Hey everyone, I wanted to open up a conversation about SEO strategies that are actually working right now in 2025. A lot has changed in the last few years—especially with Google’s updates shaking up rankings—but I’ve found that focusing on the basics (with a twist) still brings solid results. I’ll share a few things I’m doing and would love to hear your thoughts too! ⸻ 1. User Intent Is Everything We all know content is king, but context is queen. What’s been working for me lately is digging deep into search intent before creating any page or blog post. Instead of stuffing keywords, I focus on answering the exact questions people are asking in the simplest way possible. • Tip: I use tools like Google’s People Also Ask, but more importantly, I talk to actual people in my niche. Their language often gives me better keyword ideas than any tool can. ⸻ 2. Faster Websites Win I recently worked on a portfolio site (it’s a personal one showcasing SEO and e-commerce work), and just by compressing images, cleaning up the CSS/JS, and moving to lighter themes, I shaved seconds off the load time. • My mobile page speed went from 72 to 91, and rankings improved within weeks (small niche, but still!). • Pro tip: Lazy load images and avoid unnecessary plugins. Speed is user experience. ⸻ 3. Topical Authority Over Random Posts Instead of writing about random SEO topics, I built a content cluster—a set of related blog posts on my site all linking back to a core page. For example: • One core page about SEO Audits • Supporting blogs on On-Page SEO, Technical SEO, Competitor Analysis, etc. This structure signals to Google that you know your stuff about a topic. And it builds trust with readers too. ⸻ 4. Don’t Sleep on Schema Markup Adding schema (FAQ, Breadcrumbs, Reviews) has helped increase my CTR on search results. It’s easy to implement and makes your listing stand out in SERPs. Even something as simple as Breadcrumb schema improves navigation and gives Google more context. ⸻ 5. Consistency > Perfection One thing I realized is that regularly publishing helpful content—even if it’s not “perfect”—brings better results over time than waiting for the perfect article. I write about SEO case studies, little wins, and even experiments on my portfolio site. Some of those posts now rank with zero backlinks because they answer questions nobody else has. ⸻ Would love to hear what’s working for you all! Are you still seeing success with backlinks, or has content become your main focus? Let’s share notes and see how 2025 SEO is evolving.
The fifth point is really interesting. Just imagine if google ranking algorithms worked like a human being. In the sense that I as a living person would like a blog with quality articles at different times more than a blog that regularly publishes content for content's sake every week.
It sounds like a solid approach especially loving the focus on user intent and speed. Keeping it real with what people need makes a big difference.
Great insights! Totally agree—2025 SEO is all about intent and clarity. One thing that’s been working for me is combining AI-assisted content with strong human editing to hit that sweet spot of relevance and readability. Also, refreshing older content with updated info and internal links has brought surprising ranking boosts. Backlinks still help, but I'm seeing more value from topical depth and smart on-page SEO. Schema + fast UX = underrated combo.
John Mueller recently said that structured data has no impact on Google rankings. In fact, he outright denied that it’s a ranking factor. What’s your take on that?