Massive changes in SEO in 2025 & How 2024 paved the way

2024 was a remarkable year for Search Engine Rankings – 2025 will be even more so!

The year 2024 marked a transformative period in the world of search engine optimization and SEO with sweeping algorithmic changes reshaping the landscape for SEO in 2025. Next year is set for even more shakeups but thankfully, those adopting a truly holistic approach to their SEO are already on track for a great year and those who are not have a fantastic opportunity to make changes now and begin to see things differently and move with the times!

These 2024 updates, led by Google’s transparent announcements, reinforced the importance of holistic SEO—an approach that prioritizes quality content, user experience, and technical excellence. This shift signalled the end of outdated practices like keyword stuffing and manipulative backlinks, making it essential for website owners to adapt.  

At Holistic SEO, we’ve long championed the need for a user-focused, comprehensive approach to digital optimization. Early in 2024, we predicted that search engines would focus on authentic content and improved user experiences. While some sceptics doubted this direction, the end of 2024 proves the importance of rethinking strategies. The evolving search landscape now demands that website owners take stock and implement robust, future-ready plans for SEO in 2025. With the rapid pace of AI development, the emphasis on high-quality content, expertise, and relevancy will only grow.

Key Algorithm Updates That Shaped 2024

March 2024 Core Update (March 5 – April 19)

The March Core Update was a pivotal moment, setting the tone for the year by focusing on eliminating low-value and manipulative content. Its emphasis on “helpful content” rewarded sites offering genuine value and expertise. Key aspects of this update included:  

• Eliminating Low-Quality Content: Thin, repetitive, or outdated content experienced significant drops in rankings. Sites with regular updates and fresh, insightful material thrived.
• Targeting Expired Domain Abuse: Websites exploiting previously authoritative domains faced penalties, emphasizing the importance of authentic site-building.  
• Enhancing Trust Metrics: Content demonstrating expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) received higher visibility.  

May 2024 AI Overviews Update (May 15 – May 22)

The introduction of AI-generated summaries in search results transformed how users interacted with information. While early iterations faced challenges with accuracy, the rollout underscored the growing integration of AI into search.  

• Structuring for AI Understanding: Schema markup, concise metadata, and logical content hierarchies became essential.
• Balancing AI and Human Needs: While AI favours structured data, users still demand engaging, human-cantered storytelling and practical insights.
• Adapting to AI-Powered Systems: Sites optimized for natural language processing (NLP) gained prominence.  

June 2024 Spam Update

Google’s commitment to cleaning up search results was evident in its June Spam Update, targeting manipulative tactics such as link schemes and automated content.

• Ethical SEO Practices Rewarded: Sites focusing on organic link-building and quality content gained trust and visibility.  
• Penalizing Manipulation: Backlink farms, cloaking, and keyword stuffing saw reduced effectiveness.  

August 2024 Core Update (August 15 – September 3)

This update highlighted the importance of user experience and niche expertise. Smaller sites with focused, high-quality content outperformed larger competitors relying on outdated methods.  

• Elevating Niche Expertise: Content that demonstrated deep understanding and relevance within specific industries flourished.  
• Prioritizing UX Metrics: Mobile responsiveness, fast loading times, and clear navigation were prioritized in rankings.  

This information is not intended to worry anyone or start panic, in fact it´s not news at all as the changes were very public and any quick google search of the above events will bring up a whole ton of stories and blog articles from throughout 2023 that reflect on this and the reasons for the drops, but it is a time when we can reflect on what was reported, what really has happened and how it has affected many websites so that we can strategically plan our approach for SEO in. 2025.

The Tale of Two Approaches: What We Observed in 2024

Websites that relied on outdated or traditional SEO strategies encountered a range of difficulties throughout 2024, primarily centred around visibility and user engagement:

• Plummeting Traffic:
  A comprehensive study conducted by Semrush revealed that websites failing to keep up with current SEO best practices suffered significant traffic declines, with many experiencing drops between 30% and 45% over the course of the year. This drastic reduction in visitors directly impacts potential conversions and overall site performance.
• Loss of Featured Snippets:
  Featured snippets, the highlighted search results that appear at the top of the page, are highly coveted for their ability to drive traffic and establish authority. Sites with poorly structured or unclear content saw a marked decrease in their ability to secure these valuable positions. This loss translates to reduced visibility and missed opportunities to capture user attention.
• Minimal Voice Search Presence:
  The continued rise of voice search, powered by AI assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, has transformed the way users interact with search engines. Traditional SEO methods often struggle to accommodate the conversational nature of voice queries, resulting in limited visibility in voice search results. This oversight leaves a significant portion of potential traffic untapped in our efforts with SEO in 2025.

