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The Future of SEO: How People Will Get Their Questions Answered in 2+ Years

The Future of SEO: How People Will Get Their Questions Answered in 2+ Years

Caroline Forsey

Updated: October 07, 2024

Published: July 21, 2023

At HubSpot, we are optimistic about the future of SEO, but we're also preparing for many major shifts over the next few years. Advancements like Google's integration of generative AI into search are already changing the digital search landscape.

Many web analysts, SEO strategists, and writers are learning how to leverage AI to create stronger websites and more effective content. This will greatly alter how your competitors approach content creation — and it should alter how you approach it, too.

To shed light on the future of SEO, we've reached out to experts at Semrush, Search Engine Journal, and HubSpot. Keep reading to learn how you should prepare your SEO strategy for 2025 and beyond. And if you want to learn more about the latest in marketing, check out our latest State of Marketing Report.

Predictions on the Future of SEO, and How You Should Prepare [Data + Expert Insights]

Audiences will still want answers from real people.

“AI will change how search works,” says Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media Studios. “You may already find it at the top of many search results.”

However, Crestodina says your audience will still look to your company for answers.

“In the face of all the change and disruption, people still need answers,” he explains. “Your audience needs your help and expertise. As subject matter experts in our niches, we can still publish helpful useful articles and that content can still be discovered, in search results, in AI overviews or in prompt responses in the AI apps.”

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Crestodina says we are still subject matter experts in our niches and that our brands can become the most helpful resource to prospective customers. Marketers just have to adapt.

“Likely, the brand with the biggest digital footprint will win,” he says.

And Crestodina believes a brand can win by:

Writing for many websites beyond their own blog
Collaborating with influencers, especially those who create content
Appearing on lists, directories, and podcasts
Conducting original research and making their site the primary source for new data
Doubling down on social media and email marketing
Recording videos and making sure the transcript includes the elevator pitch for the brand
Publishing true thought leadership because strong opinion is the fastest way to differentiate human-made content from AI-generated content.

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In other words, show off your industry expertise while leveraging as many channels as you can to get your brand in front of your audience and in their ears.

“With a few changes to your content strategy, you may be well suited to win in the new era of content discovery, where you optimize for search, but also optimize the AI, training it to recommend your company and your content,” Crestodina says.

If you‘re unsure how to get started on updating your content strategy in the age of AI, HubSpot’s AI Search Grader will come in handy.

It's a first-of-its-kind, free app that quickly analyzes your brand based on what your prospects & customers are seeing across AI search engines — then gives you actionable recommendations on how to improve.

The type of content that performs best will change tremendously over the next year.

HubSpot's Senior Director of SEO Global Growth Aja Frost told me: “As a result of the AI evolution, there is an exponential increase in the amount of AI-written, low-value content. And, in response to that, Google is prioritizing first-person, credible, personality-driven content.”

The shift to personality-driven content makes sense. If Google's consumers are flooded with low-value AI content, Google knows:

The content isn't going to resonate with their audience, and
Their AI models won't have enough new information to keep learning and adapting.

So, what does this mean for SEO? For Frost and her SEO team at HubSpot, it means drastically increasing their investments in authoritative, human-first perspectives.

And it means a reimagining of HubSpot's existing strategy, with a greater emphasis on perspective-driven content and emerging channels.

Human-first perspectives will win over more traditional, educational posts.

Over the next few years, expect to see branded content that is written from the perspective and experience of the content's creator.

“For years, most companies I wrote for required me to write in their brand's voice,” HubSpot blogger Erica Santiago recalls. “I never had to dive into my own experiences or pepper in my own sense of humor. It was all very clinical detached. And that was the tone of most branded listicals and articles I'd find in my own search results as well.”

But she says she's already seeing and experiencing a shift as AI gains more traction in SERPs.

“I wrote an article recently for HubSpot about email marketing trends, and I ended up citing marketing emails in my own personal inbox to ensure I was writing perpsective driven-content that AI couldn't emulate,” she says.

Santiago explains, “Now, when I read branded content, I notice writers are citing their own unique experiences and injecting their personality as well.”

