Highlights - The SEO Update
Last week, I joined Yoast’s first SEO update session of 2025, where the hosts shared their predictions and the very latest trends and developments across the SEO landscape. I’ve collated them all in one quick blog post for those of you who haven’t yet seen the session.
The session was PACKED with a number of hot topics, including details about search engine market share, changes to Google’s algorithm and search tools, the rise of AI-powered search and content creation, and various other important news that may impact SEO.
Search Engine Landscape
- ChatGPT as a Google alternative:
Consumers are increasingly viewing ChatGPT as a viable alternative to Google search, although Google still holds the lead. Many believe that AI could replace traditional search engines within three years. - Google’s market share declines:
Google’s global search market share has dropped below 90% for the first time since 2015. This decrease is primarily due to declines in Asia, with the U.S. market share falling to 87.39% in December. Concurrently, other search engines like Bing, Yandex and Yahoo, have seen gains, alongside a growing interest in AI engines like ChatGPT.
Google Updates & Algorithm Updates
- December 2024 spam update:
Google rolled out a spam update between December 19th and December 26th. This update was global and applied to all languages. The rollout took approximately one week to complete. - Reddit ranking fluctuations:
Reddit experienced a major drop in Google Search rankings on 7th January. However, there is also information that sometime later Reddit’s visibility index went up. - CMA investigation:
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Google’s dominance in search and advertising under the new digital markets regime. The focus is on competition, innovation barriers, and potential misuse of market power. A decision on imposing measures for fairness is expected by October 2025. - SEO rank checking tools:
There are concerns that Google is blocking SEO rank checking tools, as search volatility continues. SEO tools are showing less volatility, but community chatter suggests Google’s advanced blocking measures are causing problems. There are reports of reduced AI Overview detection rates caused by anti-scraping tactics such as CAPTCHAs. Concerns are growing about data extraction issues and possible increased costs for SEO tool users. - Visible URL on mobile search:
Google is simplifying the visible URL on mobile search. Breadcrumbs will still appear on desktop search results, and markup is still supported.
Search & AI
What SEO update would now be complete without a section dedicate to AI’s influence and how we need to adapt to its rapid changes.
In my view, AI still presents far more opportunities than it does cause concern.
- Google & Associated Press partnership:
Google is partnering with the Associated Press to bring more real-time information to its Gemini chatbot. These publisher partnerships are aimed at improving AI accuracy and addressing copyright issues, but results are mixed. News outlets are pursuing AI agreements for revenue amid industry challenges. - ChatGPT availability:
ChatGPT search is now available to all free users. - Operators and Agents:
ChatGPT introduces Operators, while Perplexity introduces Agents. This is a super exciting development for a more personal integration of AI as assistance, plus I personally love this development generally in AI!
Further Updates
- Review snippets:
Google now recommends a setup that allows for ratings with comments and authors’ names in review snippets. - Google Search Console update:
Google Search Console has added an hourly data export to a 24-hour view. If you’re not maximising this FREE tool already, take another look at what it can do for your site. While it lacks a lot against other SEO paid tools, for a freebie, it offers so many insights! - Microsoft Bing hiding Google search results:
A juicy competitive one, right!? Yep, exactly that! Microsoft Bing is now hiding Google search results. - Forbes writers’ network:
Forbes is cutting ties with freelance writers because of Google spam policies. A shame for writers as Forbes presented great opportunity, and Forbes’ mass exodus here surprised me. - China’s DeepSeek-R1:
Almost exchanging headline space with the TikTok ban, China’s DeepSeek-R1 has been a HUGE conversation topic… Upon launching it’s caused a stir in the AI sector. This open-source model can be run locally and is claimed to be built for under $5 million, compared to $5 billion by OpenAI. This launch has also impacted the US stock market.
The SEO landscape continues to be continually evolving, with AI playing a significant role, particularly when we factor in how consumers are interacting with it as part of their journeys. Keeping up to date will be critical for success in the ever broadening search spaces for consumers; SEO is no longer about optimising for Google, Bing and similar engines but considering the spaces that consumers are carrying out their searches AND more critically their need behind the search.
The next SEO Update from Yoast will take place 25th February. If you’re interested, you can sign up here.
Curious about maximising your search presence?
If you want to know more about how your business’ website can be optimised for the ever-expanding search landscape, get in touch for a free consultation to discuss your business goals and explore how working with me to build your strategy can help you achieve your future success.
Let’s go on the adventure together…