These challenges underscore the importance of adapting to the evolving SEO landscape and embracing a holistic approach that encompasses technical optimization, high-quality content, and user experience. As we move towards the end of the year, a lot of website owners are revisiting their strategies for SEO in 2025 to make them aligned with the principles of Holistic SEO and focusing on the user and “mobile first” strategies.

Engagement Metrics

High Bounce Rates: Ahrefs data indicates that websites featuring irrelevant or low-quality content experienced a significant surge in bounce rates, with an increase of 40%. This suggests that users are quick to leave pages that don’t meet their expectations in terms of relevance and quality.

Reduced User Time:  Similarly, users spent less time on pages that failed to effectively address their search queries. This implies that user engagement and satisfaction are closely tied to the quality and relevance of the content provided.

• The escalating costs associated with paid traffic and the diminishing returns on investment (ROI) have emerged as substantial financial repercussions in the digital landscape.
• Paid Traffic Costs: The increasing competition for online visibility has driven up the costs of paid search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns. Businesses have reported a significant surge, often as high as 30%, in the cost per click (CPC) for their paid ads. This escalating expense can strain marketing budgets and diminish profitability, particularly for businesses that heavily rely on paid traffic acquisition.

• Decreased Organic Traffic and ROI: The decline in organic traffic, resulting from ineffective SEO strategies or algorithm updates, has further exacerbated the financial challenges. As organic visibility diminishes, businesses become increasingly reliant on paid channels to maintain their online presence. This over-reliance on paid advertising can lead to a lower ROI as the costs of acquiring customers through paid channels tend to be higher than through organic channels.

This image is a snapshot of a real case established website stats showing an overview of impressions and clicks declining throughout 2024 despite it maintaining an ongoing SEO campaign through traditional methods of backlinks and keywords.

The Vicious Cycle: The interplay between these factors can create a vicious cycle. As organic traffic declines, businesses may increase their paid advertising spend to compensate. However, the rising costs of paid traffic can strain budgets and reduce ROI. This, in turn, may necessitate further cuts in organic SEO efforts, leading to a further decline in organic traffic and a greater dependence on paid channels.

Key Takeaway: These findings highlight the critical importance of creating high-quality, relevant, and informative content that effectively addresses user needs. Failure to do so can result in decreased user engagement, higher bounce rates, and reduced time spent on page, all of which can negatively impact search rankings and overall website performance.

Holistic SEO Success Stories

Websites that embraced a holistic SEO approach, which focuses on optimizing all aspects of a website’s content and structure for search engines and users, saw significant improvements in their overall performance.

Traffic and Visibility Improvements

• Consistent Growth: Websites that implemented topic clusters, which are groups of related content organized around a central theme, and E-E-A-T principles, which stand for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, experienced a substantial increase in organic traffic, ranging from 35% to 50%. This demonstrates the effectiveness of providing comprehensive and authoritative content that meets the needs of users and search engines.
• Dominance in AI-Driven Results: Websites that optimized their content for rich snippets, which are enhanced search results that display additional information, and implemented semantic strategies, which focus on understanding the meaning and context of words and phrases, saw their rankings improve significantly. This is due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms by search engines to understand and rank content.

