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Struggling to adapt your SEO strategy to ever-changing AI-driven SERPs?
Have the most recent Google updates left your rank-tracking methods outdated?
What happens when you can no longer deliver key information on traffic sources?
Generative AI (GenAI) technologies like Google Gemini and Bard are reshaping search results.
This is creating unprecedented challenges, especially when it comes to the elephant in the room: “The New Position 0.”
In this article, we’ll help tackle the key ways to:
Just this week, Google rolled out unexpected changes to SERP structures, causing widespread disruptions for many SEO strategies that rely on SERP rankings.
These updates led to outages and inaccurate data across the industry, forcing many businesses to quickly adapt to avoid prolonged disruptions.
“The disruptions caused by Google’s latest SERP changes left many platforms unable to deliver accurate data to their users. Our clients, however, were unaffected thanks to our immediate response and robust infrastructure. If not for the media and search community, they wouldn’t have known there were any changes.” – Ariel Shulman, VP Product at Bright Data
Generative AI has fundamentally altered how search engines deliver results.
Classic SERP features have become central to understanding user intent and the user journey.
Until now.
The SERP layout we know and love has changed.
These overall changes present challenges for rank-tracking platforms tasked with capturing and analyzing SERPs:
The challenge for rank-tracking platforms is clear: adapt to these AI-driven shifts or risk leaving users without the insights they need to thrive.
Position 0 on Google refers to any of the featured snippets that appear at the very top of the search engine results page (SERP), above all organic search results.
It’s a special box that highlights concise information in response to a query, often in the form of a paragraph, list, or table.
For example, if you search for “How to tie a tie,” the featured snippet might display step-by-step instructions directly at the top. Being in Position 0 can boost your SEO strategy significantly since it’s considered premium real estate in search rankings.
The featured snippet is designed to provide users with quick answers to their questions without requiring them to click on a website. It’s highly coveted by website owners because it significantly increases visibility and click-through rates.
However, it’s becoming more difficult to track what is ranking in position 0 due to 5 different issues that baffle the current MarTech stack.
So, let’s dive deeper: What did Google change that you’ll need to change?
As we’re seeing in real-time, AI technologies like Google Gemini (previously Bard) and Microsoft’s Bing AI are reshaping SERP layouts.
So far, SERP structures are evolving rapidly with AI updates.
Elements like conversational answers or rich media snippets appear inconsistently, requiring you to constantly adapt your SEO strategy and data collection methods.

Instead of seeing Google Ads placements, featured snippets, positions 1-3, and People Also Ask, we’ll now be seeing:
However, this is not its final state. The new layout of SERPs is dynamic; it will continue to change, and you have to be ready.
With position 1 pushed down at least 3 scroll lengths, this is no longer the top clicked result.
Additionally, the layout of a searcher’s query will also vary based on new advances in SERP personalization.
Now, clicks are possible in many new locations on the SERP, such as in a cited link for Google’s AI Overview (AIO).
These are not as easily trackable nor attributable.
SEO analysts and SEO strategists will see a massive impact on their traffic data and how they optimize their content to display above the fold.
Finally, position 1 on Google SERPs has seen its decline from providing at least 33% of organic search clicks to just 11% as of January 2025 depending on the search term.
Organic CTR declined ~70% when an AIO was present on the SERP.
AIO not only makes it difficult to obtain clicks, but one final change has made it nearly impossible to attribute clicks to positions.
In short:
What does this mean?
Google AIO and other dynamic SERP features are the new Position Zero.
Many SERP elements, especially those influenced by AI, load dynamically based on user interaction.
As we know from past SEO knowledge, dynamic and lazy-loading content cannot be seen by bots and scrapers until something triggers the content to load.
Therefore, to retrieve all the necessary data, you’ll need to simulate interactions like clicks and scrolls, which adds complexity and latency.
As you can see so far, dynamic and personalized search results are more prominent.
Your favorite SEO keyword research and rank-tracking tools rely on bots to crawl the web for key data to help you build your SEO strategy.
However, Google has removed a large piece that makes that data scraping possible: bots.
Google’s evolving anti-bot measures further complicate real-time data collection, pushing platforms to the brink of what their systems can handle.
Sophisticated anti-bot defenses, such as CAPTCHA challenges, IP-based blocking, and JavaScript obfuscation, make real-time data collection a significant hurdle. Many traditional scraping tools cannot meet these challenges.
