The new normal: AI in search
Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2025 3:58 am
Is the future bright for search marketing? It definitely felt like 2024 was a year of change, and the answer seems to be that 2025 is going to continue the fast pace of change.
Steve Slater, Sr. Manager, SEO and SEM at HealthPartners, addresses the topic: “This question gets asked every year, and this year it is, without a doubt, harder to answer than ever before. The future of SEO in 2025 looks a lot like how it’s always looked. Content that is centered around the audience that provides a unique perspective or experience and tries to separate from the noise will continue to win. But how SEOs measure success will change.
AI has completely shifted the landscape and we’re currently living through a time where it’s impossible to predict what search market share will look like. Even if Google keeps their top spot, the way they deliver answers to queries will never be the same. The days of being one of ten blue links on a page are over.
Marketers need to pay attention to their brand. The future of SEO is meeting your audience where they are. (There isn’t a cool short hand for that yet. Maybe Digital Experience Optimization?) I’m a firm believer that we are headed into a renaissance of more old school marketing where brand strength will matter more. Your content is going to work for you in new and different ways in 2025. Those ways will be harder for you to measure. When it comes time for the purchase to be made, your brand will be doing some heavy lifting.”
TopRank Marketing’s Associate Search Marketing Director Ryan Leighty agrees.
“Looking ahead to 2025, SEO isn’t just about keywords jordan telegram data anymore (hasn’t been for a while now) — it’s about building genuine authority in your space,” Ryan says. “With AI changing how people search, brands need to think beyond just writing for Google. Create content that actually helps your audience and answers their questions naturally. The winners will be those who focus on real expertise and value, not those trying to game the system. It’s about showing up where your customers are actually looking, whether that’s in traditional search results or through new AI-powered search features.”
Jane Bartel, TopRank’s Director of Search & Content Marketing, adds, “Be sure you are answering questions about the topic that could be asked by people with varying degrees of expertise in the area.”
“SEO efforts that focused too much on capturing search volume resulted in content libraries that skewed too heavily towards 101-level content,” Jane explains, “while others catered toward executives but failed to cover the basics. To establish authority on a topic, you need to be able to speak to how it relates to novices and experts alike. If it helps, remember: novices could become your future execs, and execs may very well be novices in this particular topic.”
There it is again. Write content that provides value to your audience. And, pay attention to the authority of your brand.
Steve Slater, Sr. Manager, SEO and SEM at HealthPartners, addresses the topic: “This question gets asked every year, and this year it is, without a doubt, harder to answer than ever before. The future of SEO in 2025 looks a lot like how it’s always looked. Content that is centered around the audience that provides a unique perspective or experience and tries to separate from the noise will continue to win. But how SEOs measure success will change.
AI has completely shifted the landscape and we’re currently living through a time where it’s impossible to predict what search market share will look like. Even if Google keeps their top spot, the way they deliver answers to queries will never be the same. The days of being one of ten blue links on a page are over.
Marketers need to pay attention to their brand. The future of SEO is meeting your audience where they are. (There isn’t a cool short hand for that yet. Maybe Digital Experience Optimization?) I’m a firm believer that we are headed into a renaissance of more old school marketing where brand strength will matter more. Your content is going to work for you in new and different ways in 2025. Those ways will be harder for you to measure. When it comes time for the purchase to be made, your brand will be doing some heavy lifting.”
TopRank Marketing’s Associate Search Marketing Director Ryan Leighty agrees.
“Looking ahead to 2025, SEO isn’t just about keywords jordan telegram data anymore (hasn’t been for a while now) — it’s about building genuine authority in your space,” Ryan says. “With AI changing how people search, brands need to think beyond just writing for Google. Create content that actually helps your audience and answers their questions naturally. The winners will be those who focus on real expertise and value, not those trying to game the system. It’s about showing up where your customers are actually looking, whether that’s in traditional search results or through new AI-powered search features.”
Jane Bartel, TopRank’s Director of Search & Content Marketing, adds, “Be sure you are answering questions about the topic that could be asked by people with varying degrees of expertise in the area.”
“SEO efforts that focused too much on capturing search volume resulted in content libraries that skewed too heavily towards 101-level content,” Jane explains, “while others catered toward executives but failed to cover the basics. To establish authority on a topic, you need to be able to speak to how it relates to novices and experts alike. If it helps, remember: novices could become your future execs, and execs may very well be novices in this particular topic.”
There it is again. Write content that provides value to your audience. And, pay attention to the authority of your brand.