Engagement Metrics

• Improved User Behaviour: Engagement metrics like session duration and pages per visit increased by up to 40% on average.
• Higher Conversions: Trustworthy, user-centered content fostered conversions and brand loyalty.
• Reduced Reliance on SEM: Businesses that implemented holistic SEO strategies saw a marked improvement in their organic search rankings. This allowed them to decrease their spending on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) while maintaining or even increasing their overall visibility. This shift towards organic search represents a significant cost saving over time, as SEM can be expensive, especially for competitive keywords.
• Sustainable Growth: Unlike SEM, which typically requires ongoing expenditure to maintain results, holistic SEO provides a more sustainable foundation for long-term growth. By focusing on creating high-quality content, improving user experience, and building a strong backlink profile, businesses can create a website that continues to attract and engage users over time. This leads to sustainable growth that is not dependent on constant ad spending.
• Long-Term Dividends: While holistic SEO may require an initial investment of time and resources, it can pay significant dividends in the long run. As a website’s organic search rankings improve, it will attract more qualified traffic, leading to increased leads, conversions, and revenue. Over time, this can result in a much higher return on investment (ROI) than SEM or other short-term marketing tactics.
• Increased Efficiency: By optimizing a website for search engines and users, businesses can improve their overall efficiency. This includes factors such as faster page load times, improved navigation, and clearer calls to action. These improvements can lead to a better user experience, which can in turn lead to increased engagement, conversions, and revenue.
• Competitive Advantage: In today’s digital landscape, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses of all sizes. By implementing a holistic SEO strategy, businesses can gain a competitive advantage over those that rely solely on paid advertising or outdated SEO tactics. This can lead to increased market share, brand awareness, and overall success.

The Rising Importance of Holistic SEO Principles

Content Quality and Depth:

Comprehensive Content Clusters:

Google make certain aspect of how they work public although we do have to remember that it´s not just google now. We have to cater for all search engines as they are all playing a core importance. But the general concepts apply. A successful Holistic SEO strategy begins with the creation of interconnected content clusters. These clusters are designed to thoroughly cover specific niches or subject areas by offering in-depth information on a range of related topics. By providing comprehensive and interconnected content, you position your website as a go-to authority and valuable resource for users seeking information within that particular niche. This approach not only demonstrates expertise and builds trust with your audience, but also improves your website’s visibility and ranking potential in search results for a wider range of relevant search queries.

Regular Updates and Freshness:

Maintaining content freshness is crucial for long-term SEO success. Regularly updating and refreshing existing content ensures that it remains accurate, relevant, and valuable to users over time. This practice demonstrates to both users and search engines that your website is active, engaged, and committed to providing high-quality information. Additionally, updating content with new insights, data, or perspectives can improve its ranking potential for relevant search queries and attract new visitors to your site.

Technical Excellence:

• Structured Data Implementation: Implementing structured data markup, such as Schema.org, provides explicit clues about the meaning of your content to search engines. This can result in rich snippets, like star ratings, product details, or event information, directly in search results, increasing visibility and click-through rates.
• Mobile Optimization: Given the dominance of mobile web browsing, a responsive design that adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes is crucial. Google predominantly uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking, making mobile-friendliness a core ranking factor.
• Performance Optimization and Core Web Vitals: Site speed directly impacts user experience and search rankings. Core Web Vitals, a set of metrics focused on loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability, are key indicators of a site’s user-friendliness. Tools like Google Lighthouse can identify areas for improvement, such as optimizing images, minimizing JavaScript, and leveraging browser caching.
• Accessibility: Ensuring your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, is not only ethically responsible but can also improve your site’s overall usability and search visibility.
• Site Security: Implementing HTTPS encryption protects user data and is a ranking signal. Regular security checks and updates are essential to prevent vulnerabilities and maintain user trust.
• Image Optimization: Optimizing images for size and format improves page load speed and can also enhance accessibility through descriptive alt text.
• Error Handling and Broken Links: Regularly monitoring for and fixing 404 errors and broken links maintains a positive user experience and prevents “crawlability” issues for search engines.
• URL Structure: Clean and descriptive URLs that accurately reflect the content of the page are beneficial for both users and search engines.
• Site Architecture: A clear and logical site structure with intuitive navigation helps users find information easily and assists search engines in understanding the hierarchy and relationships between pages.
• XML Sitemaps: Submitting an XML sitemap to search engines helps them discover and crawl your pages more efficiently.
• Robots.txt: A robots.txt file instructs search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site to crawl and index, and which to exclude.