Control data is something that remains the same from one experiment to another. It enables you to have direct comparisons to build conclusions from when you’re building your SEO strategy.
The old SERP’s control data was the standardized layout. SERP layouts and results were similar enough for the same search query, meaning you could compare multiple searches for the same query to create conclusions that drove your strategy.
Now, user-specific factors like location, language, and device type create unique SERP views with vastly different orders of results.
It’s no longer simple to look at SERP data for [What is a 5-star hotel?] and know which link was clicked from which position:
Capturing this variability at scale while maintaining accuracy is critical yet immensely difficult.
AI-generated responses are constantly updated, with position-zero content shifting based on new data and context.
These AI-generated responses are part of an evolution of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
You’ll need tools that have been updated to extract data from Answer Engines in real-time.
To regain your lost traffic, you’ll need to refer to more sophisticated tools to gain access to new SERP data streams to inform your organic traffic strategy.
Tools that previously helped you understand your position on SERPs are now outdated.
Rank-tracking platforms that have upgraded should be ready and able to collect data using more modern sources that align with the roadblocks above.
These tools don’t just need to collect data, they need to deliver actionable insights to help their users optimize for “The New Position 0” based on the data and AIO’s best practices. By extracting the right data and presenting it clearly, platforms empower users to improve their strategies effectively.
Here’s how platforms are leveraging Data from GenAI results:
Platforms will need insights into which content types (e.g., FAQs, schema markup, and structured data) are prioritized by AI-driven search engines. This will help their users create concise, authoritative content that aligns with SERP preferences, improving visibility and relevance in position zero.
They will need metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), impressions, and engagement specific to position zero. These metrics will help their users monitor performance and refine their strategies to maintain or improve their rankings.
Platforms will need geo-targeted and device-specific data to provide segmented insights. This will help their users tailor their optimization efforts to specific regions, languages, or devices, ensuring their strategies are more precise and effective.
They will need data on conversational and intent-driven search queries. This will help their users align their content with how large language models prioritize conversational patterns, resulting in higher engagement and relevance.
SEO tools using Bright Data’s toolkit have access to all this data in real-time and at scale. That’s why the leading SEO tools choose Bright Data as their go-to data provider. Platforms leveraging these insights position themselves as indispensable tools for helping their users dominate “The New Position 0.”
As “The New Position 0” continues to redefine search, rank-tracking platforms face mounting challenges in delivering accurate, actionable data. Choosing the right data collection partner is no longer optional, it’s the key to staying ahead. Platforms leveraging Bright Data’s SERP API are equipped to meet these challenges, empowering their users to succeed in an AI-driven search landscape.
Bright Data’s proactive approach meant their clients experienced uninterrupted services during the disruptions that affected many in the industry. SEO tools leveraging Bright Data’s SERP API maintained seamless operations, continuing to deliver accurate, real-time insights to their users without issue.
Integrating your platform with Bright Data’s SERP API is quick and straightforward. Want to see what it’s all about? Check out the documentation here or test it out in the SERP API playground to see if it’s the perfect match for your SEO tool. When data matters, companies choose Bright Data.
This article has been sponsored by Bright Data, and the views presented herein represent the sponsor’s perspective.
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Featured Image: Image by Bright Data. Used with permission.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools equip real estate agents with unprecedented capabilities. While ChatGPT has become a go-to tool for many of us, there are tons of AI tools for real estate that offer a more efficient, data-driven approach to generating new client leads. From automated chatbots that qualify incoming leads and analytics to predict upcoming sellers to home staging done in a few clicks, AI saves time and provides endless solutions for real estate professionals.
Since real estate tech changes by the hour these days, we did a deep dive into the most helpful AI tools for real estate agents on the market today. Here’s a list of our favorites (so far!), and we’ll keep updating this guide as helpful new AI tools get on our radar.
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AI tools for real estate lead generation use sophisticated algorithms to sift through vast amounts of consumer data, identify potential leads and even predict which prospects are most likely to become active buyers or sellers in the coming months. Using AI tools can streamline your lead generation efforts, helping you focus your time and energy on the most promising prospects.
