SEO Trends That Defined 2024 and What to Expect in 2025
By Georgina Bennett
2024 has been a turbulent year for digital marketing, especially SEO. We’ve seen volatile Google algorithm updates, advancements in artificial intelligence, and leaked documents. As a UK-based digital marketing agency, understanding these shifts has been critical for Tug, helping our clients remain competitive.
As the end of another year approaches and 2025 looms on the horizon, let’s recap the key SEO trends of 2024, assess their impact, and explore how digital marketers can prepare for the future.
2024 SEO Highlights
If you take anything away from the SEO landscape in 2024, it should be these key insights:
- Google’s August 2024 Core Update: This update was especially volatile, causing big shifts in rankings and traffic.
- Search Bug: The August update coincided with a bug that affected search rankings, further adding to the organic chaos.
- Generative AI: Google launched its long-awaited generative AI search feature, which has changed the face of SERPs forever.
- Leaked Documents: Google’s internal ranking documents were leaked, revealing over 14,000 potential ranking features.
Let’s dive into the above highlights in more detail.
1. Google’s August 2024 Core Algorithm Update
The primary aim of the Google August 2024 Core Update was “to improve the quality of [Google’s] search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.” (Google Search Central Blog). This Core Update was different in that it acted on feedback Google received from creators.
The update was particularly volatile, evidenced by the fact that 44% of sites polled by Search Engine Roundtable reported that rankings and traffic went down. Only 27% of sites reported improved traffic and rankings, while 29% said they saw no changes at all.
The update increased competition in E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) niches and topics. Industries requiring expertise, such as healthcare and law, faced closer scrutiny.
Key Takeaway: This update made high-quality, user-focused content and implementing strong E-E-A-T signals a necessity for improving your search rankings.
2. Search Bug Detected
If the August 2024 Core update wasn’t turbulent enough, a major Google Search ranking bug emerged around the same time. Google Search Advocate John Mueller explained on LinkedIn that “sometimes we encounter issues in our systems (like everyone), and we aim to be transparent about them for users and site owners.” Although this helped clarify that the bug was unrelated to the update, it did affect a significant number of search results. Google resolved the ranking bug five days later (20th of August).
Key Takeaway: As Google refines its algorithm, technical issues will continue to arise. It’s essential to keep that in mind when reviewing site performance, and watch for any SEO news.
3. Generative AI (SGE)
In June 2024, Google released a new search feature called Google Search Generative Experience (SGE). This feature leverages advanced AI models to provide users with a more comprehensive summary directly in the search results instead of simply providing a list of relevant links. Introducing this AI summary aimed to enhance user experience by providing more immediate and relevant information.
The introduction of SGE significantly impacted search and, as a result, SEO. It has redefined what it means to rank on page one, as so much real estate is given to the Generative AI summary on the SERPs. It has also caused the organic CTR (Click-Through Rate) to decline as information from your site could appear in the AI summary – removing any need for a user to click on your site. Now, UK SEO strategies must adapt to compete for visibility within these AI-generated responses.
Key Takeaway: The best path to take in response to the introduction of SGE is unclear. However, it would be wise to create content geared towards featuring in the SGE summaries. This would involve informative, conversational content that is answer-based and which leverages long-tail keywords.
4. Leaked Documents
The Google documents were leaked in March 2024 and revealed over 14,000 potential ranking features, such as content quality, user engagement, and technical SEO elements. At the time, it promised to be the golden key to unlocking exactly how to rank on Google. Unfortunately, it didn’t amount to an awful lot. Much of the information, such as content having a freshness metric, was already widely known. However, it did reveal the following:
- Chrome user data influences rankings, contradicting previous Google statements.
- Various click data, such as badClicks, goodClicks, and unsquashedClicks, impact rankings.
- PageRank and link diversity are still important ranking factors, though some data may be outdated.
- Google identifies authors as entities and associates them with specific content.
- Google tracks authors as text and assesses if an entity on a page is the author.
- Google has unique ranking factors for specific site types, including YMYL (Your Money or Your Life), local, and product review sites.
Key Takeaway: Google’s ranking algorithm uses many factors, including user data, click behaviour, freshness, and authorship. The algorithm also has unique ranking criteria for different types of websites, such as YMYL and local sites.
