A few years ago, when I officially began SEO marketing as a content writer, the game was more straightforward. There weren’t AI overviews to worry about, no AI chatbots like ChaGPT, Perplexity, or Google SGE. Social media platforms were kind to external links, and no one dreamed about zero-click marketing. It was easier to drive readership from social media to the website.
I understood the rules of SEO marketing, followed them, and saw some of my content rank top of Google SERP. The rules were more predictable. The process was simpler—conduct keyword research, analyze the first page of SERP, create high-quality content that beats the competition, optimize the page, and you’re on your way to the top of Search Engine Result Page (SERP).
Top of SERP? Yes, that was always the goal.
Today, the rules of the game seem to be changing, and the goal as well. “SEO is no longer just about ranking high on Google; it’s about delivering value across multiple touchpoints—AI-driven search, voice search, and personalized experiences,” says Lily Ray, SEO Director at Amsive Digital.
In other words, to remain relevant in today’s world of SEO marketing, marketers and businesses need to embrace value-driven multi-platform marketing. The era of putting your ‘SEO eggs’ in one basket (Google SERP) is over. It’s time to embrace “Search Everywhere Optimization” as Neil Patel would call it, as opposed to Search Engine Optimization.
The New Rules of SEO in 2025
What’s changed and why it matters? Let’s go deeper!
AI-Driven Search Evolution
Google has dominated the search market for nearly two decades, with a significant market share consistently above 90% for most of the time, before the emergence of ChatGPT and other similar AI-powered search tools. To date, Google is still receiving the bulk of searches; however, ChatGPT has introduced a new approach to searching for information.
Where I currently work as a Content Manager, we’ve had potential customers tell us they found us on ChatGPT. The platform is among the top 10 most visited sites in the world.
So, what is the implication for SEO content marketers? Here’s the answer – it is time to start optimizing for AI-driven searches. But what exactly does this mean?
Well, the answer is not far from doing good SEO if we decide to go with what Kevin Indig from Semrush said below:
Tech SEO, LLM Crawlers, listicles, and driving more mentions across the web help with Generative AI visibility because LLMs still use search results from Google or Bing to ground their answers. But for how much longer? I think LLMs will soon develop their own weighting algorihms.
Basically, I believe the answer is that marketers should focus on optimizing for short-form, high-value answers to meet user intent.
Additionally, here is Semrush’s research on ChatGPT’s impact on website traffic and digital marketing. In that study, they analyzed millions of clickstream records. Interestingly, the result shows growth in the number of unique domains receiving referral traffic from ChatGPT. The question is – is your website benefiting from this?
Additionally, they discovered that about 54% of ChaGPT queries were handled with SearchGPT turned off, while 46% utilized the web search feature.
The conclusion for the above findings is that users are engaging with ChatGPT in both modes – leveraging its built-in capabilities and its ability to access live web data. Again, what does this mean for brands? Here’s what Danny Sullivan at Google Search Liaison, has to say:
With AI-driven search, brands must rethink their SEO strategies – featured snippets and structured data are more valuable than ever.
Structured data according to Google, “is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content; for example, on a recipe page, what are the ingredients, the cooking time and temperature, the calories, and so on.”
Think of it as adding labels to different parts of your content so Google can easily identify what each piece is about.
The Rise of Zero-Click Searches
This concept is increasingly becoming popular in the world of SEO marketing. If you are yet to get a hang of it, here’s what it means. Zero-click searches mean a user performs a search on a search engine like Google but finds the answer to their query directly on the search results page without needing to click on any links to visit another website. In other words, the search engine provides the required information right on the screen, making “click” unnecessary.
Zero-click search also applies to other platforms like AI-powered chatbots and social media platforms. AI-powered chatbots, are designed in a way that a user gets comprehensive information in one place without necessarily clicking a link that takes them to another website.
Many social media platforms are increasingly becoming social commerce. This means they are integrating e-commerce features directly into the social media platforms. This allows users to discover, research, and purchase without having to visit external websites.
This is what you see on Instagram shops, Facebook marketplace, and TikTok’s in-app shopping features. It is a blend of social interaction and online shopping. Social commerce is streamlining the buying process and enabling brands to seamlessly engage with customers.
Additionally, social media algorithms on most platforms tend not to favour posts with external links. This is because their platforms want users to stay engaged within their site and not be directed away to other sites. Therefore, they prioritize keeping users on their site, which may limit the reach of posts with external links.
When users click on a link to leave the platforms, it can be interpreted as less engagement on the platform itself, potentially leading to the algorithm showing the post to fewer users. As a result, the practice of driving readers from social media platforms to websites has become less effective unless you’re boosting such content.
What is the Solution to Zero-click or how Does SEO Marketing Work With Zero-Click?
Here’s an expert suggestion.
Brands should embrace zero-click searches by ensuring their content still drives conversions through compelling meta descriptions and CTAs. – Rand Fishkin, SparkToro Founder
Here’s what I believe Rand is saying: even if users don’t visit your site at first, a good meta description can lure them to your site later. Additionally, using strategic CTAs like learn more about… or get expert insights… can also encourage users to visit your website.
Finally, ranking on zero-click results such as Google AI overview can boost trust and your authority, making your products or services the preferred choice by consumers.
