in that, and we definitely expect that to become increasingly essential throughout 2025.
2. AI in SERPs vs. What People Want?
According to Google: “User feedback shows that with AI Overviews, people have higher satisfaction with their search results, and they’re asking longer, more complex questions that they know Google can now help with.”
Hence why Google has been accelerating the AI Overview roll-out in 2024.
We expect AI Overviews and AI-powered search to become the norm in 2025.
However, because we are seeing people turn away from AI-generated content, can we expect people to get sick of AI Overviews and AI in search?
Potentially, yes, and if that happens then millions of users will switch off that option in search engines because they simply don’t want it. If that happens, then forget about what we said in point 1.
Equally, if millions of people don’t flock to SearchGPT then its relevance is going to reduce because users are sticking with Google, despite its myriad problems.
3. TikTok in Search
TikTok will continue to play a more important role in search.
People have already been flocking to TikTok to answer questions in the same way they used to search engines.
As new research is showing: “TikTok is increasingly being used as a search engine. In fact, the ‘social’ platform surpassed Google as the world’s most visited domain in the world several years ago and is now used as the search engine of choice by more than half of Gen Zs.”
One reason for this is: “Gen Zs have attention spans of just 2.7 minutes. So, it’s logical that TikTok’s search results are more engaging to this audience than Google’s ‘wall of text’.”
This will have profound implications for how SEOs and link-building agencies establish and maintain search visibility for businesses.
4. YouTube, TikTok, and external links
Something else that will have profound implications for how SEOs and link-building agencies establish and maintain search visibility for businesses is that TikTok and YouTube will most likely allow external links in 2025.
Both platforms could be incredibly valuable for link building and SEO. So, if external links are allowed then that will make a positive difference for businesses that use TikTok and YouTube the right way.
5. Long-tail (5+ words) vs. single-word searches
Single-word search terms will become less important than long-tail, 5+ keyword phrases because people will get used to asking AI for answers.
One reason for this is that single-word searches like “accountancy software” or “winter jumper” only bring up what the top-ranking brands and platforms have established for years.
Plus, AI can’t do much with single-word search terms.
However, AI answer engines can do more with: “What’s the best accountancy software for a Canadian small business in Ontario?”
It will only generate relevant results, accounting for the fact that Canadian businesses really need to work with accountancy software that can handle Canadian and Ontario-based taxes, instead of UK or American tax implications.
6. Image-based search
Image-based search will become more important for consumers and eCommerce.
Especially for eCommerce brands, you need to think about how your images appear in search results (not just Instagram and TikTok), and how to optimize them.
7. Reddit in Search
Ever since Reddit struck a $60 million deal with Google for the search engine to train its AI models using Reddit, Reddit answers and threads have become a lot more high-profile in search results.
That might be something to do with the $60 million deal with Google?!
So, Reddit in Google SERPs is here to stay, and it’s time that SEOs and link building agencies got onboard with this for the benefit of businesses that need more traffic and visibility.
8. User-generated content (UGC)
As much as AI will play an important role in producing answers in search results, people are turning away from AI-generated content.
Numerous studies are already proving that people don’t want AI-generated articles, videos, or content: “40% of people have concerns over the accuracy and quality of AI-generated content and 72% of people would prefer to read content written by a human.”
As a result, User-generated content (UGC) and reviews will become more important, compared to AI-generated content, which people will increasingly turn away from.
9. B2B benefiting from B2C SEO
Another trend we can expect to impact SEO in 2025 is that B2B content marketing and SEO team will start borrowing more ideas from B2C content.
10. Google forced to sell Chrome?
Data leaks and DoJ defeating Google have been significant events that have impacted the whole sector.
A speculative issue that may or may not become relevant in 2025 is:
Will the US DoJ force Google to sell Google Chrome and potentially Android too?
That’s the multi-billion dollar question.
A lot depends on what the new Trump administration does and the influence of Elon Musk on policy decisions.
It’s impossible to say because Trump, Musk, and his associates aren’t a-typical political actors, and their potential to interfere in the DoJ is on a long list of things they might or might not do.
It’s also speculative at this point, but given the “tech bro” influence on the new administration, will that help or hinder Google?
Will those who surround Trump and Musk condemn Google or save them?
So, we will see whether Google Chrome will take flight from its parent company and the impact that will have on analytics data in 2025.
What do we recommend for SEO and Linkbuilding in 2025?
As always, we recommend the following (with a new recommendation for AIO):
- Think about the content you are or want to produce:
- Can you have SEO content created that will help you show up in AI Overviews? If so, then that will help you rank higher and bring in more traffic.
- Find out how to improve the SEO of your website and content with an SEO Audit and Topical Map.
- This will also show you what Technical SEO fixes are required.
- Create a link building strategy that will increase your business’s backlink profile, which will help you rank higher in search engines, bringing in more traffic and sales leads.
- Create an SEO content marketing strategy that will have the same impact, improving your website’s DA, CTR, search rankings, traffic, and sales leads.
- To maximize results: Combine a link building strategy with SEO content marketing and on-page optimizations.
🚀 Need to accelerate growth in 2025?
🤷Not sure where to start with SEO?
Talk to us today about SEO services you can depend on. OutreachMama is trusted by over 300 companies worldwide to generate high-impact organic growth from Google.
OutreachMama can deliver every SEO service you need to improve your rankings and drive more traffic, sales leads, and customers to your website.
