SEO 2025 what’s the Future ? Here’s My Take

Google I/O 2025. Google announces that AI Mode is live in the United States.

And panic spreads across the SEO community. SEO 2025: What Should You Do?

Of course, we knew this moment would come… the only question was “when?”

It’s a common feeling that things are moving too quickly.

Let’s start with one assumption: in a way, Google was forced to take this step.

Many have cited competition or pressure from shareholders as the driving force behind AI Mode.

But in my view, there’s another reason — a product-based one — that brought us here.

Let’s go back to the beginning…

TikTok has been favoured over Google as a search engine by younger audiences for years.

ChatGPT is growing month after month.

And from the tests Google has run over the years with AI Overviews, it’s clear a large number of users appreciated the feature.

So the question I ask is: how did we end up here?

SEO 2025: How We Got Here

I believe it all stems from Google’s ranking factors and the behaviour of SEOs, online publishers, and affiliate marketers.

Google has always insisted that “content is king”, that focusing on quality content is what truly matters.

But soon enough, SEOs, publishers, and affiliate marketers realised that you could “game the system” and reach the top of Google through all sorts of “tricks” and “systems.”

Even now, for SEO 2025, not much has changed.

In many informational SERPs, it’s still either major brands or “manipulated” content at the top.

The Broken Trust Behind SEO 2025

The problem is, much of the content about products and services we find on Google isn’t genuine.

It’s content written to sell affiliate products and services.

Today, Google is often useless if you’re looking for the truly best product or the one with the best value for money — because you’ll mostly find content created to push the products with the highest commission on leads and sales.

To top it off, the greed of certain online publishers, who for years have pumped out millions of low-quality pieces, clickbait, and outright misinformation just to get more views from Google Search, Google News, and Discover, has eroded users’ trust in the platform.

In the end, Google — which failed to build a system that truly rewarded the best content — decided to cut the Gordian knot and…

… “solve” the issue in the most profitable sectors by doing something very simple: putting the TOP brands at the top.

Those who, due to their brand, legal safeguards or ad budgets, at least offer more guarantees than your average affiliate blog.

Let’s be clear: much of the responsibility lies with Google.

And in a way, they’re now “fixing” the problem — in their own way.

What Web Publishers Are Worth in SEO 2025

Let’s think about this: what value do we web publishers hold for Google?

If you run an affiliate blog, what value do you provide Google? In my opinion: ZERO.

You don’t run a real business, you don’t sell products or services, and you often write biased, second-hand reviews for your own commercial gain.

To Google, you hold no economic or content value.

You’re an arbitrageur — and arbitrage, like it or not, is like a candle that’s nearly burnt out.

SEO 2025: The Hierarchy of Who Survives

What if you’re an online publisher?

You might have a company, a newsroom, and so on.

Compared to affiliate marketers, you hold some value.

But let’s be honest: it’s low.

You’re not selling products or services. In most cases, you’re not using Google Ads.

You sell news — something second-hand, a commodity.

Unless you’re a major, unique publication, in Google’s eyes you’re worth next to nothing.

That’s the harsh truth.

Now, if you have a site where you sell products or services?

That’s where things change — now you start to become interesting for Google.

You might become a potential Google Ads client.

You’re a “real” company, a tangible business with its own identity.

You’re less at risk than those who rely on content alone — but that doesn’t mean you’re safe. Far from it.

You simply have more time to adapt, more leeway.

The Real SEO 2025 Risk: Affiliates and Publishers

So, those who are most at risk right now are affiliate marketers and online publishers.

A recent study by Backlinko shows how click-through rates vary drastically based on ranking position.

Affiliate marketers on Google are either dead or dying. But they have one advantage over publishers: lower overheads and fewer constraints.

If they lose traffic, they can still promote offers organically on social media, YouTube, email, or via Facebook and Google Ads…

Affiliate marketing on Google may be dead or dying, but elsewhere? It’s still very much alive.

For online publishers, unfortunately, it’s more complicated.

They don’t have the same flexibility. Their core business (news and content) is only sustainable at certain traffic levels…

Sure, editorial sites can explore alternative monetisation routes — but advertising is still queen for most. And the largest slice of the cake.

Most of them can’t just say: “To hell with Google, let’s move to YouTube and Instagram!” — for a range of reasons.

Which is why today, publishers / news sites / bloggers are the most impacted and at risk.

SEO 2025: The End of a Golden Bubble

Because, again, at their core, their business model didn’t really exist.

A real business, a true brand or personal brand, has intrinsic value that transcends the platform it uses.

If the drop in traffic from a single channel can kill your business — then you didn’t have a real business in the first place.

So this AI revolution, in my view, is simply the end of a dream — a collective intoxication, where for 20 years SEOs, affiliate marketers, publishers and bloggers had it “too easy” and lived in a golden bubble compared to the rest of the world.

Now the bubble has burst, and we all have to step outside. Into the real world. To breathe.

Is SEO Dead in 2025? Let’s Be Honest

And those gloomy SEOs shouting “SEO in 205 is dead”…

Honestly, it makes me laugh to read those proclamations — even after Google’s AI Mode announcement.

Do you really think AI Mode, ChatGPT and the like will only or mainly affect SEO ?

No profession is completely safe today.

Especially digital ones!

Web writer? Among the most affected.

Web developer? Need I say more?

Web designer? Same story.

Web Ads Consultant? Google and Facebook would rather deal directly with clients and cut you out.

E-commerce manager? Also under scrutiny by Big G and Facebook.

I could go on for hours…

Why SEO 2025 Still Has a Future — for the Best

And paradoxically, true SEO is actually one of the professions that can ride this wave best.

A skilled senior SEO already has excellent foundational skills to use generative AI for content, workflows, traffic generation, mentions, and so on.

And they can work on search platforms beyond Google (YouTube, Pinterest, etc.).

A capable SEO will always be needed — to get into AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, ChatGPT, and more.

And they’ll do it better than anyone else.

They’ll remain essential — as long as they have enough digital marketing skills to support businesses (or their own projects) in improving customer acquisition, brand building, reputation, and customer support.

But let’s face it — very likely…

…within a year or two, fewer SEOs will be needed.

The market will demand fewer SEOs.

Only the most skilled, resilient, curious, and hard-working will remain.

The others will be forced to switch careers.

Those who want to stay in the industry will need a “power-up” in skills.

The SEO Specialist will become a true “high-level” profession — for the few.

SEO 2025 and the AI Overview Paradox

The SEO issue few are talking about…

I’ve done some analysis, and the projects that are dominating AI Overviews are those with solid historical SEO.

In short, I’m seeing this pattern:

Great historical SEO performance → Most linked resource in AI Overviews

And even with that visibility, traffic may be lower than before.

Imagine this: Google now chooses one, two, maybe three trusted sources — and cites only those.

In the same space where before 7 or 8 sources were shown, now there are just 2 or 3!

Unless Google reverses course and chooses to distribute visibility and traffic more broadly, this is a major issue.

Because achieving those results takes sweat and toil.

Months or even years of work.

There are no tricks, no shortcuts. You can’t do it with “cheap SEO” or without clients who are ready to fight alongside you.

What to Do Now: Turn SEO 2025 Into an Opportunity

So what now?

Now it’s the time for those who see challenges for what they really are: opportunities.

For those who have realised that we’ve lived for years in a golden cage — dominated by fluff, arbitrage, and a quantity-over-quality mindset.

Now the bubble’s burst. We’re back to reality.

And if you do have a real business, the one thing I suggest is:

Invest in good SEO.

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