SEO in 2025

Things in the world of search engines are not what they used to be - and yet they still are. [This article is about non-technical SEO, there's no advice in here on site structure, performance, data architecture etc, this is about philosophies you can follow and actions you can take as a non-technical site owner/editor].

What's new? Well amongst other things AI is seeing rapid growth, users below 30 - and even more so under 20 - use TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to search for the information and products they are looking for. On average ten to twenty year olds use voice for 50% of their searches. 50% of all searches are now 4 words or longer.

Despite the changes and new entrants Google is still the absolute emperor of searches - even excluding YouTube it is still orders of magnitude larger than other search providers.

No click searches on Google are now at 60%

No click search? This is a search that doesn't lead to the user clicking on a website and leaving the search engine. They may get what they need from an

• AI Overview above the results
• A business listing or profile in a sidebar
• Map results
• A Knowledge Panel

For the longest time the story with SEO has been pretty much the same. Recently it was given an additional E in its name that makes it even clearer what you need to do to get to the top of the results - E-E-A-T.

These are the same factors that will get you ranked in the non-click spots above and cited by AI

Experience

• Ensure your content is as detailed as it needs to be to help your visitors. Don't over-complicate it, but don't remove the necessary details.
• Provide insights into your industry that your audience may not be aware of.
• Make it personal - where appropriate humanise your content to make it more relatable
• Show that you engage with others in your industry

Expertise

• Show that your authors have relevant credentials
• Use citations, as appropriate
• Demonstrate that you have in depth knowledge of your topic area
• If you have won awards, show them off

Authoritativeness

• Get backlinks to your site from relevant sites
• Get your brand mentioned in relevant places - even without a link this has value to building the authority and relevance of your brand
• Include testimonials & reviews

Trustworthiness

• Transparency - be honest and up front in your words and actions on your site
• Don't do anything that could be misconstrued as misleading
• Keep your content up to date. You need to revisit your content at least once a year, more if you are in a fast moving industry
• Be consistent in your branding

Notes

Remember to focus on the searches and visitors that are important for your business. Traffic is nice to have, but really you want to attract the buyers that are in your market and that are ready to engage with you and your products/services.

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