Search Engine Optimisation and Pay-Per-Click Marketing: Trends for 2025
We might not officially be in winter but it certainly feels like that. The Christmas lights are up around London, the shops are beginning to decorate for Christmas and all of us are looking for cosiness and warmth. Whether Christmas is your busiest period or one of relative calm, it is now you need to start looking ahead to next year.
A few weeks ago we wrote about how important it is to review your social media strategy for 2025, well the same applies for your use of search too. By looking at and updating your knowledge on the various search platforms, you can better optimise your strategy for both PPC and SEO.
It comes as no surprise to know that the way we search is changing, especially with the ever-increasing sophistication of AI and voice search. Understanding the way your audience use search platforms is a core tenet of PPC and SEO strategy, however, it is just as vital to understand the individual platforms themselves, including their user demographics, latest innovations and more.
You might be fortunate and have an unlimited budget but if, like the majority of us, you have to think carefully about where you place your time and money then consideration of the opportunities available across major search engines is vital.
To get the most out of your PPC and SEO budget for 2025, now is the time to review and reassess your strategy by applying some of the observations in this article to your needs, paying particular attention to not only waste but miss opportunities.
What are the predictions for search in 2025
If you have spent time looking at your audience, what they are searching for and how, you may have noticed that that has changed considerably over time. Human habits and behaviour have led innovation in search and has similarly changed behaviour and expectations. Indeed, it can be difficult to truly appreciate how much search has changed over such a short space of time: TikTok becoming one of the major search engines – who saw that coming?
Predicting the future of marketing is a tricky and unreliable exercise and should be done and read with caution. Nonetheless, in this case it does help to both demonstrate how diverse and varied the different opportunities are as well as a window into the direction which technological development and user habits are going.
Top PPC predictions for 2025
Most of the trends that are set to be important for 2025 are PPC technology led. By reflecting upon the recent developments and innovations, we can see just how important it is to reach you audience in the right way and at the right time. In general, we can see that specificity and personalisation are key to receiving a good return on investment (ROI).
H3: AI development is only set to increase
The scope for AI is massive and has applications in both creation and optimisation. The competition between Google and Microsoft is perhaps best seen through the lens of their AI offerings and Performance Max campaigns.
Across the board, AI is set to streamline advertising. While the applications and effectiveness of generative ai remains a contentious topic – rightly or wrongly, I’ll let you make up your mind on that – it is impossible to deny that the opportunities when it comes to targeting and bidding are incredible.
There are pros and cons to all AI models but if you want to get ahead of the competition in the coming year, then it cannot be ignored.
First-party data for precise targeting
Reaching good prospective audiences leads to more conversions – obviously. Leveraging first-party data to inform your campaign strategy allows you to better communicate to your audience, enhance retargeting efforts and manage your sales and marketing funnel in a more tactical and cost-effective manner.
The moves of large organisations such as Google and Microsoft to better collect and implement this data shows just how crucial it will be. However, it is also worth remembering that awareness of data collation and tracking is increasing and the implications of that are that some users are moving away platforms that do this. It is a divisive topic but those who are highly concerned about their privacy are preferring to use platforms such as DuckDuckGo.
Audio is becoming more powerful
This is perhaps the most surprising of the predications listed here. Indeed, the effectiveness of video advertising is also set to increase but audio ads offer a lot of, often untapped, potential.
We are consuming more and more audio content with the popularity of podcasts defying many predictions over the past few years. Advertisers have also shown that audio ads are highly effective, given that the audience is generally highly engaged and most interestingly, places a good degree of trust in the broadcasters themselves.
Top 3 SEO predictions for 2025
When it comes to the development of search in general, there of course are plenty of crossovers with SEO and PPC. The impact of technology advanced with AI and greater use of audio & voice media of course have implications with SEO strategies too. However, these predictions will focus instead of some of the more specific predictions that reflect the changing nature of search engines and the way we use them.
Focus on content quality
Google is emphasising E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) in its search ranking algorithm. By focusing on building author authority and consistently offering high-quality, in depth and useful content, you should see yourself ranking well even in competitive niches.
