How to Improve Your SEO in 2025 [14 Proven Tactics]

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2020 and was updated in March 2025 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

SEO remains one of the best ways to get visitors to your website and increase revenue in 2025. That’s because more than half of trackable website traffic comes from organic search. 

But you might wonder how you’re supposed to stand out when every business optimizes its websites for search. 

Unfortunately, Google’s frequent algorithm updates make it difficult to keep up with the best tactics to win on the SERPs. However, here are 14 tactics we believe work and can still get you ahead of competitors in 2025. 

14 Proven Tactics to Improve SEO in 2025

Start With a Website Audit

Your website needs a thorough audit to identify and fix issues affecting your rankings on search engines. An audit is also the best place to start if you’re taking SEO more seriously (or are keen on improving your SEO performance) in 2025. Here’s what you should focus on: 

1. Check if Your Web Pages are Ranking on Google 

Search “site:yourdomain.com” in Google. This search operator shows you how Google indexes and displays your pages in search results (since only indexed pages can rank). 

Paul Baterina, used this method to discover staging sites (test versions of websites used for development) outranking their main site. So, they implemented canonical tags to ensure all relevant links lead to the main site, not the staging site. Here’s the result: 

They reduced traffic to the staging sites by 72% and increased traffic to their site by 24%. 

But if they had not done that simple search, they wouldn’t know which pages Google indexes and how they can reroute those pages to their main domain. 

In your case, you may not have staging sites, but you may have broken links. So, check for indexed pages and use Screaming Frogs to check if any of your links are not leading to your preferred page. 

2. Analyze Page Speed Issues 

Google prioritizes fast-loading websites because they provide a better user experience. According to a study, ranking pages load faster than pages that rank towards the end of Google’s first page: 

Source: Neil Patel

To check your website page speed, use PageSpeed Insights. This tool measures your page load times by simulating real-world user conditions on both mobile and desktop devices. When you enter your URL and the page speed is bad, here are some things you can do: 

• Change your hosting if you’re using shared hosting. Move to dedicated or cloud hosting to reduce server response time. This type of hosting cuts the delay between a user’s request and your server’s response from seconds to milliseconds (because the servers aren’t shared with another website). 
• Compress and optimize your images using tools like TinyPNG. This reduces file sizes without losing quality and helps pages load faster. 
• Remove unnecessary third-party scripts that slow down your site by adding extra HTTP requests. 
• Set up browser caching to store static files locally on visitors’ devices. This reduces load times for returning visitors. 

This is the result from our website: while it’s not in the best shape, it gives you an idea of what a good score is: 

3. Review Your Technical SEO Foundation 

Your website’s technical setup determines how easily Google can crawl and understand your content. So, should incase some of your optimized pages aren’t indexed (or ranking), do these: 

• Check your robots.txt file (a set of instructions for crawler bots) to ensure it guides search engines to important pages while blocking unnecessary ones like admin areas. 
• Create and submit an XML sitemap that lists all your important URLs. This helps Google, Bing, and other search engines discover and index your content faster. 
• Fix broken links that frustrate users and waste your crawl budget—use tools like Screaming Frog to find them. 
• Add canonical tags to show Google which version of similar pages should appear in search results, preventing duplicate content issues. 

4. Look for Content Problems 

Jamie Indigo, Director of Technical SEO at Cox Automotive, speaks about content quality issues in 2025. In his words, 60% of the internet was already duplicate content before the AI content boom. So, to stand out in an internet rife with AI content, create high-quality content that follows the E-E-A-T guidelines. 

You should also: 

• Identify thin content pages (those with less than 300 words or little unique value) that need expansion. You can make them into fuller articles or add more insights to make them relevant. 
• Update outdated content with current information, statistics, and examples. This may include adding new insights. For example, this article was first published in December 2023 and is being updated based on the reality of 2025’s search behavior and SEO. 
• Fix keyword cannibalization. 

When multiple pages compete for the same search terms, it confuses Google about which page to rank. This also splits your traffic between two competing sites. So, use canonical tags to tell crawler bots to link to a preferred page and de-index the pages you don’t want Google to link to. 

• Remove content that lacks original insights or expertise. 

5. Focus on Mobile Experience 

Over 60% of searches happen on mobile devices, so your site must work flawlessly on phones and tablets. Here are some tips: 

• Make text readable without pinching or zooming—use a minimum font size of 16px. 
• Space buttons and links far enough apart (minimum 48px) to prevent accidental clicks. 
• Ensure images scale properly across different screen sizes without breaking layouts. 
• Design navigation menus that work intuitively on touch screens. Also, optimize for all kinds of devices. 

Note: If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices (but is optimized for desktop devices), your website will still not rank in the first page. 

Learn more: Read more about mobile SEO here. 

Focus on Content That Demonstrates Expertise

Your content strategy in 2025 needs to go beyond optimizing your content with high-value keywords. AI-generated content has flooded search results, and it’s hard for original and quality content to stand out. 

