How to Safeguard Your Content and SEO Strategy in 2025

March 12, 2025/Justine Savage

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TLDR Takeaways

Google’s introduction of AI Overviews (AIO) and subsequent algorithm updates have changed the game for SEO in 2025.
Google’s core updates in 2024 aimed to refine search results, emphasizing quality and trustworthiness.
Adapting requires focusing on building quality content and experiences for users on your website.
Focus on updating your website and content to meet Google’s guidelines around Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
Know your audience deeply so you can create content that truly serves their needs, and deliver it where they’re at.
Diversify your traffic and tactics instead of relying solely on Google.
Optimize your website on the front end to improve user experience, and focus on best practices for improving technical SEO.
And remember, don’t panic! We’ve been through SEO changes before.

Jump to:
State of Search in 2025
SEO and Content Marketing Strategy Tips
2025 SEO Quicklist
Further Reading on the Subject

If you’ve been keeping up with SEO in the last few years, you may have noticed a subtle sense of unease in the air. Search has been undergoing significant shifts, with AI-powered search experiences and zero-click content transforming how users find information. With the shift to more personalized, intuitive results, marketers are faced with new challenges and opportunities in SEO and content marketing.

SEOs & Marketing Pros Since Google Announced AI Integration in 2023 (via GIPHY )

Despite that pretty accurate gif, we assure you there’s no reason to panic. If you’re well-informed and proactive, your brand can weather this SEO storm. Let’s dig into the current state of search and some key takeaways for shaping your strategy in 2025.

The State of Search in 2025 — What’s Been Changing?

The saturation of AI used for content creation and AI-generative search in 2024 has had major effects on how users find information, and on how Google delivers it. AI-generated content has raised concerns of quality dilution in search, while Google’s launch of AI enhancements has introduced a new set of SEO challenges and standards to meet.

A Quick Timeline of Google AI Overview (AIO) and Core Updates

After a year of testing, Google officially launched its AI-powered search experience known as AI Overview (AIO) in 2024, formerly branded as Search Generative Experience (SGE). AIO are snippets that appear at the top of Google search results to provide immediate answers. You’ll see many formats, including definitions, bullet point lists, shopping options, photos, etc., depending on the search query.

Google’s goal is to provide reliable information to users without a need to click on a website. You may have heard this described as “zero-click” content. Beyond the inherent challenges of capturing traffic while Google prioritizes zero-click, AIO has come with its own growing pains, including accuracy issues. You may have remembered some screenshots of searches showcasing AIO’s shortcomings in vetting information. For example, the overview for the search “cheese not sticking to pizza” recommended mixing non-toxic glue into the recipe (😬 that’s…not great).

Here’s some more examples of some early AIO blunders…

@gizmodoau Google’s AI Overview feature is cooked 😭 #google #googlesearch #ai #artificialintelligence #techtok #tech ♬ original sound – Gizmodo AU

Google has been working to address issues like this through a variety of core updates aimed at improving the AIO experience to deliver better quality and trustworthy results to users. But for marketers, it’s made for an unstable search environment where rankings and standards are constantly shifting. Below is a rundown of the core updates made so far:

March 2024: Google rolled out its largest core update to date, introducing significant changes to multiple core systems to improve search result quality.
August 2024: Another core update was released, focusing on boosting high-quality content and demoting low-value, SEO-focused material in search results.
November and December 2024: Google implemented consecutive core updates, each aiming to refine search algorithms and enhance user experience by delivering more relevant and trustworthy results.

Constant Evolution Creates Challenges, but Quality Is Key

Have you noticed the two major themes at play? First and foremost is the fact that AIO and Google are still in a state of constant evolution. Ongoing updates and changes have made it increasingly challenging for even the most seasoned SEO experts to keep up.

While keyword research and standard SEO best practices remain foundational, trying to game the SERPs during a period of algorithmic shifts is a difficult, if not futile, endeavor. Consider this: In Search Engine Journal’s State of SEO 2025 survey, SEO professionals identified their #1 challenge in 2024 as algorithm changes, with many predicting further performance disruptions due to generative AI in search platforms and the rise of AI-generated content.

So how do you safeguard your content and SEO strategy in 2025 and beyond? That brings us to the second theme: quality. At the end of the day, all these updates are focused on delivering high-quality, trustworthy content to users. The better the algorithm becomes, the harder it will be to fake quality. That’s why your focus should be on creating authentic, valuable content, supported by proven SEO tactics.

