Savannah is a content marketer with editorial experience spanning several businesses. Specializing in social media and marketing trends, she loves talking about the latest developments in online marketing. When she's not writing, Savannah loves traveling, hoarding books and coffee mugs, and adoring her cat. Please don't ask her about famous true crime cases, or else she'll tell you all about her theories and get absolutely no work done.
The search engine optimization (SEO) landscape is constantly changing. Every year, new technologies and ranking factors shake up search engine results pages (SERPs) and force marketers to reevaluate their SEO strategies.
The best way to stay ahead of the curve with these shake-ups is to look ahead at emerging SEO trends. We'll explore seven SEO trends, why they matter, and what they mean for your SEO strategy in 2025:
Along the way, we'll drop in some expert insights from one of our web marketing consultants, so stay tuned!
AI Overviews (formerly known as Search Generative Experiences) appear above organic rankings in search results. Essentially, they're AI-generated answers to queries, with information pulled from top-ranking sources across the web.
While only 7% of searches feature AI Overviews, you can expect content tailored toward answer-based questions to see decreased traffic. Why? AI Overviews are answering those queries directly in search results, leading to more instances of zero-click searches.
So, how do you boost your website's visibility in a world where AI results are reigning supreme? First, target middle-of-funnel content to avoid question-based queries that don't focus on "what," "where," and "how."
Read More: How to Increase Your Site's Visibility in AI Results
2. Optimizing E-E-A-T signals
As we mentioned, search engines are becoming increasingly reliant on AI Overviews and summaries. Because of this, optimizing your content's E-E-A-T signals (known as Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust) will be a top SEO trend in 2025.
Why? Google and AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Gemini are trained to show searchers content that's helpful and trustworthy, among other factors. So, when it comes to boosting your visibility in AI search results or increasing your chances of showing up in answers on AI platforms, optimize your content for E-E-A-T to give your content a fighting chance.
So, how do you demonstrate E-E-A-T to Google and AI answer engines? Start with following these best practices:
3. Increased traffic to forums
One of the biggest SEO developments to happen in 2024 is the increased visibility of forums like Reddit and Quora in search results. In fact, Google has a spot dedicated to forums in SERPs:
Google's shift to highlighting first-hand information from Internet users on topics of interest has already had a major effect on SEO, siphoning search traffic from other organic results, and we expect it to continue to do so in 2025.
To combat this lost search traffic, try boosting your presence on forums through organic posts to better position yourself as a prominent industry voice. Or, consider running ad campaigns on forums your audience spends time on, along with strategic content promotion.
Learn More: What The Reddit Google AI Deal Means for SEO
4. YouTube SEO and video strategy optimization
Forum sites aren't the only ones popping up in SERPs -- today, users are met with relevant YouTube videos in search results, making video optimization and YouTube SEO a major 2025 SEO trend.
To stay on top of this SEO trend in 2025, businesses need to diversify their content strategies. Invest in written content as well as video to set up a one-two strategy that's poised for long-term success.
Additionally, optimize for YouTube SEO to take your video strategy to the next level. Integrate relevant keywords, and optimize video titles, tags, thumbnails, and descriptions to boost your visibility on YouTube and start earning more valuable traffic.
5. Doubling down on traditional SEO strategies
Where there are many new and exciting SEO strategies to try in 2025, many of the traditional strategies still work well and shouldn't be put on the back burner.
Traditional SEO strategies like local and technical optimization, as well as targeted content creation, are still incredibly relevant. By strengthening your traditional SEO efforts while also integrating new strategies like AI optimization and YouTube SEO, you can build a multifaceted campaign that's capable of driving leads from multiple different search channels.
6. Zero-click searches
The prevalence of AI in search has ushered in a zero-click search era, so one of the biggest SEO trends for the coming year is adapting to this search mentality.
To be successful in a zero-click environment, you must create content that's helpful and puts users first. This means ensuring your content has a zero-click framework. In other words, it should:
7. OmniSEO™
If there's one thing you should take away from this list of SEO trends for 2025, it's that search has become much more diverse.
Now more than ever, businesses need to adapt their search strategies to new channels like ChatGPT and Meta AI so they can continue getting in front of their target audiences no matter where they are.
SEO is an ongoing process that doesn't stop once you've implemented the trends we've just discussed. It takes continuous time and effort to monitor and adjust, and when you're already running a business, that can feel like a lot. Enter an SEO agency like WebFX. We're an award-winning SEO agency and a top Atlanta SEO agency, with multiple locations across the world.
When you partner with WebFX for SEO services, you're not getting a one-size-fits-all strategy that temporarily solves your SEO needs -- you're getting a custom SEO solution that's scaled to fit your business and foster long-term growth and success. With a dedicated team of SEO by your side, adjusting your campaign for the latest SEO trends will be a breeze.
Get in touch with our team today to learn more about how you can leverage the latest SEO trends along with WebFX's custom SEO services in 2024!