Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025

My talk for BrightonSEO April 2025. If you need the context for the slides, feel free to have a look at the full essay linked here: http://bit.ly/4idZnhk

Transcript

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/akashhashmi/ @akashhashmi Sheffield City Opportunities Akash J Hashmi
2. INTRODUCTION Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
3. SEO EVOLUTION AND USER DISTRUST BIG BAD AI COMING TO WRECK THE WEB WHAT IT MEANS FOR STRATEGISING DOES SEO RUIN THE INTERNET? 1 2 3 4 Agenda Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
4. SEO EVOLUTION Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 1998 Google’s Launch November 2003 Florida Update September - November 2005 Jagger Update February 2011 Panda Update April 2012 Penguin Update August 2012 Pirate Update September 2012 Exact Match Domain Update August 2013 Hummingbird Update July 2014 Pigeon Update April 2015 Mobile-Friendly Update April 2015 RankBrain Implementation August 2018 Medic Update
5. SEO EVOLUTION Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 October 2019 BERT Update December 2022 Helpful Content Update March 2023 Core Update October 2023 Spam Update November 2023 Core Update March 2024 Core Update May 2024 AI Overviews Expansion October 2024 AI Mode Introduction October 2024 Spam Update October 2024 Core Update March 2025 Core Update
6. SEO VS USERS Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
7. USERS = PEOPLE Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
8. AI MADE IT WORSE Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
9. USER BACKLASH Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 VS
10. THE STATS SHOW Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 45% 49% 56% 57% 51% 50% 42% 31% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Gen Z Millenials Gen X Baby Boomers Search Engines Social Networks 35% 65% 35% of Chatbot users did so as an alternative to search engines in 2023 CONSUMER REPORTS® SURVEY GROUP Usage of search engines vs social media by age range %, respondents GWI, GWI Core. Q4 2023 – Q3 2024
11. USERS ARE TIRED Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 76% Search results appear sponsored or promoted 42% 55% 52% 66% Google and search engines overall are less useful information from their community over search engines Use AI chatbots or social media platforms over search Quality of information is worse and less reliable on search
12. INTERNET FATIGUE IS REAL Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
13. LOVE TRIANGLE Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 Google User SEO AI
14. AI IN SEARCH Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
15. RAG FOR AIO Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
16. ANSWER ENGINES Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
17. VOICE SEARCH Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
18. COMMUNITIES AND UGC Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
19. EMPATHY BEATS ALGORITHMS Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
20. SECRET AGENT AI Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
21. HOW TO WIN 2025 Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
22. BIG E-E-A-TS Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
23. BRAND, THE BUILDER Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
24. PRIORITISE USER EXPERIENCES Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
25. TECHNICAL SEO IS STILL RELEVANT Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
26. THINK AHEAD, DON’T REACT Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
27. DATA IS COOL, USE IT Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
28. OTHER CHANNELS ARE FRIENDS Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025
29. SEO ISN’T DEAD, BUT BAD SEO IS Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 BAD SEO
30. So, HAVE SEOS RUINED THE INTERNET? Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 Nope, just the bad ones
31. THEN WHO OR WHAT IS? Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025 Google Bad SEO Gen-AI Clickbait ?
32. Thank You — lINKEDIN Akash J Hashmi X BrightonSEO - #brightonseo Akash J Hashmi (LinkedIn) Have SEOs Ruined the Internet? - User Awareness of SEO in 2025