2024 Google Algorithm Updates
There are many more algorithm updates besides the August Core Update that defined 2024. Here’s a complete list of all the updates to the Google algorithm in 2024:
| Summary | Date | Duration |
| November 2024 core update | 11 Nov 2024 | Information |
| Ranking is experiencing an ongoing issue. | 15 Aug 2024 | 4 days, 11 hours |
| August 2024 core update | 15 Aug 2024 | 19 days, 4 hours |
| June 2024 spam update | 20 Jun 2024 | 7 days, 1 hour |
| March 2024 spam update | 5 Mar 2024 | 14 days, 21 hours |
| March 2024 core update | 5 Mar 2024 | 45 days |
5 SEO Predictions for 2025
As we look ahead, these are the emerging trends that UK businesses and marketers should prioritise in their 2025 SEO strategy.
1. AI is Here to Stay
AI technologies will continue to transform the search landscape, from changing the face of SERPs to impacting how we work. As AI becomes more integrated into the search results, digital marketers will continue to prioritise ranking for featured snippets and focus on content that directly answers user queries.
With the abundance of AI tools available, AI is also changing the face of what it means to work in SEO. There is now a tool for everything, whether you’re looking to automate content creation, backlink analysis, or keyword research. We are in danger of becoming overly reliant on these tools, which could lead to generic strategies and a lack of originality. This is why it’s important to consider tools that can be trained and personalised. Human oversight will also remain critical in SEO to ensure authenticity and creativity.
Tip: Embrace AI tools, but combine them with human expertise to ensure quality.
2. Search Will Become More Conversational
With the introduction of SGE and the growing popularity of voice search, we will continue to see Google improve its natural language processing (NLP). As a result, search engines will continue to understand nuanced queries better. In terms of developing an SEO strategy, UK businesses should target more long-tail keywords and conversational content.
Tip: Optimise for FAQs, featured snippets, and conversational language – aligning with how users speak in searches.
3. The Prioritisation of E-E-A-T and the Push for Originality
In 2025, establishing E-E-A-T will remain critical for SEO success, with brands needing to prioritise originality. The leaked Google documents highlighted the importance of an “OriginalContentScore” emphasising the value of original research, and personal experiences to identify content gaps and improve SEO.
Authorship and showcasing the human experience behind content will play an essential role in building trust and authenticity, making it vital for brands to update author bios and demonstrate expertise.
With data privacy laws becoming ever more stringent, implementing E-E-A-T strategies and building originality will rely heavily on first-party data. Gathering customer and user behaviour data will prove critical in figuring out what makes them tick and what content marketing strategies to adopt.
Tip: Focus on original, authoritative content, put the author at the forefront, and incentivise users to share data directly with your business.
4. Much More than the Written Word
The trend for more diverse content in SEO is predicted to continue into 2025, and we expect to see content formats diversify even further. When considering your content calendar for 2025, think beyond the tried-and-tested blog to consider mediums like short-form videos, podcasts, and even AR (augmented reality) experiences.
It could even be something simpler, such as ensuring you’ve optimised for visual search by including detailed alt texts, structured data, and captions to enhance discoverability.
We predict that this more visual and interactive content will dominate the SERPs and have a higher user engagement rate.
Tip: Diversify your content by incorporating formats like short-form videos, podcasts, and AR experiences while optimising for visual search.
5. The Year to Polish Your Technical SEO
2025 is the year to dust off your technical SEO and make it shine! First off, you should ensure that your site meets Google’s updated metrics for accessibility, page speed, Core Web Vitals, and mobile-friendliness – as these will continue to influence ranking factors. In a tale as old as time, a crucial area to investigate for site performance is JavaScript, as many sites are burdened by an overabundance of code, leading to rendering issues and indexing problems.
The introduction of SGE and the importance of featuring in Featured Snippets means sites should focus on optimising site crawlability with structured data.
Tip: Conduct a technical audit of your website focusing on accessibility, heavy code, and structured data. Regularly review the site’s technical performance using tools like Google Search Console.
The SEO trends of 2024 emphasised AI’s growing influence, the importance of content quality, and technical excellence. As we move into 2025, success will depend on adapting to smarter search, conversational queries, and further Google Updates.
SEO strategies for UK based-businesses must evolve with a focus on technical SEO, E-E-A-T, and diverse content formats. While AI will continue to reshape search, balancing technology with authenticity is key. By embracing these trends and auditing SEO strategies early, UK businesses can position themselves for growth and visibility in 2025.