Adding leading-edge AI lead generation technology to one of the most popular CRMs in history is a match made in heaven. Top Producer’s Smart Targeting uses proprietary AI to identify the top 20% of likely sellers in your farm area and gives you automated marketing tools to reach them. It’s the perfect way to introduce seasoned agents to AI without the intimidation factor.
READ OUR
Top Producer Review
Smartzip is one of the first companies to offer AI-powered predictive analytics to find likely sellers. It aggregates data from more than 25 sources and uses its predictive analytics to determine the homeowners most likely to move within the next six to 12 months, maintaining a 72% accuracy in its predictions. Real estate agents using SmartZip gain immediate access to its CRM populated with leads and their data. Agents simply pick their desired zip codes and set up automated marketing tools to market directly to sellers who are likely to transact.
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Smartzip Review
Ylopo is an AI-first lead generation and nurturing platform that offers sophisticated AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants to help you qualify and nurture leads. Their AI voice assistant calls cold leads on your behalf using an AI-generated voice that is nearly indistinguishable from a human voice. The company also offers leading-edge AI-powered ads that pull listing information and the best photos from your MLS to automatically create high-converting video ads for Meta.
These AI tools for real estate agents make real estate marketing more streamlined and effective (and less expensive). You’ve probably already used some AI tools for marketing without knowing it. Have you virtually staged your listing photos or used writing tools like Grammarly or ChatGPT to write blogs, emails or online ads? See, you’re already an AI pro!
Founded by a Harvard student, Virtual Staging AI offers something that competitors don’t: it actually works! Unlike other AI virtual staging apps, Virtual Staging AI produces consistently high-quality staged photos without the weirdness. Just pick the type of room you want to stage and choose your furniture style, and the app will keep generating staged photos until you find one that works for your listing. It’s an ideal AI tool for listing agents or buyer agents who want to step up their marketing game.

Note: Zillow Group recently acquired Virtual Staging AI. We will keep you updated on whether Zillow integrates the tool into its Zillow Premier Agent program or keeps it available to the public.
While its AI-generated staging quality might not be as good as Virtual Staging AI’s, Reimaginehome offers agents more flexibility. Instead of just choosing a room type and furniture style, Reimaginehome lets you choose color themes, create landscape designs and replace cloudy skies. It’s also free for up to 5 AI-generated images, which makes it the perfect choice for agents who want to experiment with AI virtual staging and image enhancement.
Collov is a new AI startup that offers realitic-looking AI home staging at a fraction of the cost of rivals such as Virtual Staging AI. While it lacks some of the advanced features Virtual Staging AI offers, Collov creates high-quality AI generated virtually staged photos that are comparable to traditional virtually-staged images. It’s an excellent choice for listing agents who want to experiment with AI home staging at a more affordable price. 

While primarily known as a graphic design platform, Canva has integrated AI features that can assist real estate agents in creating visually appealing marketing materials. Its AI algorithms can suggest design layouts, color schemes and even appropriate copy based on the content input. This makes Canva an excellent tool for designing brochures, social media posts and property listings.
“I use Canva multiple times a day, and it helps me keep my branding consistent, easily publish content, and save oodles of time. Here is a recent graphic that took me literally five minutes to create.”
Scout uses proprietary AI to enrich lead data and create more personalized and engaging email campaigns. It adds useful data to contacts in your database, including the leads’ birthdays and details about their current homes, including the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the home and the length of ownership. Scout uses this data to write personalized emails for each lead, boosting open rates and click-through rates. It’s an ideal solution for agents and teams who want to reengage cold leads and contacts in their databases through AI-powered email marketing.
AI significantly revolutionizes customer relationship management (CRM), offering a blend of efficiency and personalization. By harnessing the power of AI, CRM systems can intelligently analyze customer data, predict client needs and provide personalized recommendations, enhancing client engagement and satisfaction.
Lofty’s (formerly Chime) AI Assistant is one of the industry’s most advanced and useful AI tools for real estate agents. More than a simple chatbot, Lofty’s AI Sales Assistant helps you qualify and convert leads on your website, set up showing appointments and even nurture leads for the long haul. I also love how you can set it to qualify leads, get appointments or monitor behavior, and it starts working all by itself. The company’s AI Copilot helps you navigate and solve tech issues through a simple chat interface (think ChatGPT) within their popular Lofty CRM suite.
