3. E-E-A-T and the push for originality
Establishing E-E-A-T will continue to be crucial for SEO success in 2025.
To stand out, brands and content creators must prioritize originality by leveraging their own data and experiences.
Evidence of this can be found in the leaked Google API document, which references an “OriginalContentScore.”
Customer reviews, original research and unique insights will be some of your secret weapons in 2025.
Analyze customer behavior using internal search queries, product usage patterns or transcripts from your support and sales calls.
This lets you uncover content gaps and key topics that resonate with users so you can create new content and update existing ones.
Google’s recent recognition of content creators underscores the importance of proving expertise.
Verifiable authorship will be a key recipe for success in 2025.
To truly stand out, your brand must highlight the real human experience behind the content, adding authenticity and trustworthiness that users and search engines value.
If you haven’t planned yet for a complete revamp of those authors’ bios on your website, now is a good time to start.
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4. The user versus the keywords
Optimizing for users rather than keywords will also be among the keys to SEO success in 2025.
Instead of focusing solely on keywords, SEOs should build content around user pain points and challenges, targeting the intent behind their searches.
Keywords can be misleading. Often, terms with high search volume mask unclear intent or are dominated by UGC websites (e.g., Reddit, Quora) or listicles and review websites that Google tends to prioritize.
Users have changed significantly. We no longer search with short phrases; now we use long-tail keywords or complete questions.
Focusing on content inspired by the customer’s pains and challenges can help you avoid wasting efforts on keywords where the competition is too fierce or the intent is mismatched.
Algorithms will reward content that prioritizes the user experience, answering specific questions with valuable, relevant insights.
Dig deeper: How to optimize for search intent: 19 practical tips
5. Technical SEO will matter more than ever
Technical SEO will be more important than ever. Optimizing your site to make it easier for search engine bots to crawl and understand is key.
Having structured data, a well-organized sitemap, internal links and clean code can significantly improve how search engines crawl and understand your site.
Accessibility is also important. Search engines emphasize user-friendly experiences, including accessible design and features.
If you’re unsure, the Google API leak shows evidence that Google uses clicks and post-click behavior in its ranking algorithms.
Page speed and Core Web Vitals are ranking signals that impact mobile users. Websites that load slowly or offer a poor mobile experience could struggle to rank.
A major focus of technical SEO in 2025 will be on platforms that rely heavily on JavaScript. Rendering issues prevent search engines from properly indexing their content.
Ensuring proper server-side rendering or resolving JavaScript-related problems is crucial for maintaining visibility in search results.
The good news is that both Google and Bing offer helpful checklists to guide your technical SEO efforts.
Be sure to regularly review the recommendations from Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console (although the latter is not yet available to all users).
Learning and adapting: An evergreen trend in SEO
The need to learn, adapt and evolve is a constant part of SEO. You can’t rely on a single strategy or quick fixes.
Success will come from working across different projects and refining multiple aspects of your SEO efforts. The ability to pivot and apply new learnings faster will set successful SEOs apart.
It looks like 2025 will be another dynamic year for SEO. For those who have been part of the game for a long time, that’s not new.
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