Latest SEO Trends and Best Practices for 2025

Between shifting Google algorithms, the accelerating popularity of generative engines, and changing user behaviors, the tactics that worked for you in the past simply won’t cut it in 2025.

If you want to stay visible, you need to understand both the latest SEO trends shaping 2025 and the SEO best practices that continue to drive results.

Together, these two perspectives will give you a complete playbook for competing in today’s search landscape.

Latest SEO Trends in 2025

Let’s start first with trends, and specifically, what you need to be aware of to succeed in SEO today.

After reviewing these trends, you’ll understand why it’s imperative to adjust your SEO strategies now.

1. AI-Driven Search Experiences

The single biggest shift is the rise of AI-powered search.

Google’s AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity, and ChatGPT with browsing are all delivering generative answers that reshape how people discover information.

Traditional rankings still matter, but increasingly they are secondary to whether AI models cite your content as an authoritative source.

2. Entity-First SEO

If your primary focus is still about targeting keywords, you’re probably seeing lagging traffic already.

Both Google and LLMs now also interpret information using entities and relationships.

By building content around recognized entities, such as brands, products, people, and concepts, you’ll be able to strengthen semantic authority.

This is an important way to make your website more discoverable in both search and AI-generated answers in 2025.

3. Structured Data as a Core Strategy

Schema markup is no longer optional.

It provides the machine-readable signals that help engines interpret and trust your content.

In 2025, structured data is a competitive edge for brands that want visibility in rich results as well as generative citations.

4. Search Intent and User Experience

Intent is more nuanced than ever.

Engines want to surface results that satisfy not just keywords but context (informational, transactional, or navigational).

At the same time, Google continues to prioritize page experience metrics, including speed, interactivity, and accessibility.

So basically, you need to balance both. Like I said before, you’ll need some nuance to make it work. But it is well worth the effort in the long run.

5. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

A new discipline is taking shape: GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization.

This is the practice of ensuring your content is surfaced, cited, and trusted within AI-driven answers.

Citation share, engine coverage, and attribution quality are fast becoming the new KPIs, alongside rankings and traffic.

If you haven’t even considered GEO, now is the time. It will only grow in share of voice / search (and importance) in the future.

6. Multimodal Content for Discoverability

AI models are increasingly capable of processing text, images, video, and audio together.

That means your SEO strategy should expand beyond written words.

Transcripts, alt-text, video schema, and image optimization are all of huge importance for discoverability these days, and onward.

7. Continuous Content Refreshing

Years ago Google rolled out an update to prioritize fresh content. That was only a precursor to how it works today.

AI engines tend to prefer content updated with the latest statistics and examples.

Outdated content risks being ignored.

Brands that implement ongoing refresh cycles will outperform those who publish once and forget about it over time.

SEO Best Practices for 2025

Trends reveal the direction of search, but best practices provide the foundation for action.

These are the methods every brand should adopt to stay competitive.

1. Build for Human + AI Audiences

Every piece of content should serve both human readers and machine interpretation.

That means:

Clear, concise writing that answers real questions
Structured data to provide machine-readable context
Organized hub-and-spoke models that reinforce authority

2. Prioritize Entity Mapping

Identify the entities that matter most to your business and align your content strategy with them.

Map your company name, products, services, and key industry concepts against Google’s Knowledge Graph and Wikidata.

Reinforce those entities consistently across your website, PR, and social channels.

This is where properly built content hubs and pillar pages can make a huge difference.

If these are new concepts for you, contact us today and we’ll get you started.

3. Optimize for GEO Alongside SEO

Rankings and traffic still matter, but I highly recommend that you add GEO (and Answer Engine Optimization / AEO) tracking to your reporting.

Record how often Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT responses cite your brand and your content.

Use those insights to refine content formats and topic coverage.

4. Use Structured Data Everywhere It Fits

Implement schema for articles, FAQs, how-to guides, products, and organizations.

Then, validate it regularly to ensure accuracy.