One of the first real estate CRMs to use AI technology, Real Geeks’ new AI features seamlessly integrate with the workflows agents are already used to. Agents have been using their Geek AI assistant to chat with leads for a few years now, but their new AI-driven SEO Fast Track upgrade could be a game changer for ranking on search engines. SEO Fast Track generates keyword-targeted blog posts automatically and at scale. As AI technology continues to evolve at breakneck speed, we expect Real Geeks to upgrade their AI features. We will keep you in the loop!
Chatbots and enhanced customer interaction tools offer real estate agents a significant advantage by changing how they connect with clients. These AI-driven systems provide instant, round-the-clock responses to client inquiries, ensuring potential leads are engaged the moment they show interest in listing or buying a home.
Here are some of our favorite real estate AI tools for customer engagement and interaction:
Roof AI is a dynamic tool for real estate agents. It offers an AI-powered chatbot that excels at engaging potential clients and automating lead generation. This system interacts with users in real-time, answering inquiries, qualifying leads and scheduling viewings. We love how the system can respond to inquiries and future leads via text, Facebook Messenger and on your website. Roof AI’s ability to handle initial client interactions allows agents to focus on more complex aspects of their business, improving overall productivity. It’s a powerful solution for teams and brokerages who want to integrate AI chat with their existing IDX websites.
Structurely is an innovative AI conversation tool specifically designed for real estate agents to enhance lead qualification. It uses artificial intelligence to engage with and qualify leads through natural, automated conversations, allowing agents to focus on the most promising prospects. Structurely’s latest innovation is an AI-powered phone assistant that calls your leads to qualify them. The AI’s voice is nearly indistinguishable from a human voice. You can hear an example of Structurely’s voice AI speaking with a live lead on their website. (warning: it’s a little bit creepy)

By responding to inquiries in a timely and intelligent manner, Structurely helps you streamline the initial stages of client interaction, making the lead nurturing process more efficient and effective. It offers teams and brokerages a turnkey solution to integrate AI-powered chat and voice with their existing sales workflow.
Tidio is a specialized AI chatbot tailored to meet the unique needs of real estate agents and brokers. This intuitive tool engages potential clients in real-time, providing immediate responses to queries about listings and property details and scheduling viewings. By automating initial customer interactions, Tidio improves client engagement and assists in capturing leads more effectively, allowing real estate agents to focus on high-priority tasks. Even better, Tidio is free for up to 50 conversations per month. This makes Tido an ideal choice for newer agents who want to experiment with AI chat on their websites.
AI-supported property valuation and market analysis tools give real estate agents a decisive edge in quickly and accurately determining property values and understanding market trends. By leveraging large datasets, these tools offer precise, data-driven valuations and insightful analysis. These are essential for setting competitive prices and advising clients effectively. 
Here are some of our favorite AI tools for real estate property valuation and market analysis:
HouseCanary offers advanced analytics and valuation models to help real estate agents understand their local markets in granular detail. The platform provides precise property valuations and market forecasts, assisting agents in pricing properties accurately and understanding future market trends. HouseCanary’s ChatGPT-style CanaryAI feature allows agents to query the company’s database of 136 million properties in plain English — speeding up the time-consuming property research process dramatically.

The platform’s real value for agents is in the company’s industry-leading property valuation reports. HouseCanary’s detailed reports enable agents to offer data-driven advice to clients, ensuring informed decision-making in both buying and selling processes.
CoreLogic stands out as an excellent resource for real estate agents, offering advanced analytics and property data solutions. It provides comprehensive insights into property values, market trends and risk assessment, enabling agents to make well-informed decisions and offer expert advice to their clients. With its deep dive into local and national real estate data, CoreLogic helps agents stay ahead in a competitive market by equipping them with detailed and reliable information.
AI tools that specialize in market trends and data analytics are invaluable for real estate agents. They offer a deep dive into the complexities of the property market. These tools access vast amounts of data, analyzing patterns and trends to provide agents with insights about the market.
Here are some of our favorite AI tools for commercial real estate market trends:
Reonomy offers comprehensive AI-driven analytics and property data. This platform specializes in commercial real estate, providing agents with deep insights into property histories, ownership details and market trends to help investors find off-market properties. It helps agents to facilitate informed investment decisions and aid in strategy development. Reonomy’s rich data repository and analytical capabilities make it an invaluable asset for agents looking to excel in the commercial real estate sector.