Content Marketing & SEO Strategy Tips for 2025

It’s clear that sticking to the status quo SEO tactics you’ve had in play for years isn’t going to garner the same results. It’s time to start focusing on improving quality and diversifying your efforts.

Prioritize E-E-A-T to Demonstrate Quality and Trust

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. This acronym is part of Google’s Search Quality Guidelines and is used to assess the quality and credibility of websites and their content, minimize misinformation, and increase the level of useful content delivered via search. While it isn’t a direct ranking factor for Google search results, it’s still critical for search performance. For a rundown of everything E-E-A-T we recommend checking out this comprehensive guide and resource list from Lily Ray, director of SEO and head of organic research at Amsive Digital.

Focus on What Your Audience Wants First

How search algorithms are prioritizing content right now may be unclear, but one thing is certain: Deeply understanding your audience is key to staying competitive. More importantly, it’s the best way to attract the right traffic and foster meaningful engagement. Understanding where and how your target audience consumes information will also lead to new avenues to reach them beyond search engines.

Create Genuinely Helpful, Informative Content

On the topic of knowing your audience, your priority should be creating content they truly value. Shift your focus away from fluff designed solely for SEO, like generic definitions, and instead dive deeper into niche topics that resonate with their specific needs and interests. By offering depth and substance, you’ll not only engage your audience but also align with the evolving standards of quality-driven search algorithms.

Diversify Your SEO and Traffic Tactics

It’s time to stop relying solely on SEO, or any single traffic source like Google. Instead, focus on achieving balance by integrating SEO into your broader marketing mix to drive results. Diversifying your tactics will not only safeguard you against the current algorithm rollercoaster, it also can build a more qualified audience that aligns with your business goals.

As Rand Fishkin, co-founder of Sparktoro and MOZ, highlighted in a recent LinkedIn post, diversifying your marketing is a widely shared perspective among digital marketing professionals. Expanding your tactics will make your strategy more resilient and effective long-term.

Deliver a Quality User Experience

Quality doesn’t stop at the content itself. Even the best content can fall short if it’s hosted on a poorly functioning website. A subpar user experience could undercut your traffic and engagement whether it’s coming from Google or another source. Focus on creating a seamless, easy-to-navigate interface on the front end, while reinforcing your technical SEO on the back end. Check out Semrush’s What Is Technical SEO? Basics and Best Practices for a deeper understanding of how to optimize your website.

You’ll notice many of these tactics aren’t necessarily new. For those of us in content marketing, knowing your audience and providing value to them has always been at the core. Leaning on the fundamentals of content and digital marketing strategy will keep you competitive no matter where SEO is headed.

Your 2025 SEO Checklist

Know Your Audience: Focus on understanding who needs your content, why, and where they are most likely to find it.
Prioritize User-centric Content: Create high-quality, relevant content that serves your ideal customer instead of trying to “game” search engine rankings.
Diversify Traffic Sources: Avoid over-reliance on Google. Build direct audience relationships through email lists, social platforms, and other channels.
Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Target the right users instead of aiming for massive traffic from broad audiences.
SEO as Part of Marketing: Treat SEO as one piece of a broader marketing strategy, integrating diverse approaches for better results.
Enhance User Experience: Eliminate fluff, use navigation tools in your content, and make content easy to access to provide the best service for users.
Distribute Widely: Avoid relying solely on SEO or PPC; share your content and brand across multiple platforms to reach your audience effectively.

Don’t Forget, We’ve All Been Through This Before

Our final piece of advice? Don’t panic. This shift may be especially significant, but it’s just one in a succession of changes over the years that have had marketers proclaiming SEO is dead.

via GIPHY

In fact, I was in-house for a B2B company back in 2011 when Google released their Panda core update. I ended up steeped in removing years of backlinking for months. At the time it felt like SEO was becoming an impossible task, but here I am today still optimizing client content for SEO.

With the right understanding, SEO can continue to be an asset for your brand in 2025, but you must evolve your strategy and avoid getting stuck relying on old tactics that no longer serve your needs.

Is the Quality of Your Content Living up to SEO Standards?

Our team has been living and breathing content marketing since before it even had a name. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you audit and improve your content strategy to better support an SEO program.

Posted in SEO