Well-structured data will help both Google’s index and AI engines extract reliable answers.

5. Keep Content Fresh and Comprehensive

Audit your existing content quarterly. Update statistics, examples, and links.

Add new spokes to existing hubs as user questions evolve.

Comprehensive, current content is far more likely to win both citations and rankings alike.

6. Measure More Than Rankings

Build scorecards that track traditional SEO KPIs (rankings, traffic, conversions) alongside AI discoverability metrics (citation share, generative engine coverage, attribution quality).

Present this combined view to leadership so they can clearly see both sides of visibility.

Use visualizations of the data whenever possible to ensure all types of execs can understand and apply what it shows in real business scenarios.

7. Double Down on Technical SEO

Even in 2025, technical SEO still matters.

Fast page load speeds, mobile-first design, accessible markup, and clean site structures remain non-negotiable.

If your website frustrates users, well I hate to break it to you, but it will frustrate AI systems too.

8. Expand Content Formats

Don’t stop at blog posts.

Create a range of formats including videos, infographics, podcasts, and downloadable guides.

Each format will offer AI engines more context to draw from, which will in turn expand your brand’s digital footprint.

Putting It All Together

The latest SEO trends for 2025 show where search is heading: AI-driven results, entity authority, and GEO metrics.

The best practices highlight what you can do today: build entity-focused hubs, implement schema, refresh content, and measure new KPIs alongside traditional ones.

Taken together, they form a roadmap for visibility in an era where AI answers and search rankings work side by side.

The brands that adapt quickly will be cited by generative engines, ranked by Google, and trusted by customers. The ones that don’t will fade from view.

Explore our AI-Driven Discoverability Services to learn how you can stay visible across both traditional search engines and generative AI platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions: SEO Trends and Best Practices

Is there a change to SEO for voice search in 2025?

Voice assistants increasingly pull results from generative engines. Optimizing for conversational queries, natural language phrasing, and FAQ schema helps your brand show up in spoken answers.

Does EEAT still matter in 2025 SEO?

Yes. Google continues to weigh Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness as ranking and visibility signals. But in 2025, EEAT is not enough. A more complete framework like N-E-E-A-T-T — Notability, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, and Transparency — gives AI systems the clarity and confidence they need to consistently surface and cite your content.

How does local SEO fit with AI-driven trends?

Local SEO is evolving into entity-first optimization. Consistent NAP details, local business schema, reviews, and regional authority signals help AI models recommend your business in location-based generative results.

Are backlinks still relevant in 2025?

Yes, but their role is shifting. Backlinks now function less as pure ranking factors and more as entity validation. Mentions in reputable, context-rich sources carry more weight than sheer volume of links.

How should smaller brands approach SEO in 2025?

Niche authority is the path forward. Smaller brands win by building content hubs around tightly defined entities, applying structured data, and ensuring consistency across all brand mentions so AI engines can confidently cite them.

Do AI-generated answers increase or decrease website traffic?

Both. Some users get their answers directly in AI summaries, which can reduce click-through. But when these summaries cite your content, you’ll build brand awareness and attract high-intent visitors who trust the attribution.

What tools can track citation share across AI engines?

Manual tracking with spreadsheets still works, but new platforms are emerging in 2025 to measure citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Expect specialized GEO tools to mature quickly.

How fast do SEO strategies need to adapt in 2025?

If you aren’t already adapting, you’re behind the curve. Quarterly reviews are the minimum, but monthly monitoring is safer as AI models update continuously. You’ll need to make rapid adjustments to content, schema, and hubs to ensure that you don’t fall behind.

Bio
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Tommy Landry

President at Return On Now

With over 25 years of experience in digital marketing and business strategy, I help companies grow through focused, practical execution. My expertise spans SEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), content marketing, and digital advertising. As a marketing and AI strategist, I apply the HAIF (Human + AI Framework) Model to blend advanced AI capabilities with the human touch. This approach enables businesses to streamline operations, scale efficiently, and improve marketing performance with strategies that deliver measurable results.

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