AirDNA is a data analytics company specializing in the short-term rental market, focusing on providing insights for properties listed on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. AirDNA leverages a wealth of information, including rental rates, occupancy rates and seasonal trends, to offer detailed analysis and forecasts. Their tools and reports aim to empower users with actionable intelligence to maximize their returns in the dynamic short-term rental space.
The latest versions of ChatGPT and Deepseek offer a quick and easy way to write emails, ads and listing copy, but they cannot interact with your MLS or help you stay organized. AI productivity tools designed for real estate agents can. These tools can pull information directly from your MLS to create CMAs and find the perfect property for your clients.
Sidekick is an AI assistant for real estate agents built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4 platform. Its user-friendly chat interface allows you to quickly and easily get property information from your MLS, draft emails, CMAs and listing descriptions, and even schedule meetings. While many of Sidekick’s can be accomplished using ChatGPT or similar large language models, we think it’s ease of use makes it an ideal choice for busy agents and teams.
Believe it or not, this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Every day, companies are developing new ways to use AI to effectively improve business processes and streamline tasks.
As scary as it may be to embrace something new, AI tools are an invaluable resource for real estate agents. Their unique functionalities enhance and support many aspects of your business. From refining lead generation and enhancing property valuations using insightful data analysis to streamlining transaction management, AI empowers agents to operate at their optimal best.
Integrating AI tools into your weekly routine not only boosts your operational efficiency but also provides insights that lead to more informed decision-making. AI tools can also improve client experiences by elevating the level of service you’re able to provide — simply because you have more time on your hands. By automating routine tasks, these tools allow agents to focus on the most important part of your business — building stronger, more meaningful relationships with clients and offering top-tier client service.
Vetted by HousingWire’s expert real estate agents, brokers and coaches offer in-the-trenches insights into the latest technology and business strategies for real estate professionals. Since 2006, HousingWire has been the go-to resource that provides the full picture of the U.S. housing market for housing professionals.
To find the best AI tools across several categories, we analyze dozens of products and platforms, view product demos, read countless customer reviews, and consult with agents and brokers we know. We also apply our combined experience as licensed real estate agents, brokers and brokerage marketers (we have about 50 years between us on the editorial team!).
We do all of this with the reader in mind, analyzing each tool to give you, beloved reader, a clear, concise breakdown of its features, benefits, pricing, ease of use, return on investment, value for money, client support and appropriateness for your career stage. We hope our hard work saves you a lot of clicking around the internet to find the right tools for your business!
AI tools for real estate agents are software solutions that automate and enhance various aspects of real estate operations. They analyze large datasets to provide insights, automate tasks like lead generation and client interaction, and assist in property valuation and market analysis.
Begin by identifying areas in your business that could benefit from automation. Which tasks require your personal touch, and which ones take up your valuable time without contributing much to your bottom line? Some of the real estate AI tools on our list offer trial periods, allowing you to test drive them before fully integrating them into your workflow.
Not necessarily. Most AI tools for real estate agents are user-friendly and require minimal technical expertise. However, basic familiarity with digital tools and a willingness to learn new technologies will certainly help you to succeed with them!
Nope. We sometimes wish that were true! But AI tools for real estate agents are meant to complement personal interactions, not replace them. They can automate your repetitive tasks, for example, allowing you to focus on building relationships and providing personalized service.
AI market analysis and predictive analytics are increasingly reliable. Their algorithms get better with each closed transaction, in fact. They analyze extensive and diverse data sets. In the case of Top Producer, as one example, they can help real estate agents pinpoint which homeowners are most likely to list their home in the coming months. However, AI tools for real estate should be used in conjunction with your hard-earned real estate experience and expertise for the best results.
Costs vary widely depending on the tool and its features. Some AI tools designed for real estate agents offer free basic versions, while others require monthly or annual subscriptions. It’s important to evaluate the ROI in terms of time saved and value added to your real estate business.
Choose AI tools for real estate that comply with data protection laws like GDPR and have robust security measures. Regularly update your systems and educate yourself and your team on best practices for data privacy.
The learning curve depends on the specific tool and your familiarity with technology. Many AI tools are designed to be user-friendly, and providers often offer training and support to facilitate adoption.
