What Google Wants From Your Website in 2025 (And How to Give It to Them)

SEO in 2025 isn’t some new mysterious formula. It’s simply Google doubling down on what it has always wanted: websites that genuinely help users. Every algorithm update, every new AI integration, every ranking shift is all heading in the same direction — towards better content, better experience, and more trustworthy brands.

Unfortunately, many small businesses are still being sold shortcuts or outdated tactics that don’t work anymore (or never really did). Whether you’ve worked with an SEO agency before or you’re trying to improve your site’s visibility and conversions yourself, understanding what Google values today will help you make smart, sustainable decisions.

In this blog, we’re cutting through the noise to give you a clear picture of what Google is prioritising in 2025 and how to align your website with it.

1. Start With Your Website User (And Their Intent)

If there’s one thing Google has made crystal clear, it’s this: search engine optimisation is about solving problems for real people, not ticking boxes for robots. Every search someone makes has a reason behind it. That reason is their intent, and it’s your job to meet it.

For example:

• If someone searches “best family lawyer Gold Coast,” they’re likely comparing options and not ready to call the first number they see.
• If they search “book property valuation Gold Coast,” they’re probably ready to take action.

If your content doesn’t match the intent behind the keyword, you won’t rank, or worse, you’ll get the wrong kind of traffic that doesn’t convert.

How to align with user intent:

• Break keywords into intent buckets: informational, navigational, transactional.
• Structure pages and content to give users exactly what they came for.
• Review your landing pages and service pages. Are they helping or just selling?

When in doubt, ask: “If I were searching for this, what would I actually want to see?”

2. SEO in 2025 Still Follows Google’s Original Playbook

Despite the buzz around AI and rapid changes in digital marketing, the core principles of SEO haven’t changed all that much in 20 years. Google has always prioritised:

• Relevance
• Authority
• Usability
• Trust

What has changed is how well Google can measure those things.

In the early 2000s and 2010s, you could get away with keyword stuffing, dodgy backlinks, or templated pages. These days, Google is far better at spotting manipulative tactics, and penalties for poor content or bad user experience are more immediate.

Why this matters:

If your site is built to genuinely help the person on the other end of the search, you’re already in line with Google’s long-term vision. You don’t need to chase trends — you just need to apply the basics properly and consistently.

For some homework, check out Google’s SEO Starter Guide for fundamentals. 

3. Google’s Best Practices Still Hold Up

While algorithm updates might shift priorities slightly, Google’s technical and content guidelines have stayed relatively consistent. These are the fundamentals every website should already have in place — and yet so many still don’t.

Key best practices that still matter in 2025:

• Unique, descriptive title tags and meta descriptions
• Clear, logical page structures using H1s, H2s and H3s
• Mobile-friendly design
• Clean, crawlable code
• Internal linking between relevant pages
• Content written for real people, not bots
• Images with proper alt text and compression

These are not optional extras. If your site is missing any of these, your rankings, load speed, and user experience will suffer. They’re the SEO version of brushing your teeth: basic hygiene that prevents bigger problems down the line.

Before you start chasing backlinks or advanced content strategies (we love developing an out-of-the-box strategy), make sure your site is fundamentally sound. Otherwise, you’re building on shaky ground.

4. E-E-A-T Is More Than Just a Buzzword

You’ve probably heard of Google’s E-E-A-T framework: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. In 2025, it’s a front-line ranking factor, especially after the March 2025 Core Update.

This update was particularly focused on weeding out low-quality, AI-generated content and spammy affiliate-style websites. Sites that lacked a real human behind the content took the biggest hit (but we’ll get on to this later; Australian SEOs have really felt the impact of more AI Overviews taking over Search).

Google’s goal here is to rank content that not only sounds correct but is correct, based on credible sources and lived experience.

How to improve your E-E-A-T:

• Use case studies, original data, or personal experience to show your authority on the topic and real-world experiences.
• Include real photos of your team, workspace, or work being done. Stock images don’t build trust.
• If you’re a service provider, include testimonials, affiliations, and trust signals (like SSL, privacy policies, shipping and delivery information, or review scores).
• Embed Google reviews or testimonials with names and photos. Bonus points if they’re video or audio testimonials.
• Include FAQs on landing pages written by real humans, not just copied text. Show you understand what your audience is actually wondering.
• For e-commerce, include genuine customer reviews and ratings on each product page. These are social proof and user-generated content.
• Include a named author on your blog posts, ideally with credentials or a short bio that explains their expertise.
• Include real-world examples, stats, and first-hand data.
• Be consistent across your website, socials, and Google Business Profile.
• Ensure your About page clearly states who you are, what you do, and why you’re qualified to do it.

