SEO is constantly changing. That’s hardly a surprise, considering that Google’s algorithm continually evolves to meet user expectations better. On top of it all, the tech giant regularly introduces new features and gadgets that help users be more efficient in their searches.

This is great news for users. On the other hand, for businesses and creators – not so much. This fluidity requires constant work and an ever-evolving strategy that follows the trends.

Now, since being a follower is never the solution, it’s best to anticipate some of the changes that will occur in the next 12 months and implement them in your SEO strategy. SEO experts do this constantly, and they often follow the trends to know how Google will react to the changes in customer behavior. As you can imagine, this is a demanding task, one that a busy small business owner needs help to keep up with. So, to relieve you from this stress, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide through the ongoing trends in SEO that will affect the search engine’s algorithms in 2025.

AI-Content Will Be Under Fire

With the rise of AI-generated content, search engines have been flooded with countless blog posts, articles, and other content that have questionable value for use at best. Naturally, at the beginning of this trend, Google was adamant that AI-generated content would be submitted to the same standards as any other. In simple terms, that meant that as long as your content was the best answer to a user’s query, Google would rank it high, no matter if it was of machine origin.

This trend changed throughout 2024, as people have shown various degrees of frustration with AI-generated content and its inherited problems – lack of understanding of human emotions, lack of experiences, and faking sincerity. Those things can be insignificant at first glance, but they give a blog post its spirit.

Furthermore, many people started using ChatGPT and Gemini for direct searches. So, these AI bots can easily detect AI-written content that gives no additional value.

Thus, for 2025, we expect Google to add a second A to their EEAT policy. Experience, expertise, authority, and trust will be garnished with authenticity. So, prepare for writing content that will showcase your authentic understanding of a problem. Moreover, while this has been a thing for some time now, focusing on search intent rather than mindlessly following a specific keyword will become unavoidable in calculating your SEO score.

Furthermore, the quality of the SERP-listed content will inevitably rise. This will insist on creating multimedia, dedicated imagery, and additional means to experience your content (like video or audio files).

That’s why make sure to speak your audience’s language. This means that you might want to revise your brand voice if it sounds stiff, corporate, and non-human. This won’t do in 2025.

First Step Toward Organic Reach Diversification

2024 saw a rise in organic traffic from various platforms outside the search engines. These include Reddit, Trip Advisor, Quora, and even TikTok for the youngest users. Instagram and Twitter have also been great sources of organic traffic for those who managed to expand their following in time, but due to the restrictions on organic reach, these platforms are less helpful these days.   

In other words, users are shifting their attention to first-hand information sources online. This saw a shift in Google’s SERP, with websites such as Quora and Reddit often taking the leading spots.

This trend will undoubtedly continue over the next 12 months and beyond. People no longer look for direct information. Instead, they look for first-hand experience. This includes suggestions and opinions from complete strangers. Unfortunately, this excludes brand blogs to an extent and implies opening new, more informal communication channels.

Fortunately, this is an easy fix. Just answer some questions on Quora and Reddit yourself. Аs a person, not as a brand. Sure, being transparent about who you are is important, but talking from a person’s POV rather than your brand’s persona will add a layer of familiarity that SEO previously frowned upon.

If you have the resources, we also suggest leading the conversation yourself. Start some Reddit posts with your FAQs, beating disgruntled customers to the punch.

Most importantly, avoid sounding condescending or overly restricted by brand guidelines. Write from your soul and give your honest opinion. This will boost both your organic traffic and credibility.

The Rise Of AI Overview

Though AI Overviews had a rocky start in 2024 (more accurately, in its second half), we expect it to become much more important for organic traffic next year.

AI Overviews is an AI-generated response to a query that appears above organic traffic in the search results. It was formerly known as Search Generative Experience, which, admittedly, is not quite as catchy as AI Overviews.

Usually, the AI Overviews pull the answers based on top-ranking sources across the web, and they are entirely search intent-oriented.

Unfortunately, Google green-lit this project prematurely, and it crashed and burned hard. At some point, it suggested drinking urine or eating rock. Naturally, it saw a rapid decline in popularity in the second half of 2024. Today, AI Overviews appear in just 7% of searches, which is a significant decline from when it was released.