Here’s how to create content that both search engines and users trust: 

6. Show Experience and Expertise 

Search engines now prioritize content that shows genuine expertise. Ashwin Balakrishnan, Owner of The Copy Trail, emphasizes: “You’ll rarely go wrong if you deliver a great experience for your target audience.” To achieve this: 

• Write from direct experience: Share specific examples, case studies, and outcomes from your work. This builds credibility because readers can verify your claims through real results. 
• Include original data and research that others can’t easily replicate: Original research/study attracts natural backlinks and positions you as a primary source for credible information rather than just another site repeating existing information. 

For example, Backlinko study on voice search study earned them 1.6K referring domain links, which is more than a typical high-quality content will provide. 

So, to achieve this, conduct original research or surveys which other websites can naturally link to. This leads to the next…

7. Build Backlinks with Statistics-Based Content 

According to Brian Dean, “Topic + Statistics” pages attract more backlinks than standard content. Education Data Initiative, for example, earned 67K backlinks to their student loan statistics page.

This strategy works because: 

Journalists, writers, and other businesses in the industry actively search for statistics to support their articles and opinions. So, having dedicated statistics pages that compile data from multiple authoritative sources can help you rank for valuable keywords that can improve ranking and bring sales qualified leads. 

They’ll also link to your website, which will help with your domain authority. The higher your domain authority, the more your website will rank for your keywords. 

8. Increase Topical Authority 

Instead of creating surface-level content across many topics, build expertise in specific areas. This approach works better because search engines now evaluate your overall authority in a specific area, not just individual pages. Do these to build topical authority: 

• Write comprehensive guides that cover all aspects of a topic. For example, if you are in the e-commerce business, say you sell kitchen equipment, write an article on the different types of food processors, how they work, and why they are essential in modern homes. Then… 
• Create supporting content that addresses related questions and subtopics. These can be keywords like “blender vs food processor​,” “can i use a blender instead of a food processor,” and “commercial food processor”.  This helps capture long-tail keywords and demonstrates a broad knowledge of your subject matter. 
• Do this for every other type of topic within your service areas. 
• Update existing content with new information and insights. Fresh content shows search engines you’re actively maintaining your website with current information; fresh, quality content always performs better. 
• Link related pieces together to show the relationship between them. This internal linking structure helps search engines understand your content hierarchy and topical authority. 

9. Focus on User Intent Metrics 

Mordy Oberstein, Head of SEO Branding at Wix Studio, emphasizes that resonating with your audience and meeting search intent matters more than chasing metrics: “Smart brands target what resonates first and what drives performance KPIs second.” 

To achieve this: 

• Create content that reflects your audience’s specific challenges and needs. Avoid targeting high-volume keywords that have no business relevance. 

To do this, conduct audience research and develop a persona based on the data you get. 

This is the first thing we do for new clients at HigherVisibility: We don’t guess what users want—we study them. We then create detailed customer personas based on real data to understand their pain points, motivations, and search behaviors. 

We can either interview some of your existing customers or study what your typical target audience says in online forums or on social media. 

Once we understand their true pain point, only then can we create content that is not generic; content that meets their needs. 

10. Use Content Partnerships 

Content partnerships can double your content’s reach and authority. It can also get the word out about your brand. 

For example, Backlinko’s partnership with BuzzSumo to analyze 912 million blog posts increased their visibility. According to Brian Dean, founder of Backlinko, they got as much as 15k traffic from that simple post, and so did BuzzSumo. 

You can also do the same by doing these: 

• Partner with complementary brands or experts in your industry to create original research. Look for partners whose audience overlaps with yours but isn’t identical. 

For example, Fellow Products, (our client selling coffee equipment) can partner with Counter Culture Coffee, who sells beans. This partnership can work because Fellow’s customers need quality beans, while Counter Culture Coffee’s customers need reliable brewing equipment. 

Neither competes directly although they have a similar target audience.  

The partnership may be to showcase how Fellow Product’s works while showing the beauty of coffee beans from Counter Culture. 

• Finally, split promotion efforts strategically. This can be by creating a coordinated launch plan where each partner targets their strongest channels. For example, one might focus on email marketing, while the other promotes their research or ad on social media. 

This multiplies your reach without duplicating efforts. 

Optimize for User Experience

Understanding and serving user intent is more important now because search engines now focus on meeting user intent. If your article can’t satisfy their query, it won’t rank. And even if it does, users will bounce. 

We don’t want this, so here’s what we do: 

11. Focus on Improving Dwell Time, Engagement and Reduce Bounce Rate 

An old study states that “Users often leave Web pages in 10–20 seconds, but pages with a clear value proposition can hold people’s attention for much longer.” This is why shorter introductions are always better than longer ones. 

It’s also why we prefer going straight to the point—the more words we write without doing so (like I am doing right now), the more you want to skim through our article. 

So, cut long introductions and go straight to the point. It captures their attention better. 

On improving dwell time, Brian Dean says pages with high dwell time (how long visitors stay) rank better because they signal user satisfaction to Google. So, to improve dwell time and engagement rate (which in turn reduces bounce rate), do these: 

1. Embed relevant videos in your content. According to a Backlinko study, pages with a video have a 11.2% lower bounce rate than pages without video. 