While AI tools might require some adjustments to your workflow, they are generally designed to integrate seamlessly with existing practices. The aim is to enhance and streamline your work, not completely overhaul it.
Staying updated requires a proactive approach. Follow real estate technology blogs, read industry articles (like this one!), participate in webinars and conferences, and network with other professionals to learn about the latest tools and best practices.

Get expert advice, independent reviews and product recommendations from our editorial team of experienced real estate agents, brokers and coaches.

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By Holly Landis   8 Minutes read   Feb 12 2025
We hear the same story every year — SEO is dead. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the goalposts have shifted yet again thanks to constantly updating algorithms, new user behaviors, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. But that doesn’t mean it’s all over: Instead, strategies must adapt to fit the new world of search engine optimization.
SEO remains the cornerstone of digital marketing in 2025, but previously-used strategies are no longer as effective. As search engines become more sophisticated and AI begins to reshape user experiences, businesses must stay ahead of the curve and look to the future possibilities of where SEO could go.
In today’s hyper-competitive market, SEO is still a critical driver of online visibility and traffic, along with revenue growth. For many businesses, organic search remains the top source for revenue and traffic to their websites. But as users shift toward more intent- and intuition-driven searches, adapting to these changes is essential.
Billions of searches are conducted every day. Businesses should be capitalizing on this traffic by being discoverable and visible without having to pay for advertising online. But zero-click search results are changing what user behavior looks like here.
This doesn’t mean that SEO isn’t important, though. Instead, optimizing content in featured snippets, knowledge panels, and even AI answers is vital for businesses looking to capture more traffic. Even with zero-click search, brand visibility is still critical for overall business growth.
Meanwhile, Google is still rewarding sites that offer a good on-page experience for users, and this still plays a significant role in SEO. Instead of focusing solely on keywords, businesses must incorporate other on-site changes to fit with user expectations. This means mobile-friendly designs, fast load times, and seamless navigation alongside helpful, authoritative content that answers their questions.
AI and machine learning is continuing to play a dominant role in the evolution of search algorithms. Aspects like natural language processing (NLP) and semantic search are fundamentally reshaping how content is processed, analyzed, and presented to users. Google’s BERT update, for instance, was focused on this approach, using NLP to better understand the context of searches and present results that were more aligned with how real humans speak. These types of updates will result in priority being given to comprehensive content, rather than keyword-centric text used only for ranking purposes.
While personalization has been a digital marketing strategy for several years, this is only becoming more important with AI. These tools can assess user behavior and deliver highly personalized search engine results pages (SERPs) based on hundreds of data factors that align with the user’s search query.
Using NLP and semantic search, these personalized queries will become more specific. For instance, algorithms will be programmed to differentiate between different types of searches such as transactional or navigational, and will automatically adjust SERPs accordingly.
Google’s search generative experience (SGE) uses deep learning models to adjust rankings in real time, based on relevance to queries and other signals from the user. Businesses must embrace these changes and prepare for them using techniques like predictive content planning, A/B testing, and AI-enhanced content creation.
Shifts in user behavior are also coming down the pipeline, both as a response to how algorithms are changing SERPs and how we use the technology available to us. Voice search, visual search, and mobile-first browsing all remain extremely important, as is the growing demand for personalized and localized search.
When it comes to voice search, NLP machine learning is becoming more important as it understands how humans really speak. Optimizing for question-based queries will be important for informational searches, focusing on trying to rank content in featured snippets with direct answers.
The growing use of visual search tools like Google Lens and Pinterest Lens also make it necessary for many businesses to refocus on visuals instead of text-only SEO. Having high quality imagery with correctly labeled alt text and structured data markup, like product and image schema, will be important for visual brands and e-commerce businesses.
Finally, as AI becomes more sophisticated in its personalization options, businesses must adapt their content to work in highly personal and local markets. Optimizing for hyper-local “near me” queries is still important, as is keeping your Google Business Profile updated and accurate.
In 2025, businesses that don’t follow the principles of E-E-A-T will struggle to appear in top search results. This is particularly the case with AI-generated content, as Google is now implementing stricter quality control checks to determine whether content fits the bill.
Well-researched and fact-checked content from real experts, industry professionals, and authoritative sources are essential for content success in 2025, especially in Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) categories like finance, legal, and healthcare.