Rise of Organic PR Channels
Forums and channels, whether on Reddit, Quora, Facebook, or YouTube, are where consumers spend their time. Most of these platforms are also increasingly dominating SERP.
Google draws rich information from these sources, offering users holistic result experiences that compete with ChatGPT-kind of information. Studies have shown that only one-third of searches go out on the open web, while two-thirds stay in the Google ecosystem.
For marketers and business owners utilizing SEO marketing, it is time to go beyond creating lots of content on your website to include execution of PR and content marketing across all the platforms your audience pays attention to, whether it’s a Facebook group, a YouTube channel, or even a subreddit – that’s where you want your content to be.
That is how you influence what these different platforms talk about. This means that you need to keep sharing value but you can’t rely solely on your website if you want to stand out.
However, this form of PR does not suggest that you run to major publications for visibility. As a business owner, you’re better off publishing with relevant niche businesses and publications in your space.,
Voice and Visual Search Optimization
Voice and visual search optimization has become a growing priority in 2025.
Visual and voice search demand a new kind of SEO – focus on image SEO, natural langage optimization, and AI-driven content structuring. – Aleyda Solis, SEO Consultant
Recent statistics show that around 20% of all mobile Google searches are now conducted via voice search. In addition, approximately 1 billion voice searches take place every month.
Further, more than half of Google users (around 58%) utilize voice search to find local businesses, and the younger demographic is most likely to engage with voice technology daily.
Based on this development, marketers are required to make a shift towards optimizing content for natural language queries.
The focus should be on a conversational tone, prioritizing local SEO, and incorporating rich visuals that can be readily recognized by search engines. This is changing the fundamentals of how content is structured and presented to reach users searching through voice commands or image-based queries.
AI Impact on SEO: Friend or Foe?
Is the impact of AI on SEO good or bad for marketers and businesses? AI is impacting how SEO is done in 2025 and beyond. This speaks to the emergence of AI-generated content and AI-powered search engines. Let’s look at each of these briefly below.
AI-Generated Content & Google’s Stance
The emergence of AI, specifically AI-generated content sparked controversies at inception. Today, there are still mixed feelings, however, there’s been an overwhelming adoption.
Although AI content has become acceptable, human expertise is essential to maintaining quality. This is where the concept of EEAT comes in.
EEAT stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. These are human qualities that cannot be overlooked. They put you above keyword stuffing and AI fluffs, focusing on quality content. Besides, Google penalizes mass-produced, low-quality AI content. So what is the best approach?
The best approach? AI-assisted content, not AI-replaced content. Human creativity still wins. – John Mueller, Google Search Advocate
AI-Powered Search Engines SGE and Beyond
Google SGE and ChatGPT Search are impacting organic traffic. As I already mentioned, they have given rise to zero-click searches, resulting in less traffic to websites when compared to what we had two to three years ago.
Additionally, other AI-powered search competitors are also popping up. You have Perplexity AI, which is already popular in the industry; there is You.com, as well as the new Deepseek AI.
How should marketers tackle the influence of AI-powered search responses?
Marketers must optimize for AI-generated search responses by focusing on structured, accurate, and expert-driven content. – Barry Schwartz, SEO Industry Analyst.
SEO Automation and AI SEO TOOLS
There are now many AI-powered tools that are helping streamline SEO tasks, including keyword research, SEO audits, content creation, and more.
Tools like Jasper, Surfer SEO, ChatGPT, Semrush, and Clearscope are top of the list. These tools help businesses improve their search engine optimization.
They can help you find keywords to target in your content. You can use some to optimize page speed, fix broken URLs, and optimize content for search engine rankings.
However, remember that ranking with AI requires transparency and credibility. There is no room for cutting conners.
How to Stay Ahead in 2025 SEO Marketing
Here are some actionable strategies you can execute for successful SEO marketing in 2025:
Use Content Strategy That Works
A content strategy that works in 2025 is one based on topical authority and interactive content. For the former, be sure to cover entire subject clusters, not just keywords, whether on your website or on social media.
This is one good way to project your expertise and inform search engines and AI search platforms about what your business is all about.
Also, use interactive polls, quizzes, and videos (especially short form).
Why is this important? Here’s the answer below:
Authority-based content, with real-world expertise, is the future of SEO. – Cyrus Shepard, SEO Strategist
Execute Technical SEO
Ensure your website has good indexing and structured data to help search engines understand content better. In addition, the site’s speed is as important as it has always been. Keeping it at a sub-2second load speed is the real deal.
Local SEO and Hyper-Personalization is Key in SEO Marketing
In 2025, search engines will better understand location-based queries, so you need to optimize your local SEO. Voice search and enhanced local packs are increasingly dominating local results. This is the time to focus on location-based keywords and content, optimizing for searchers near your business.
In addition, personalized search results will favour brands that optimize for user behaviour. This requires using real-time data and AI to create customized experiences for individual customers.
You can achieve this by gathering and optimizing data about each customer’s journey, segmenting customers into groups based on shared characteristics, and creating content for each customer’s journey.
Final Word
AI-powered search, user-intent shifts, and technical SEO will dominate SEO marketing in 2025. At the rate it is going, AI-driven search engines could replace SERPs, but while we wait to see that happen, marketers should focus on optimizing for short-form, high-value answers to meet user intent.
How is your SEO strategy evolving in 2025? Please share your thoughts in the comments!