5. Technical UX Is Modern SEO

Gone are the days when SEO could be done in isolation from your website’s functionality. These days, technical user experience (UX) is SEO.

Google’s crawlers and ranking systems actively assess how well your website performs. Not just what it says, but how it behaves.

Here’s what Google (and your customers) are really looking for:

• Clear, logical navigation: Can users find what they’re looking for within a few clicks? Are services or products easy to browse, and are key pages linked where they matter most?
• Accessible, well-structured content: Is the information people need (pricing, services, product specs, delivery info, FAQs) clearly presented and easy to scan — or buried in walls of text or confusing layouts?
• Seamless mobile experience: Does your site function just as well on mobile as it does on desktop? That includes tap-friendly buttons, readable text, fast responsiveness, and no weird formatting issues.
• Minimal friction at key conversion points: Whether it’s calling, booking, purchasing, or submitting an enquiry, can users do it without jumping through hoops? Think clear CTAs, no unnecessary form fields, and no login walls.
• Page performance and loading time: Yes, speed still matters — but mostly when it impacts usability. A beautiful site that takes 10 seconds to load will frustrate users. Aim for under 3 seconds, especially on mobile.
• Error-free functionality: Broken links, outdated pages, or forms that don’t work properly send negative signals to users and search engines. Functional = credible.
• Logical flow of information: Does each page guide users naturally from awareness to decision? Or does it leave them unsure what to do next?

6. Great SEO Is Just Great Brand Marketing

One of the biggest shifts we’ve seen over the years is the merging of SEO with broader brand and marketing strategy. In 2025, if your SEO doesn’t reflect who you are, who you help, and why you’re different, it’s not going to work.

Ranking is no longer about just keywords. It’s about:

• Connecting with the right audience
• Speaking in their language
• Solving real problems
• Building recognition and trust

Too many SEO campaigns focus on traffic volume without asking if that traffic is right. A hundred random visitors a day mean nothing if they’re not in-market or don’t resonate with your brand.

How SEO and branding overlap:

• Your homepage and service pages should reflect your values, tone, and positioning — not just generic content (no one believes you when you claim to be the best plumber in Bundaberg anymore).
• Blogs should be written to speak to the kind of clients you want, using your real-world language and examples.
• Site structure should support your sales process, helping users take the next step, not just read and leave.

If you think of SEO as a traffic-driving tool and your brand as the story people remember, the sweet spot is when those two work together. That’s when websites start to convert and rank.

7. Be Featured in Snippets and AI Overviews (By Being Useful)

Google’s search results in 2025 aren’t just a list of blue links. Increasingly, they’re packed with featured snippets, AI-generated overviews, and interactive results — all designed to give users answers without clicking through.

That might sound like a problem (what if no one visits your site?), but for those who adapt, it’s a massive opportunity. Featured snippets and AI summaries still pull from your site if your content is well-structured and helpful.

How to increase your chances of being featured:

• Use clear headings and break content into scannable sections.
• Include summaries or key takeaways at the top of your articles.
• Answer commonly asked questions with concise, direct explanations (great for FAQ blocks).
• Use bulleted or numbered lists where appropriate.
• Mark up your content with schema (FAQ, How-To, etc.) to help Google understand context.
  

While AI Overviews are still evolving, Google is favouring helpful, accurate, and well-structured content that demonstrates genuine human expertise. If your site becomes a consistent source for that, you’ll earn not only visibility but also authority.

Don’t Optimise for Google, Optimise for Real People

The common thread in all of Google’s updates is this: they’re all focused on people, not algorithms.

SEO in 2025 isn’t about tricks. It’s about clarity. Helpfulness. Quality. Trust.

If your website helps the right people solve the right problems, delivers a smooth and easy experience, and reflects who you are as a business, you’re giving Google exactly what it wants.

Need help bringing your SEO strategy up to speed? At 5 Twelve, we combine technical SEO, conversion strategy, and content with actual marketing insight. Contact us today for a complimentary SEO strategy session to see if your business is a great fit for our ongoing SEO service.