Still, just a few days ago, Google introduced Gemini 2.0 – a powerful AI model that will push AI Overview back on the map. We expect to see this zero position in a much higher percentage of queries, especially those that can be resolved without clicks. Those are mostly asked by middle-of-the-funnel users, who already know the what, where, and how and are more interested in some specifics.

So, focus on content that is intent-oriented and answers questions to the middle-of-the-funnel users. Optimize your content as answers to a series of questions so it can trigger a reaction from both AI Overview and AI generative models.  

It’s Time To Implement Videos

Video channels like TikTok, Instagram, and, most importantly, YouTube have been gaining traction in the past few years. But with the newest technologies, Search engines can actually analyze the video and audio content, just like they do with text.

With AI and search engines evolving their skills in understanding video content, we will see a surge in organic traffic through the main video communication channels – YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. In the next 12 months, we will witness the start of this new age, where video content will slowly but surely become a core business strategy.

This is hardly a surprise, with videos allowing viewers to retain 95% of the projected message while reading a text leads only about 10%. Furthermore, statistics have shown that websites with video content are 53 times more likely to rank on the first page of Google. This makes videos an unparalleled asset in your outreach strategy.

To leverage this trend, businesses should prioritize creating high-quality videos. These could range from short-form videos addressing FAQs to long-form content diving into complex topics. Additionally, podcasts and YouTube videos are invaluable for establishing credibility and reaching new audiences.

The following 12 months will usher in a new era of video content dominance. Companies that embrace this change and refine their video strategies will gain a significant competitive edge, ensuring they remain relevant and visible.

Voice Searching Will Continue Its Rise

Voice-activated devices are everywhere these days, and naturally, they affect users’ habits. Today, more and more searches are done through voice commands – a trend that will undoubtedly grow over time. Naturally, search engines have their answer – better natural language processing tools allowing for voice search to be significantly more convenient than typing. A G2 analysis predicts that by the end of 2025, about 75% of households in the US will own a smart speaker like Alexa. This is a game changer for marketers and SEO specialists.  

In fact, voice search over typing is already the new norm. 71% of people prefer the former method, citing its convenience. So, naturally, in the following 12 months, SEO will switch some of its attention to this massive segment of users.

This means that Google’s algorithm will reward more natural conversational keywords. So, for instance, keywords like “best Italian food” will be replaced by the longer but much more relatable “What is the best Italian restaurant near me?.”

As you can see, keeping up with the trend will require a general shift in your content creation. You will have to follow much more natural language long-tail keywords for your SEO blog posts.

This is actually good news, as such a change will help you with some other new trends, like the video content surge, which we already discussed.

Updating Content Will Become Vital

The digital landscape has been particularly dynamic ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. And no, this was not written by an AI, although it does sound that way. But in all honesty, in this case, the point is valid. Almost every industry experienced a giant leap in the few years after the lockdowns, which created a general change in customer behavior. This is why articles from 2018 are utterly useless 6 years down the road. They don’t reflect the reality on the ground.

Now, Google has always been adamant that relevance is important, but to be honest, this wasn’t among their priorities when listing answers. Usually, credibility was much higher on their list.

Well, in 2025, this is likely to change. With the content boom during and after the pandemic, which flooded the Internet with countless blog posts and articles on every topic imaginable, today, the Internet is full of outdated content that needs to be replaced. Thus, a new age where relevance will take the spotlight is upon us.

To avoid a constant increase in high bounce rate and customer dissatisfaction with the shown results, Google will likely put a much bigger weight on the newest articles. Indeed, they will have to follow the EEAAT model, but the old will have to make way for the new.

So, to take advantage of this shift in priorities, make sure your content is always up to date. That doesn’t mean changing just a few dates and headlines. This means reviewing your content and whether it’s still relevant to the current industry standards. If you don’t have the resources to keep up with the entire work, you can even post your blog once every two weeks. Updating your outdated content is far more important than writing something new every week.