The rise of zero click searches
Zero click searches is where users can get the answer without leaving the search results page. Optimising for features snippets and knowledge panels will help you stay relevant and can lead to increased traffic.
Visual search
It is expected that visual search tools will become sophisticated. Optimising images and videos with alt text, closed captions etc. will have an edge over the competition when it comes to image-based search results. This is very much ‘a watch this space’ predication but getting ahead of the curve is naturally highly beneficial in SEO.
Defining your search strategy for 2025
Now you have more information to hand, you are better placed to review the platforms themselves and see where you stand in time for the new year.
Google undoubtedly dominates search and has a large part of the market share. It is almost pointless to say anything about Google since everyone uses it and everyone advertises on it.
Maximising your opportunities on Google comes with keeping track of the latest innovations and carefully assessing your results. AI technology in particular and optimising campaigns across different Google-owned platforms is a good way to breathe life into your PPC.
Yet, having said all this, Google hasn’t been having a great time in the news with privacy concerns, compliance issues and monopoly complaints regularly making the headlines. If you are only advertising on Google 2025 is a good year to start looking further afield.
Bing
Bing has the second largest market share after Google but boasts an increasing and highly effective network for advertisers. In general, Bing users are older but they do have far more buying power than those you reach elsewhere, e.g. TikTok. Moreover, this is a unique opportunity to reach people you don’t reach anywhere else.
The recent developments of Copilot, Microsoft’s AI, are particularly exciting. Advertising on Co-pilot is one of the areas Microsoft is currently developing and the recent updates in this regard promise a genuinely improved experience for you as well as your audience.
Similarly, PMAX campaigns help you make the most out of your spend and offer a range of set-up opportunities to integrate into your current strategy.
Bing is on the rise and advertisers are seeing the results for themselves but don’t just take our word for it. We have recently developed a tool that will show you a Google ads report that gives you real insight into your performance as well as forecasts what you could see on Microsoft.
If you haven’t already got started on Microsoft ads, then this is a must for 2025.
Yahoo
Yahoo Search reaches 117M unique searchers per month. In a similar way to Bing, Yahoo helps reach users who you might not reach anywhere else – for example, those who have used Yahoo all their life or if it is installed onto work laptops.
There are many advertising formats available on Yahoo and many ways to maximise your budget there. Moreover, with lower search volumes and less competition, cost per clicks can be low – music to any advertisers ears.
DuckDuckGo
Another unsung hero of advertising. The duck search is the search engine for those concerned about their privacy. While DuckDuckGo offers no personalisation and certainly no tracking, seemingly going against the trends noted above, if you feel like you have an audience who might have similar concerns, advertising on here is a brilliant idea.
It certainly has a particular audience but one that is growing (especially after all of Google’s privacy scandals). If suitable, DuckDuckGo offers many opportunities.
Software to drive data-driven decision-marking in PPC
However, to make the most of these opportunities, you need to know where you stand. Data-driven decision making is essential to success by allowing you to make informed decisions about your PPC campaign management.
If you are currently just on Google, then managing campaigns might be relatively simple. However, if you are using multiple platforms, as we recommend, and perhaps paid social ads too, then switching between multiple reporting platforms is ineffective and might mean you miss out on interesting and potentially lucrative patterns emerging.
Fear not! There is an easy solution. By using an all-in-one marketing platform you can seamlessly manage all your campaigns in one place, making it easy to collate and compare data and create innovative solutions as a result.
Diginius Insight is an example, if this is something you are looking for.
Plunge confidently into 2025 with renewed enthusiasm and reimagined strategy
We’ve said all that we can say. The rest is down to you.
Taking a moment to review your strategy will make it more robust and effective. It can feel tedious to trawl though all your data, identify weakness and reach into new opportunities but it is worth it. Trust us.
If you’re a marketing agency head to this page to explore our Diginius Agency Partner Program. Meanwhile, if you’re a business managing your advertising in-house and you’d like our support, discover how our Diginius Insight Platform boosts your ROI.