User Experience Focus:

• Intuitive Navigation and Site Architecture: A well-organized website with clear navigation helps users find the information they need quickly and easily, reducing bounce rates and improving engagement.
• Accessibility for All Users: Designing your website to be accessible to users with disabilities is not only ethically responsible but can also improve your search rankings and reach a wider audience.
• Mobile-First Design: Given the prevalence of mobile device usage, designing your website with a mobile-first approach ensures a seamless experience for users on smartphones and tablets.

Brand Authority Development:

• Consistent Brand Messaging: Maintaining consistent messaging and branding across all platforms helps build trust and recognition among your audience.
• Social Proof and Credibility: Encouraging and showcasing positive reviews, testimonials, and case studies can significantly enhance your brand’s credibility and authority.
• Building Relationships and Backlinks: Actively engaging with other industry leaders and publications can lead to valuable backlinks and partnerships, further establishing your brand as a trusted authority in your field.

Understanding and Aligning with User Intent

The Core of Holistic SEO

User intent is at the core of Holistic SEO. Every decision, especially those regarding content creation, should be guided by the question, “How does this benefit the user?” Search engines prioritize websites that provide a positive user experience, and this means aligning with user intent.  

Aligning Content with User Intent

To align your content with user intent, you need to understand the different types of user intent:

• Informational Intent: The user is seeking information on a specific topic. This could be anything from “how to bake a cake” to “what is Holistic SEO.”
• Navigational Intent: The user is looking for a specific website or page. For example, they might search for “Holistic SEO website” to find holisticseo.net.
• Transactional Intent: The user is looking to make a purchase or complete another transaction. This could involve searching for “buy SEO services” or “hire SEO consultant.”

Once you understand the user’s intent, you can create content that meets their needs. This might involve providing in-depth information on a topic, creating clear and easy-to-navigate pages, or showcasing your products or services in a compelling way.

The Role of AI in Understanding User Intent

Advancements in AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) have made it easier for search engines to understand user intent. They can now analyse search queries in context and match them with the most relevant results. This means that your content needs to be optimized for both human readers and AI algorithms. As we think about our strategies for SEO in 2025, the focus on user intent has to be at the forefront of our minds. Our team are highly experienced and use the best tools in the business, coupled with their unrivalled knowledge and experience spanning 3 decades to ensure that we but the user first and the search engines second which, in turn the intelligent search engines of today and tomorrow will rate far more favourably than those who try and plan their website for the search engines only.

Key Considerations for Aligning with User Intent

• Understand Your Audience: Conduct thorough keyword research to understand what your target audience is searching for.
• Create High-Quality Content: Provide informative, well-researched, and engaging content that answers user questions and provides value.
• Structure Your Content Logically: Use clear headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make your content easy to read and understand.
• Optimize for Conversational Search: Use natural language and address user queries in a conversational style.

By focusing on user intent, you can create a website that provides a positive user experience and ranks well in search results.

Looking Ahead: SEO in 2025 and Beyond

The landscape of artificial intelligence has witnessed a surge in investment, reaching unprecedented heights in 2024. This financial influx has been fueled by a growing recognition of AI’s transformative potential across various sectors. Leading tech companies like Nvidia have experienced remarkable stock growth, driven by the escalating demand for AI-specific hardware to support increasingly complex models and applications. All of this will continue into the future with the technology advancements meaning that search engines in 2025 will continue to evolve at faster than ever rates and we need to be prepared in our approach to search engine optimisation (SEO) in 2025 and beyond.

Major players in the tech industry are making significant strides in AI innovation. Amazon’s integration of the advanced AI model Claude into its Alexa voice assistant has expanded the capabilities of this widely-used platform, enabling more sophisticated and contextually aware interactions. Google’s development of the Gemini AI system promises to push the boundaries of machine learning and natural language processing, potentially revolutionizing search, communication, and content creation. OpenAI’s advancements with ChatGPT, including the release of more powerful and refined versions, have further demonstrated the potential of AI to generate human-like text and engage in meaningful conversations. These developments, along with countless others, are reshaping how users interact with technology, paving the way for a future where AI is seamlessly integrated into daily life.

