12 SEO Hot Topics for 2025: Featuring Amanda Natividad, Tom Capper and Dr Pete Meyers

3. Was the Helpful Content Update really astir adjuvant content, brands, aliases thing else?

Tom Capper:

For those who haven’t followed it, the HCU rolled retired for 2 years. The last named update was September 2023; since then, it’s been blended into halfway updates. At Moz, our investigation powerfully suggests that brand is simply a immense facet successful HCU rankings.

5. Is hunt shifting from Google to societal platforms for illustration TikTok and Reddit?

Dr. Pete Meyers:

If I could opportunity this honestly, 1 logic attribution is truthful difficult is that immoderate executives conscionable don’t get it. Not all, of course, but generally, there’s a misunderstanding of really contented works.

I’ve had awkward conversations pinch executives who ask, “Show america the worth of this blog post.” My guidance is, what? 

• You don’t inquire that astir each department
• You don’t inquire customer work to beryllium the ROI of each azygous telephone call 
• You don’t request that the finance squad show the gross effect for each spreadsheet

But for immoderate reason, contented is held to this unrealistic modular wherever each portion is expected to person a direct, measurable return.

I deliberation this comes down to a fewer systemic problems:

Obsession pinch attribution

First, integer trading has made america obsessed pinch search everything down to the click. We want cleanable attribution, wherever we tin say, “This blog station generated X magnitude of revenue,” and we presume that’s possible, but it’s not.

Internal politics

Second, attribution is often tied up successful soul politics. Other teams for illustration request procreation aliases paid media usage akin metrics, truthful erstwhile a conversion happens, there’s a conflict complete who gets the credit. 

The request gen squad mightiness say, “That lead came from our landing page,” ignoring the truth that the customer initially recovered america done a blog station aliases societal content. That creates a business wherever contented isn’t decently valued, moreover though it plays a important domiciled successful the purchaser journey.

Inaccurate tracking

Then there’s the rumor of inaccurate tracking. Dark societal is simply a immense problem because postulation from sources for illustration Facebook DMs, Instagram messages, Slack, and WhatsApp often gets lumped into “direct” postulation successful Google Analytics. So, moreover when content drives conversions, it mightiness not beryllium decently attributed.

What tin we do differently?

Instead of obsessing complete ROI, we must displacement the speech to worth connected investment. What worth is the contented providing crossed different business functions? How is it supporting sales, customer service, and marque awareness?

For example, contented isn’t conscionable astir lead generation. It tin also:

• Help customers get much worth from a product, reducing churn
• Support income by answering communal objections and improving conversion rates
• Reduce the load connected customer work by addressing predominant questions successful blog posts aliases thief documentation

When we commencement framing contented this way, it becomes easier to spot really it contributes to the broader business goals.

Dr. Pete Meyers:

I want to adhd to what Amanda conscionable said. 

Years ago, astatine Moz, we recovered that getting group to motion up for a free proceedings wasn’t a one-touch process. It was a three-touchpoint sale.

Most of our conversions came from group who had engaged pinch aggregate pieces of content. Usually, they mightiness publication a blog post, cheque retired the beginner’s guide, aliases watch a Whiteboard Friday earlier signing up.

Once we recognized that, we stopped treating contented arsenic a one-step conversion tool. Running an advertisement that takes personification straight to a landing page doesn’t activity if they don’t already cognize and spot you. But erstwhile contented is portion of a multi-touch journey, it builds spot and moves group toward conversion.

The problem is that galore marketers are truthful focused on bottom-of-funnel conversions that they disregard the travel that sewage the customer there. The conversion complaint will beryllium overmuch little if personification lands connected a page pinch nary anterior exposure, marque trust, aliases contented to guideline them.

Attribution needs to bespeak that journey. Don’t conscionable delegate worth to a azygous blog station aliases tweet. Instead, admit really each the different pieces activity together to create a pipeline of engaged, ready-to-convert customers.

A fewer takeaways to remember:

• AI hunt isn’t replacing Google; it’s adding to it.
• There is nary azygous champion SEO maneuver anymore. Instead, it takes a operation of efforts that prioritizes Brand Authority and multi-touchpoint content. 
• Your contented strategy should beryllium omnichannel going forward. Prioritize creating contented that AI can’t aboveground successful an overview and create high-value contented that keeps your assemblage coming backmost for a dopamine hit.