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Frost told me that now, she does not distinguish between SEO and editorial. For a post to rank, it needs to meet certain criteria for both.

She says, “That means looking at every piece of content and asking, ‘How do we make this a really unique, compelling piece of content that you can’t find anywhere else on the web? And how can we ensure it‘s written by someone who has unique expertise on the topic?’”

Brands will have to optimize their content for voice search.

AI is used in voice search to improve language recognition, personalization, and accuracy. As AI becomes more integrated in search engines like Google, users will likely see more improvements in tools like voice search.

It's also worth noting that voice search is being used more and more when searching for information online.

According to DataReportal, 30% of internet users aged 16-64 worldwide use voice assistants each week. What's more, 45% of Americans report using voice search on their smartphones.

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So, what does this mean for SEO? Well, it simply means brands will need to optimize their content for voice search results. Marketers can do this by:

Leveraging features snippets
Optimize your website for mobile users
Use long-tail keywords and words like “how,” “what,” and “where” when possible

Web analysts predict trustworthiness will become the most important ranking factor in the SERPs.

When it comes to Google’s E-E-A-T, web analysts say that trustworthiness will become the most important factor in ranking highly on SERPs, followed by expertise, experience, and authoritativeness.

It makes sense that trustworthiness will continue to matter most in the coming years since trustworthiness is essentially the sum total of the other three rating factors.

In other words, your website's rating for expertise, experience, and authoritativeness helps Google dictate how trustworthy your website is overall.

I spoke with Katie Morton, Search Engine Journal's Senior Managing Growth Editor, to learn her tips for increasing trustworthiness.

She told me, "Since Experience, Expertise, and Authoritativeness Support Trust, it’s best to look at the whole of the E-E-A-T concept rather than focusing on any single aspect of the acronym."

That said, Morton points out that Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines specifically call out the following three points to increase Trust:

E-commerce sites with secure online payment systems and reliable customer service
Honest product reviews meant to inform rather than solely to drive purchases
Accurate content about Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics to prevent harm

She continues, “For companies looking to increase trustworthiness, again, it’s important to address all aspects of E-E-A-T. Here are my suggestions”:

Expert Authors: Source content from authors with direct experience, a depth of knowledge, and expertise in the topic they are writing about. Anyone could Google a subject and write an article about it, but if the writer isn’t a subject matter expert, this doesn’t establish E-E-A-T. Having recognized experts and authorities in your industry as authors on your site can boost the credibility of your website and brand. On your website, provide bios of your authors and content creators that include their expertise, experience, and credentials.
Accurate Content From Trusted Sources: Publish truthful and well-researched content that cites credible sources. Support claims via the experience and expertise of the author’s first-hand knowledge, with research and statistics from trustworthy sources, or both.
Originality and Value: Ensure that your content is original, substantial, comprehensive, and provides valuable insights. Content that provides value to users is more likely to be shared. When a piece of content gets positive attention through shares and backlinks, it can lend a sense of authority when your content is cited as a trusted source.

Morton adds, "It takes a lot of effort to create content that establishes E-E-A-T, but the results are well worth it. If you follow these suggestions, you will also create Helpful Content, which Google strongly encourages.

This can help serve both your business and your audience while establishing a positive brand reputation."

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Marketers will leverage social search and other platforms.

Search engines are still dominant, but social search is growing in popularity, especially among Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.

In fact, 31% of consumers use social search when looking for answers to questions online, and 1 in 4 consumers age 18-54 actually prefer social search over search engines.

This could have a major impact on the future of SEO by shifting your focus from Google to Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms.

HubSpot's Santiago has first-hand experience with this shift.

“I'm leading a quick-hit video initiative with other HubSpot bloggers so we can add more value to our posts for readers as well as get more eyes on our content,” she explains. “This means we're making videos for platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts and then embedding these videos into our posts.”

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Santiago says with more people using the above platforms as seach engines, it‘s important marketers create content for these channels that leverage back to the brand’s website.

“I don't Google things nearly as much as even just a year ago,” she says. “Just the other day I looked up 'Best platform sandals for the summer' on TikTok and found so many new brands I ended up following. I even bought a pair directly from one brand's Instagram. A year or two ago I would have Googled that query and bought from the brand's website.”

