The Brighton SEO Conference 2025 provided a wealth of knowledge and insights into the ever-evolving world of search engine optimisation. For business professionals, understanding these changes is crucial to staying competitive in the digital landscape. We give you our key takeaways from the conference, right here.
Structured Data and EEAT
One of the key points discussed was that structured data markup does not influence Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT). However, many businesses are missing opportunities by not optimising their “About” pages for EEAT. A well-crafted “About” page can significantly build trust and enhance your brand presence by clearly communicating who you are and what you do.
The Changing SEO Landscape
The SEO landscape is undergoing significant changes, and a multi-channel approach is now essential. Traditional SEO pillars such as content, technical SEO, and backlinks are just the basics. The following focus is important for SEO in 2025:
- Brand Building: There is a growing emphasis on brand building through social media, digital PR, and video content
- User Intent: Meeting user intent is crucial to dominate the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
- Offsite Brand Signals: These are becoming increasingly important
- SERP Features: Google now has 35-50 new features above the top 10 links, making it vital to stand out
- Demand and Discovery: It’s about making people search for you and ensuring they find you when they do
Optimising Content Differently
Content optimisation strategies need to evolve. Here’s how:
- Defend Positions: Focus on search intent, structured data, and optimising for featured snippets
- Grow and Enhance: Leverage SERP features like “People Also Ask,” focus on local SEO, and enhance visual content with video and image carousels. Diversify your channels with digital PR campaigns, reactive PR, social media integration, and content diversification
Generational Shifts in Search Behaviour
Search behaviour is changing, especially among younger generations who rely more on social platforms like TikTok, to search and shop products. Google is starting to show more social content within its SERPs, and there’s a continuing move towards zero-click SERPs. This shift indicates a growing navigational intent where users already know the brand they want to find through social media and other channels.
Key Takeaways Regarding AI
AI is a powerful tool, but it should be used to support humanised content. Following these 3 simple guidelines will help keep you on track:
- Human Input: Always add human input to AI-generated content
- Fact-Checking: Ensure everything produced by AI is fact-checked
- Ethical AI: Source and credit information generated by AI
Optimising for Large Language Models (LLMs)
To optimise for LLMs, focus on creating conversational, relevant, and accurate content. Here are key strategies:
Create Conversational Content
- Use a natural, engaging tone
- Incorporate questions and answers
- Include interactive elements like polls and quizzes
Ensure Relevance and Accuracy
- Use relevant keywords
- Verify all information
- Maintain consistency in context and terminology
Enhance Content Structure
- Use clear headings and subheadings
- Utilise bullet points and lists
- Write in short, concise paragraphs
Incorporate Visual and Multimedia Elements
- Integrate images and videos
- Use infographics for data presentation
Build and Strengthen Your Brand
- Ensure consistent brand voice and style
- Produce high-quality, authoritative content
- Engage with your audience on social media
By focusing on these strategies, you can effectively optimise your content for LLMs.
Interesting AI Stats
Here are some intriguing statistics shared at the conference:
- The ability to identify AI-generated images has declined from 56% in June 2023 to 48% in October 2024
- People are generally more accurate at identifying AI-generated text (57%) than images (53%)
- 55% of consumers think AI-generated emails come across negatively
Insights from Ahrefs talk
Ahrefs shared some valuable data from their studies, some of the key insights included:
- 63% of sites receive AI traffic, with 98% of this traffic coming from three chatbots: ChatGPT (79.5%), Perplexity (15.5%), and Gemini (4.8%)
- The most popular pages to receive LLM traffic include core site pages, articles, and documents
- AI Overviews have reduced clicks by 30%, with 99.2% of AI Overview keywords being informational
- 87% of users employ AI to help create content, and 46% report that AI content ranks the same or better
- Websites using AI content grew organic traffic 4.87% faster
- The average cost for AI content is $131, compared to $611 for human content
Summary
The Brighton SEO Conference 2025 highlighted the importance of adapting to the changing SEO landscape. By focusing on user intent, leveraging multi-channel strategies, and integrating AI ethically, businesses can stay ahead of the curve. These insights are not just for SEO experts but for any business professional looking to enhance their digital presence.
Disclaimer: This article was crafted using human insights, with Copilot assisting in organising and distilling extensive notes taken at the BrightonSEO conference.