So, embed videos in your articles. This can be a YouTube video that directly addresses your main topic. It could also be a video explaining a subtopic. 

2. Break up text with visual content. You can use screenshots, images, charts, and other visuals to illustrate key points. 

Giulia Panozzo, founder of Neuroscientive, also recommends using eye-tracking or “neuro forecasting to predict performance based on attention patterns”. 

This is easy if you have a large marketing budget and a dedicated UX team. Using neuro forecasting strategy to predict user interest (and potential action) can help you know how they consume your content and whether there are frictions when they want to take an action, say checkout or pay for your service. 

Lastly, space your visuals throughout the content to maintain engagement as users scroll.

3. Structure content so it’s easy to scan and skim. Use clear headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. You can lead with the most important information, then provide supporting details. 

For technical topics, include a “Quick Answer” section at the top for users who want immediate solutions. 

Here’s an example from CloudFlare: 

Optimize for Featured Snippets and AI Search Engines 

Search behavior has changed: 71.5% of people now use AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and even Google AI Overviews to find information, fast. It’s understandable: these tools provide answers without having to surf through two or three pages on Google. 

However, this means you should also optimize for these platforms, especially if you want to capture AI search engine traffic for relevant queries. Here’s what we’ve observed and tried so far: 

12. Optimize Content for AI Overviews and Other Search Engine Pages 

According to Ahrefs, 99.2% of AI Overviews appear for informational queries. This means that if you’re writing on informational keywords, optimize your page for these to rank in AI search engines: 

• Focus on context rather than exact keyword matching. AI Overviews mention exact keyword phrases only 5.4% of the time, but context matters more. So, instead of repeating keywords, explain concepts thoroughly and naturally. And add context where necessary. 

For example, when answering “best month to visit Thailand,” provide comprehensive seasonal information rather than just listing the months. Here’s an example from Surfer SEO: 

• Structure your content for easy parsing. What to do: 

• Break information into clear sections with descriptive headings. 
• Use bullet points and numbered lists (78% of AI Overviews include lists). 
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short for readability. 
• Include relevant data and statistics with proper citations. 
• Write at a level your audience can understand without jargon. 

13. Optimize for AI Overviews 

Featured snippets now known as AI Overviews are the first results on the search results page. 

Ranking here means that your site gets clicked first, especially if the content meets user intent. According to this study, featured snippets get an average of 42.9% and 27.4% of clicks on a results page. 

Backlinko’s Brian Dean has a strategy for ranking on the featured snippets: the “Snippet Bait” technique. Here’s how he explained it: 

• First, check which of your pages are ranking first for your keywords. 
• Study the current Featured Snippet format. For example, 

• Is it a definition snippet? It has clear, concise explanations. E.g. What is xyz? 
• Is it a list snippet? It requires well-structured bullet points or numbered steps. E.g. Top 5 Places for Tourists in Canada. 
• Is it a table snippets? This is best for comparisons or pricing information. E.g. 5 recommendations for xyz. 

So, re-optimize your content to match these patterns. Hit publish. You should rank in the featured snippets in two weeks. 

14. Manage Your Brand Presence Across AI Platforms 

Crystal Carter, Head of SEO Communications at Wix Studio, emphasizes monitoring how AI platforms represent your brand. Other head of content and agency owners say the same, especially since these AI platforms add links to their source. 

Here’s how to monitor AI responses on your keywords effectively: 

First, monitor AI responses about your keywords/brand. You can search for specific queries about your industry, niche or brand on ChatGPT, Claude AI, and other AI tools to see what they say about your company. Here’s an example for a specific company: 

But this is wrong. EnergySage doesn’t install; they provide quotes from companies that provide solar panel installation services: 

If this query were a different one (say it’s about whether your business offers a particular type of service or not), and the AI says No, you don’t (even when you do), you need to update relevant pages that affirms that you offer such services. 

The goal is to ensure that the words (and phrasing) of your brand represents what you do and how you do it (if necessary). So, check these tools to see how they talk about your brand (and when they mention it). 

Then, look for inaccuracies or outdated information. Lastly, update your website with clear information to tweak the errors in their understanding about your brand. 

Here’s an attempt from Rand Fishkin that can help you understand better, watch his video here. 

Bonus: Distribute Your Content 

Content distribution isn’t limited to sharing on social media. You can do better in 2025. 

So, if you’ve written a longform or data-heavy blog post, create infographics from them and post on social media. 

You can also share the content with your newsletter audience. 

Another strategy is to discuss any discovery through a podcast. It can be as simple as having a YouTube channel where experts discuss something they discovered. 

The more you distribute your content, the more eyes you can get on your content, and by extension, the more traffic and potential revenue. 

To Wrap Up… 

SEO works, and search engines can bring you closer to your audience. But if you don’t follow the tactics that work in 2025, you may not see any result from your activities. With what I’ve shared, I am confident that you are a step closer to winning in SEO. However, if you’re looking for an SEO expert’s support to build and implement strategic SEO services, contact us today.