SEO in 2025

A close-up image of a hand holding a smartphone with a blurred background. Overlaid on the image is a search bar with a small search icon inside, symbolizing the concept of online searching or internet browsing.

Let us talk about SEO

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results, particularly the unpaid, or “organic”, listings. The higher up your site appears in the results, the more likely people are to visit it.

But in 2025, the landscape looks very different from how it did 15 years ago. AI now plays a huge role in how search engines work. Google and others use machine learning to understand user intent, personalise results, and even evaluate the quality and relevance of content in more nuanced ways than ever before.

What exactly is a search engine now?

Once simply places to type in a query and get a list of links, search engines have evolved into smart assistants. Google still dominates, with just under 90% of the market share, but it is no longer just about links—it is about featured snippets, voice results, AI summaries and increasingly, answers generated on the fly.

And don’t forget, search engines are also big business. Most make their money from ads: every time someone clicks a sponsored link, the advertiser pays a fee. Platforms like Google Ads allow you to target these based on demographics, location, and even user behaviour. It can be effective, but if you’re not careful, it can also become a very quick way to burn through your budget.

So, who else is out there?

There are still other traditional search engines:

Bing
DuckDuckGo
Ecosia
Yahoo (yes, still going!)
Yandex
Baidu

Then there are the "search engines that are not really search engines", but have staggering amounts of search traffic:

YouTube
Amazon
Facebook
TikTok

Users are often turning to these platforms first when they’re looking for products, reviews, tutorials or answers.

Do we offer SEO or PPC services?

No, we don’t. We specialise in website accessibility, and we believe that our quality speaks for itself. The websites we build are technically sound, fast, accessible, and designed to work for everyone. That includes search engines.

In fact, we are confident that the build quality of your website will pass muster with Google or any other search engine, AI-driven or not. We do not offer SEO packages, and we do not run PPC campaigns. However, we do build solid foundations for your website to be found naturally, and to be inclusive for all users.

What does Google (and AI) look for in a website in 2025?

While the algorithms get more advanced every year, many of the principles remain the same. Here are some things that still matter:

Clean, error-free code
Mobile responsiveness
Fast loading speeds
Accessibility for disabled users (AI bots still do not “see” the web the way we do)
A clear structure and good user experience
Original, helpful content that answers people’s questions
Regular updates and fresh content
Content that is written for humans first, not just search engines

Newer AI systems also look for signals of trustworthiness, author expertise, and relevance. This is often summarised as E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust.

What we promise at Access by Design

If you work with us, we will make sure your website meets high technical and accessibility standards. That means you’re already ticking off the essentials that Google and other search engines prioritise.

If you work with our copywriters, we can help you build a content strategy that’s original, useful, and search-friendly—without resorting to tricks or gimmicks.

We’re not here to dazzle you with SEO jargon or dashboards full of numbers. We are here to build you a website that works equally well for all of your users, regardless of ability or disability. That also includes search engines.

Clive Loseby is a Keynote Speaker at Brighton SEO 2025.

His talk is titled "Google is blind, what this means for you in 2025"

Says it all really!