Marketers who optimize their accounts for social search have three top strategies:

Include relevant keywords and hashtags in your social posts.
Include relevant keywords and hashtags in your bio.
Make sure that your username is easy to search for.

I've seen the power of social search first-hand. When I hear about a new brand, I don’t Google them anymore — I search for their Instagram account. And oftentimes, their social media page is the determining factor in whether I end up purchasing one of their products.

While it's early days, social media might someday take the lead in product discovery. Many users prefer visuals over text, so it makes sense that they might not want to read a lengthy webpage about a product:

They just want to see it in action.

Additionally, SEO experts are leaning more heavily into multimedia content to expand beyond search regarding opportunities for reaching audiences.

This makes sense: During volatile times, it's critical your business becomes adaptable, and you learn how to find new avenues to obtain traffic and leads.

As Frost told me, “At HubSpot, we are dramatically increasing our investment in other types of media, like video, podcasts, newsletters, and types of media that will be far less affected by the changes in search happening on Google.”

AI will change how SEOs and content creators do their jobs.

And finally, for the least surprising prediction in this list: AI will change how SEOs and creators do their work.

In fact, half of blog writers already use AI, and 74% of web analysts say it improves their content's performance and ranking on the SERPs.

Over 50% of web analysts also already incorporate AI tools into their workflow.

Some of these analysts are gradually testing it and comparing results to performance without AI, while other analysts are building entirely new teams to leverage AI.

In particular, these web analysts are using AI for specific tasks, including keyword research, automating tedious tasks, optimizing their websites, and idea generation.

When used correctly, AI can drastically improve an SEO team‘s strategy. That’s why it’s critical to work with AI, not against it, as you consider how you might shift your strategy to meet these new challenges.

... And it will greatly improve marketers' web optimization strategies.

Kyle Byers, Director of Organic Search at Semrush, told me there are innumerable ways marketers can leverage AI.

As he puts it:

"AI is incredibly powerful and flexible in what it can help marketers accomplish — from purpose-built tools like our own ContentShake (AI content generator app) and SEO Writing Assistant to general chat-based interfaces like ChatGPT, Bing Chat, and Google's Gemini."

AI can also help marketers optimize their websites.

Here are some of the ways Byers suggests marketers leverage AI for web optimization:

Conversion copywriting. (“Act as a tech-savvy small business owner who is shopping for accounting software. Grade the following landing page headlines on a scale of 1 to 10 based on how likely they are to make you want to try or purchase my product, then draft five new headline ideas that would be more compelling.”)
Rephrasing content. For example, simplifying a long paragraph or sentence to meet an 8th-grade reading level. Or rewriting content to make it more unique, to strike a different tone, or to follow your brand’s style guide.
Getting “unstuck” with content writing. (“Help me finish the following paragraph.”)
Brainstorming additional angles to add to your content. (E.g. “Act as a sales manager who wants to develop an internal training program for improving your team’s sales skills. What important subtopics or angles are missing from the following content, which you would want to learn more about?”)
Quickly drafting a list of 10 possible title tags and meta descriptions for a given webpage.
Generating Schema markup. (E.g., “Generate FAQPage Schema markup for the following FAQs.”)
Generating tags for different languages/locations.
Translating content from one language to another.
Generating regular expressions (for example, using Google Search Console or Google Analytics).
Generating new robots.txt rules will also help understand existing robots.txt rules.

He adds, “AI tools can be amazingly powerful if used correctly. Just keep in mind that they're just that: tools. Use them to leverage your expertise — not to replace it.”

(Interested in trying Semrush for yourself? Click here for an exclusive extended 14-day PRO free trial for HubSpot readers.)

The Next Evolution of SEO

AI is here to stay, and with it comes a new dawn of SEO. As a content creator long-trained in the art of writing for SEO, I'm personally thrilled about this evolution.

It will require businesses to recalibrate and put innovative, novel, human-first perspectives ahead of rote, cut-and-dry content.

As a marketer, nothing could make me happier.

Curious about the other posts in this Series? Check out:

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