Affiliates Will Get A Boost

Indeed, big authoritative brand blogs will have the short stick of SEO changes this upcoming year. Gen Z is driving the change in the entire marketing as they are becoming the dominant consumer on the market. They are looking for more than just a product. They want to associate with the product or service they are purchasing, which transforms the entire marketing landscape. Traditional narratives don’t work for the youngest consumers, as they seek engaging stories that resonate with their personal lives.

Naturally, in 2025, SEO will follow suit by focusing on people-centric content. This means that the era of brand voices and brand personas is coming to an end. It’s not there yet, but in a couple of years or so, we will see them scraped all together. By then, the entire content strategy will have shifted toward endorsements.

The big winners of this change will be the affiliates. Those who create entertainment while promoting products and giving information. Naturally, in 2025, especially in the second half, we will witness huge brand blogs subsiding from their traditional first spots in highly competitive keywords, making space for microbloggers and affiliates who offer experience over dry facts.

So, while it’s still early to talk about extreme changes and entirely sacking your blog, it may be wise to invest in creating some people-centric content, collaborate with micro-influencers in your niche, and even create some affiliate programs that will boost your traffic in the long run.

However, make sure to start shifting toward experience rather than the good old convincing tactics.

Hyper-Localization Will Challenge National Brands

Hyper-personalization has been brewing for quite some time now. But with the rise of AI, this will bring the next level. Now, to be honest, there are many things in this aspect that can happen in 2025, but what we expect to most likely see is hyper-localization. This is bad news for big international and national companies, as this subtle change will challenge their SERP positions.  

On the other hand, small, local joints will see a surge in popularity and organic traffic. Mom-and-pop businesses will thrive in highly competitive fields on a regional level. This will level the playfield, as big corporations will have to start paying for sponsored positioning, while the smaller brands will have the chance to compete on equal terms for Google’s top spots.

Hyper-localization goes beyond traditional localization by addressing the unique preferences and needs of specific communities. This approach has gained momentum as consumers increasingly expect personalized, culturally relevant business experiences.

To address these changes, you need to customize your website and content to target this specific group. You can do this by participating in local events, sharing local customs, and generally being active in this community. For example, if there is a local charity event, don’t hesitate to promote it on your website. The main thing is to be part of the community, not an outsider.

Crack Down On Disinformation

Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Internet has been flooded with disinformation. Massive hybrid attacks in the form of disinformation campaigns have been launched toward the entire Western world. Their main targets are Germany, France, the UK, and, of course, the United States. This has become a significant problem, as this attack has already significantly influenced election results in Romania and Moldova. Romania even sacked their presidential elections based on the massive disinformation campaign that altered the election results.

While there is no concrete evidence that such campaigns lead to electoral deformations in Germany, France, the UK, and the US, we expect Google and other big search engines to take preemptive measures against the spread of disinformation.  

AI development will help significantly in this regard. In fact, various organizations worldwide employ AI for fact-checking to enhance efficiency and accuracy. For example, Singapore’s CheckMate service utilizes AI to scrutinize news shared via messaging apps, preparing for potential misinformation surges during elections.

In 2025, we expect major search engines to finalize refining their algorithms to demote unreliable sources and flag misleading news. Bing has already introduced a “Fact Check” label to inform users about the credibility of certain information.

Most likely, these will roll in batches, with the first regulated niches being politics, medicine, and the economy. How fast will this war against disinformation grow? We will have to wait and see.

Speed Will Be More Important Than Ever

As usual, speed will remain as important as ever. The facts, however, suggest that the window of opportunity to lure a client is closing in. With decreasing attention spans and increasing competition, businesses must prioritize website speed as a core component of their digital strategies. More importantly, SEO score has always been directly correlated with website speed.

In fact, you will lose half of your audience if your website takes more than 3 seconds to load (on desktop). But more importantly, websites that load in 1 second have 32% fewer bounces than those that load in 3 seconds.

Speed has always been relevant, but with every passing year, Gen Z-ers are becoming much more relevant on the market. Thus if you want to have a chance, you need to ensure your website is as fast as they come.

To accomplish this, you need HostArmada – the best cloud hosting provider on the market. We offer lightning-fast website speed, top-of-the-line security features, and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This will ensure your website’s infrastructure is ready to meet any SEO demand in 2025. So, check out our plans and start the new year by setting up your website for success.