Google continues to evaluate site content based on these principles, looking for real-world experience, verified credentials, and citations and references (and backlinks) from authoritative sources. Trustworthiness is also important on two counts — is the information provided accurate and reliable, and is the website secure, safe to browse, and credible?
Using the power of semantic search and NLP, focusing on long-tail keywords still remains a strong SEO strategy. Long-tail keywords are typically more descriptive in nature and reveal more about what a user is actively looking to achieve.
This research should give you insight into how relevant your current content is and what you may need to add to your site to answer user questions more effectively. Working with this approach is particularly important within the context of voice and AI searches, as natural language queries tend to be longer when used in these formats.
Content is still one of the most important factors when it comes to succeeding with SEO. By following E-E-A-T principles, businesses should focus on creating well-written and helpful content that’s backed by expert research and interpretation.
While AI can create plenty of content, the quality is often not there. The best way to stand out from competitors is to create content that’s unique to your business and focused on the user. Explore different content types, too, like video or other interactive media, to keep users engaged.
For businesses looking to succeed with SEO in 2025, integrating AI technology will be crucial. Adapting on-site content to be better optimized for AI-based algorithms through interactive media, direct answers to user queries, and structured data markup is the best way to start embracing this type of technology.
Businesses can also think about using AI tools to boost their websites, such as helping with content outlines and performing research. However, any content created with AI should always have some form of human oversight in the edit stage, at minimum. This is also a good opportunity to adjust the content from generic to something tailored and unique to the business, incorporating quotes from industry experts or original research.
For small to medium businesses (SMBs), local SEO is becoming more important than ever. Personalized and localized searches are on the rise, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compete on a national or international scale with the most competitive of search terms.
Optimizing Google Business Profiles and targeting hyper-local search queries is the best strategy here, capturing local traffic and attracting the most intentional visitors. Leveraging customer reviews is also an important tactic to try, helping spread word of your business locally without having to pay for ads.
Scaling SEO while maintaining brand authority is always a challenge, and usually only possible with a significant budget. Investing in technical SEO, AI-powered analytics, and online earned media and PR efforts to support a backlink strategy is critical for large businesses looking to maintain market share.
With a large budget, there’s also more opportunity for original research or expert testimonials and quotes to be weaved into content. This is critical for E-E-A-T, and with a strong backlink profile behind it, it’s one of the best ways to maintain dominance through SEO.
Leveraging customer data is also important. As a large enterprise, you likely have a significant amount of customer data that you can pull to strategically plan future content and address real concerns or queries.
As much as SEO continues to change in 2025, it’s vital that you don’t forget the basics of good website maintenance. After all, a poorly structured and performing website will never rank well, even if you have the best content in your industry.
Check your core web vitals at least quarterly, running speed and responsiveness tests sitewide. Ensure that pages are mobile-friendly, loading correctly and fast, and that users can easily navigate your site to find what they’re looking for. Your site should have a current HTTPS security certificate in place to provide trust and credibility. Finally but not least, ensure you make a content audit every year (depending on the volume of your website) to prevent cannibalization issues, internal linking improvements, opportunities to optimize, consolidate or redirect (301) pages.
SEO is becoming more dynamic and changing faster than ever before, requiring businesses to adapt to evolving algorithms, the continued development of AI technology, and the impact this is having on user behavior. But by embracing these changes and staying ahead of the curve as much as possible, SEO can still be an incredibly successful marketing channel for businesses large and small.
The most important ranking factors typically come back to the E-E-A-T principles, with search engines prioritizing content that’s of high-quality and user-focused. Having a well-structured site and good user experience is also vital, with metrics like time on site, click-through rate, and engagement all playing an important role in determining who ranks where in SERPs.
Focusing on long-tail keywords and question-based content is the best way to optimize for voice search, as many of the NLP algorithms that these tools use are built to provide answers based on typical human speech patterns. For visual searches, using high-quality professional imagery and marking these up with descriptive filenames and alt text is important.
Google’s tools are some of the best free options for measuring SEO performance, with keyword data provided in Google Search Console, and search visibility and traffic metrics available in Google Analytics. For keyword research and rankings updates, tools like Semrush and Ahrefs are some of the best on the market. PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals are essential for assessing website performance.
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What Is Local SEO? A Guide for 2025  DesignRush
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