SEO is always evolving—and what worked last year may already be outdated. With constant algorithm updates and shifts in user behavior, even top-ranking websites can lose visibility overnight. Staying ahead of SEO trends in 2025 means focusing on both the technical and human sides of your website: improving search rankings, delivering better user experiences, and keeping up with how people search today.
At Dot Marketing, every successful SEO strategy starts with a strong foundation. When we take on a new website, we begin with the basics: site structure, internal linking, security, and how the content is organized. Once we’ve addressed those core elements, we dive into these 10 essential SEO tactics to help your site compete in today’s search landscape.
1. Technical SEO
Ensure your website is technically sound with proper site structure, XML sitemaps, and robots.txt.
2. Keyword Optimization
Strategically integrate relevant keywords, including long-tail and conversational phrases that reflect how people search today (think voice search and AI-generated results).
3. Content Creation
High-quality, helpful, and up-to-date content is more important than ever. Google’s focus on helpful content updates rewards websites that prioritize value over keyword stuffing.
4. User Experience (UX)
In 2025, UX plays a major role in SEO rankings. Your site needs to be fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. Core Web Vitals still matter—so load speed, layout stability, and interactivity all count.
For instance, an online retailer should ensure that their product pages load quickly, are easy to navigate on smartphones, and have a simple checkout process to reduce cart abandonment rates.
For instance, an online retailer should ensure that their product pages load quickly, are easy to navigate on smartphones, and have a simple checkout process to reduce cart abandonment rates.
5. Structured Data
For an e-commerce site, using Product Schema can highlight product prices, availability, and reviews directly in search results, making listings more attractive to potential buyers.
For an e-commerce site, using Product Schema can highlight product prices, availability, and reviews directly in search results, making listings more attractive to potential buyers.
6. Image Optimization
A photography studio should ensure that all portfolio images are optimized for fast loading and include alt text describing the images, which helps search engines index them properly.
A photography studio should ensure that all portfolio images are optimized for fast loading and include alt text describing the images, which helps search engines index them properly.
7. Link Building
A tech startup could benefit from writing guest posts on popular industry blogs or getting featured in technology news sites, thereby earning valuable backlinks.
A tech startup could benefit from writing guest posts on popular industry blogs or getting featured in technology news sites, thereby earning valuable backlinks.
8. Local SEO
Local search matters more than ever. Keep your Google Business Profile updated, collect local reviews, and make sure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent across all platforms.
For a restaurant, ensuring that your Google Business Profile is up-to-date with the correct address, opening hours, and customer reviews can drive more local traffic to your physical location.
For a restaurant, ensuring that your Google Business Profile is up-to-date with the correct address, opening hours, and customer reviews can drive more local traffic to your physical location.
9. Social Media Marketing
Leverage social media platforms to increase brand visibility and drive traffic to your website.
A fitness center can use Instagram and Facebook to share workout tips, success stories, and promotions, encouraging followers to visit the website for more information or to book classes.
A fitness center can use Instagram and Facebook to share workout tips, success stories, and promotions, encouraging followers to visit the website for more information or to book classes.
10. Google Search Ads
Although Google Ads is not directly an SEO tactic, but a paid advertising model where you bid on keywords and pay for each click your ad receives. While they operate independently, they can work together to achieve your overall marketing goals.
For example, a local plumbing business might run Google Ads for immediate visibility on high-competition keywords like “emergency plumber Rapid City” while simultaneously working on organic SEO to rank higher for long-term search terms such as “plumbing maintenance tips.”
For example, a local plumbing business might run Google Ads for immediate visibility on high-competition keywords like “emergency plumber Rapid City” while simultaneously working on organic SEO to rank higher for long-term search terms such as “plumbing maintenance tips.”
In 2025, SEO is about more than just ranking—it’s about creating a trustworthy, user-friendly online presence that meets people where they are. At Dot Marketing, we’re constantly testing and refining strategies to help South Dakota businesses stay competitive in search. Whether you’re starting fresh or ready to elevate your digital game, we’re here to help.
SEO FAQ
Backlinks are when other websites link to your site. Depending on how they are configured they can give you credibility. For example, if a high quality site links to your content that is a signal to Google that you know what you are an authority.
Google is the biggest search engine. There are many alternative such as Bing, DuckDuckGo, and giveWater. It is good to explore alternatives as each offers a slightly different approach to how it works and can produce different results.
Nofollow links are a way to tell Google that even though you are linking to them you are really promoting them. Any link by default is considered a follow link so Google assumes your site is giving them some credit.
Alt text is tricky. It is really important to make sure your images have appropriate alt text. It is also important to not stuff alt text with keywords when not appropriate. Google may penalize you if you do. Also, it becomes a navigational issue for users using screen readers.
Most likely if you have a business website you are too busy managing your business to concentrate on all the aspects of SEO. Having someone that can manage it for you is usually the best option.
