Best SEO Companies
Even more than business and marketing in general, SEO trends are constantly shifting and evolving. Because SEO is impacted by so many different factors, from technology trends to search engine algorithms and user behavior, almost every advance and trend directly impacts SEO. Organizations wanting to improve their SEO should proactively research evolutions and shifts in SEO and then adjust their strategy and approach.
Over the past year, SEO has shifted more than in the recent past, largely due to the increased adoption and functionality of AI. Organizations that do not monitor the trends and proactively make changes to their approach based on the evolution of SEO will quickly find themselves playing catchup to competitors. You cannot afford to ignore the SEO trends of 2025.
Here are 7 SEO trends that impact your SEO journey:
Role of AI in SEO
Not surprisingly, the proliferation of AI use has significantly impacted all aspects of SEO. Consumers are using search engines in a slightly different manner, with AI now being the foundation of many tasks. Additionally, AI is giving marketers more options and tools for content creation and SEO.
AI-powered search overviews also play a big role in SEO today. Many search engines display AI-generated snippets at the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), as seen with Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE). With this shift, companies should focus on creating content that is picked up by the snippet to increase visibility and traffic. In addition to the typical strategies that apply to SERPs, such as focusing on long tail keywords and informational keywords, organizations should pay extra attention to intent, which is especially important for overviews.
However, Large Language Models (LLMs), which are used to create generative AI, make it easier for marketers to quickly and affordably create content. Some organizations create their own LLMs that write content in their brand tone and voice, using propriety and internal data. While using 100% AI-generated content often hurts page rankings, marketers can improve efficiency by using AI for tasks such as creating an editorial calendar, brainstorming ideas, research, and creating catchy headlines based on keywords.
Evolving user behavior
Because SEO is based on user behavior, it’s important to understand changes in how people search and select content. One significant change is that advances in AI have increased users’ expectations of content relevance. While search engines consider the relevance of content in relation to the search, users are also likely to abandon a page and have a poor impression of its company if the content they are directed to is not relevant to their search.
Search engines and website visitors alike are also placing a higher value on the user experience. Marketers often focus heavily on the keywords and SEO strategies while overlooking the basics, such as making sure each page is easy to read and laying out the page in a visually pleasing manner. Be sure that your site is easy to navigate and is structured in a hierarchal fashion, which makes it easier for both website visitors and search engine indexing tools. Additionally, fix any technical issues, such as broken links, slow page load, and mobile issues that can interfere with the user engaging with your content.
The increased use of AI-generated search engine overviews has resulted in many users shifting their behavior after they search. Because the overview now often answers their questions, many searches end with zero clicks, meaning people exit the SERP without visiting a site listed on the results page. According to research published by Rand Fishkin, 58.5% of searches in the U.S. and 59.7% in the EU result in zero clicks. By following strategies to improve SERP rank, especially focusing on search intent, organizations can improve their odds of being featured in the AI overview.
Search engine dynamics
For decades, everyone has headed to a search engine to answer a question or find information. However, recent technological advances are significantly changing users’ searching behavior. To create the most effective SEO strategy, organizations need to understand exactly how their specific target audience looks for information.
Generative AI now offers another option for searching for information. Some users head to a generative AI tool instead of a search engine to answer their questions, which may lead to less search engine traffic in the future. However, since generative AI pulls from online data, ranking high on SERPs means the content is more likely to be shared and linked to in generative AI tools. Because of the heavy weight placed on authority for generative AI searches, businesses should work to establish this level of trust through backlinks, quality of sources, and content depth.
Another option that’s growing in popularity is the personalized conversational search experience, also referred to as AI agents. Instead of simply retrieving results, AI agents perform the search, analyze the data, and then present it in a format customized for the individual user. Organizations often use this tool for specific purposes, such as helping employees or customers find information about processes or products. AI agents can be used on internal networks or launched on the external site for the public.
Content strategy evolution
Even with all the advancements in technology, the foundation of SEO still starts with understanding your audience so you can create the most effective content strategy. However, in 2025, businesses must use new methods to create their strategy.
