SEO innovation is moving faster than ever, with new tech and search engine updates changing the way marketers approach visibility. To stay ahead, businesses need to adjust and align their SEO strategies with emerging trends. As search engines continue to favor high-quality, highly relevant, helpful content, optimizing is key to long-term success.
Below, we look at the key ways to adapt your SEO for 2025.
1. Update Content Regularly
As search engines get smarter, static or old content will get left behind. Updating content regularly keeps it relevant and in line with current search trends and gives users the latest and most accurate information.
When updating older content, focus on updating data and expanding sections to cover new questions or trends. Also, take a second look at your metadata and headers, as these elements can better capture new user interest. When search engines detect refreshed, high-quality content, they’re more likely to reward it with improved rankings.
A tried and true strategy deployed by any growth marketing agency worth its salt will include regularly updating existing content. Up-to-date information makes your brand a source of authority and encourages repeat visits.
2. Optimize for AI Overviews in the SERP
One of the more monumental developments in search engine results pages (SERP) is the advent of AI overviews. Google, in particular, is leaning on its AI tool, Gemini, to generate quick answers to user questions and display them in the SERP without the need for a click. These AI overviews pull information from websites and favor content that is structured to provide a direct answer to the user’s question. To get attributed in AI overviews in the SERP, focus on two main things:
First, get your site to be a trusted source. When users search for specific queries like “What are page titles?,” AI overviews pull from trusted sites to give direct answers. If you’re one of those sites, you get prime real estate and potential clicks for users looking for more info. Second, position your business, product, or service for direct recommendations within those AI summaries. For example, if your product is mentioned in an article that AI references, it’ll show up prominently in search results without needing clicks.
To get those placements, try experimenting with inserting highly readable summaries or “key highlights” at the top of your pages. Make sure you’re summarizing the article’s content in the most succinct language possible. These should almost act as TL;DRs for the entire content of the page. These can help Google Gemini quickly determine the relevance of your content.
A last step you can take is manually requesting re-indexation in Google Search Console. This can hasten Google’s crawl of your pages containing these summaries. Doing this can often enable optimized content to appear in AI overviews within mere hours of being updated.
3. Enrich Your Content’s E-E-A-T
In SEO, experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) are key to ranking well. Search engines look for signals demonstrating a website’s credibility, and focusing on E-E-A-T helps reinforce your brand as a trusted source. Your goal, in this case, is to enrich your content such that it comes from a position of authority and trustworthiness.
Showing E-E-A-T is more than just good writing. It’s about showing evidence of your expertise more than anything else. Adding author bios with credentials, linking to external sources with high domain authority, and citing data points will all help boost your content’s integrity. Transparent information about your business or contributors will also increase user confidence and brand credibility.
For marketing professionals, optimizing for E-E-A-T is especially important as clients want to work with knowledgeable partners who understand the ins and outs of SEO and digital marketing. E-E-A-T supports SEO performance and lets readers know your insights are backed by expertise and experience in the industry.
4. Optimize for Zero-Click Searches
Zero-click searches are here to stay, and Google is only going to keep pushing it. Businesses need to adapt to stay visible, even if users don’t click through. These zero-click results often appear as featured snippets, knowledge panels, or answer boxes, and users are given the answer without being sent to a specific website.
To get into zero-click results, structure your content to answer the question directly and simply. Use headings to break out each question and follow with a short answer that answers the question clearly. This will get your content into the SERP features and get brand visibility even if users don’t click through.
For example, a pet care business might publish question-based content on popular topics like “How often should I groom my dog?” or “What’s the best diet for senior cats?” This strategy will help capture high-traffic queries, establishing your brand as a go-to source for pet care information.
The net gain you can expect from this is the brand recall from users when they reach the point where they’re ready to employ your services or purchase your product.
5. Build Internal Links and Topic Clusters
Search engines favor sites that show depth and relevance to specific topics, so internal links and topic clusters are key components of modern SEO. Topic clusters are groups of interlinked articles that cover a topic in depth. A strong cluster will have a main “pillar” article that links to related “cluster” articles that cover the topic in more detail.
Creating topic clusters starts with identifying core topics that align with your brand’s expertise. For a wellness coaching business, a pillar article on “Holistic Wellness Practices” could link to more focused pieces on “Mindfulness Techniques for Stress Relief,” “Building a Balanced Nutrition Plan,” and “Exercise Routines for Mental Health.” This approach helps search engines recognize your authority on wellness topics and allows users to easily explore related content tailored to their needs.
Internal linking within these clusters will also improve the user experience. Making it easier for users to explore multiple pieces of content on related topics will improve engagement and on-site time — both of which will indirectly benefit your SEO.
Adapt Your SEO Quickly, But Play the Long Game
SEO efficiency iconically takes time to percolate. Your inputs can often take weeks or months before they yield any fruit. In many cases, it can feel like you’re being bombarded with new trending strategies. Ironically, this often happens before you’ve even had time to see gains from the last batch of trends you deployed.
Your best bet is to stay true to the path you’ve started and see it through. Set a limit for how many resources and how much time you commit to one strategy. If, by a certain point, you aren’t seeing desirable results, that’s when you pivot.
However, you ought also to keep your eyes peeled for new opportunities that can supplement your existing strategies. If you follow the avenues detailed above, you can create an SEO strategy that is poised to position your brand above the rest.