Conversational and Contextual Search

The way users interact with search engines is evolving rapidly. We predict a significant increase in conversational search patterns, where users will engage with search engines using more natural language and context-driven queries. This shift is driven by advancements in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) technologies, which enable search engines to better understand the intent and context behind user queries.

As a result, content creators and website owners need to adapt their SEO strategies to align with this trend. Focusing solely on keyword optimization will no longer be sufficient. Instead, a more holistic approach is required, where content is created with a focus on providing comprehensive and relevant answers to user queries in a conversational style.

Additionally, search engines will increasingly consider the context of user queries, including their location, search history, and device type, to deliver more personalized and relevant results. This means that content creators need to be mindful of these contextual factors and optimize their content accordingly.

Quality, accuracy, and relevancy will remain critical factors for success in search rankings. Search algorithms will continue to prioritize content that provides high-quality, accurate, and relevant information to users. This means that content creators need to ensure that their content meets these standards to remain competitive in the search landscape.

Catering for more than just Google

Whilst google are the established leaders in internet search, and whilst many SEO agencies focus all of their attention on satisfying google, a true holistic approach is needed to satisfy other search engines too – all of which have their own little quirks and preferences but whilst to many other major engines like Bing may not be at the forefront of peoples minds, we have to take into account their increasing market share especially with the growth of AI powered search.

Which Search Engines to Keep in Mind

Let´s start with Bing. Bing are the Microsoft search engine who have launched co-pilot, their answer to Google´s Gemini. A voice powered assistant that actually works pretty well. Bing Copilot has long made public that their AI elements incorporate ChatGPT. Likewise, OpenAI have now added internet search to ChatGPT and guess who is powering the search element when ChatGPT needs to get up to the minute web results? Yep it´s Bing! So it´s more important than ever to be following best practices for Bing just as much as google.

Then we have to think about others. Perplexity is fast becoming a go to resource for it´s ability to search the internet and provide comprehensive real time search results and quote the references. Whilst it is not public if they are partnered with one of the big names, we have to consider how they work and what they consider to be quality content if we are to stand a chance of being used as a reference for them.

Amazon have made enormous investments in AI at all levels in 2024 and after issues with their own AI system for their planned Alexa updates, they have partnered with Claude AI for a new version of Alexa that is promising great things and looks set to go live in the early part of 2025. This is surely going to be a major player when it establishes itself and grows and it´s clear that Amazon are taking huge steps to ensure they remain in line with what Google can offer in terms of home and personal assistants. I for one am excited to see what new stuff my Alexa will bring because it has fallen behind and is now in some ways outdates technology but the future looks bright and as they evolve we will need to pay close attention to how things play out and be adapting as we learn.

These are just a couple of examples but they are just some to demonstrate that whilst google remains top dog in terms of “search engines”, we have to be looking after the needs of all the others and thankfully out holistic SEO methods are generally the way forward across all platforms.

Opportunities for SEO Agencies

The Significance of Holistic SEO in an Evolving Digital Landscape

Many marketing and SEO agencies find it challenging to truly understand and implement a comprehensive, holistic approach to SEO. This is especially true given the rapid advancements and changes in the digital landscape, particularly with the rise of AI and its integration into search engines.

Our team have a proven track record spanning three decades, during which we have consistently adapted to and embraced these changes. This experience has equipped us with the expertise to develop and implement forward-thinking, future-proof strategies that not only keep up with but thrive in the AI-driven digital world. We understand that SEO is no longer just about keywords and backlinks; it’s about creating a cohesive, user-centric online presence that aligns with search engine algorithms and user intent.

Transform Your Digital Presence

The good news? We’re here to help. As specialists in holistic SEO, we provide comprehensive solutions tailored to your goals. Learn more about our approach here. Let’s ensure your site is ready for 2025 A Holistic SEO in 2025 and beyond is fundamental and we are ready to listen to you and help you adapt to the needs of your visitors and reign in the rankings! Click here to contact our SEO experts and discuss your project without any obligation.

FAQ About SEO in 2025

For those looking for quick answers, here are some of the most frequently asked questions that we are being asked as we approach the end of 2024 and people are thinking about their strategy for SEO in 2025 and beyond. If you can´t find the answer to your question or if you just want to talk things through, please feel free to get in touch with our SEO experts.