In the past, organizations focused on trying to get inside the “mind” of the search engine algorithm and design SEO based on the current priorities. This often resulted in content and websites meant to “game the system” and often did not truly meet the searchers’ needs. Recently, search engines have shifted their priority to rewarding organizations that provide user-centric content for their specific target audience. By improving the quality of their content and focusing on intent, businesses can improve metrics that measure engagement, such as time on page and abandoned pages.
Businesses should expand the ways in which they gather information for their potential customers based on how people get information these days. Many people head to Reddit and Quora to get answers, making these sites great sources of information. Additionally, YouTube and TikTok often influence people’s perspectives as well as provide information and ideas. By seeking out input from these channels, organizations can make sure they fully understand their customers’ mindset and challenges.
The importance of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) remains constant in SEO. Google routinely states that its search engine and SGE prioritize content that meets the E-E-A-T principles. Organizations should regularly include content by subject matter experts to demonstrate expertise, as well as content that includes personal experience to build trust. While AI-generated content can rank high if it’s reviewed by humans and additional context is added to meet E-E-A-T, it’s challenging if not impossible for purely AI-generated content to rank high based on these principles.
Technical and local SEO developments
Search engines continue to prioritize sites that excel at technical SEO as well as those that implement local SEO strategies. Since technical and local SEO expectations change as technology and search behavior evolve, organizations must continually stay up to date in these areas and modify their SEO strategy as needed.
Not surprisingly, many of the recent trends with technical SEO are related to AI. While page structure has always been important, it’s now even a higher priority with AI overview snippets. Structured page elements, such as properly tagged tables, headings with hierarchal tags, and links tagged with <a href> instead of <button>, make the page more likely to be featured in the AI overview snippet.
Local businesses must also continually tweak their strategy as local SEO changes. As many people are now using voice search for local search, such as “Alexa, what time does Johnny’s Pizza on Main Street close?”, businesses must make sure that their SEO is optimized for voice searches. Creating content that uses the FAQ format makes it easier for voice searches to pick up the site. Because people write and talk a bit differently, local businesses should make an extra effort to also include conversational keywords.
Focusing on lower competition keywords
With the high volume of traffic and attention on popular keywords, businesses looking to rank high for new keywords need to look beyond the obvious choices. Organizations should look for niche keywords that may be lower competition and also narrowly target their specific audience. In many cases, a keyword may be lower volume on paper — but in reality, almost every person searching for the keyword is a potential buyer, which makes the keyword highly valuable for the business. While these keywords may take more time to discover, the extra effort is often the difference in a high ranking or being buried 12 pages down.
Longer tail queries also continue to offer opportunities for many companies. With long tail keywords, the intent should be the top focus, especially for product pages. For example, “best backpack for petite kindergarten girls under $30.” Be sure to also include product modifiers, such as “best pink backpack with extra pockets for petite kindergarten girls under $30.” The same applies for long tail keywords for informational content as well. Instead of “get rid of fruit flies,” consider “get rid of fruit flies quickly using natural methods.”
Integrating AI tools in SEO
While AI affects how potential customers search and find your content, the technology can also help you improve your ranking and traffic. There is now a wide range of AI tools, at all price ranges, with a variety of uses to improve accuracy and reduce the time involved in creating a strategy and implementing the tactics.
By using SEO tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs, businesses can more easily find opportunities to improve their SERP rankings without countless hours of manual research. For example, AI tools can conduct competitor analysis and see how other companies in your industry are ranking, as well as find keywords and content holes that you can capitalize on. Additionally, AI is highly useful for identifying new keywords — especially long tail keywords.
Many organizations overlook a key part of SEO: measuring and monitoring progress. SEO tools can simplify this process and provide real-time metrics. With these accurate metrics, it’s easier to see small progress and changes that may be overlooked with manual monitoring. AI tools can also provide insights based on the metrics to provide strategic steps to help improve the company’s SEO based on current results.
SEO is not a one-time project. Once an organization decides to prioritize SEO, it must be a business priority for the long term. By staying on top of current SEO trends in 2025, organizations can make sure they are investing in the right areas and evolving in ways that make it easier for their next best customer to find their content.
Best SEO Companies