How to Improve Your Website SEO in 2025 with people-first content
Search is changing fast, but the fundamentals haven’t. If you’re wondering how to improve your website SEO in 2025, the answer is a mix of people-first content, clean tech foundations, and smart visibility in AI-powered results. In this guide you’ll learn the exact moves to strengthen rankings, survive core updates, and earn clicks—even as AI Overviews and zero-click behaviors evolve.
Lead with people-first content and E-E-A-T
Google’s guidance is crystal clear: content created to help people wins. Build pages that demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (E-E-A-T). Add clear bylines, cite sources, explain your methods, and be transparent when you use AI to assist. Avoid mass-producing generic articles or chasing word counts—focus on depth and original value.
Quick checklist
- Show who wrote it and how you created it (including any AI assistance).
- Answer the whole question; add examples, steps, data, or firsthand insight.
- Keep readers satisfied so they don’t need to “search again.”.
Optimize for AI search (AI Overviews & AI Mode)
AI features in Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode) surface links from helpful, eligible pages. There’s no special schema or markup required—the same SEO best practices apply. Ensure your pages are indexable, offer strong text, support with quality images/video, and use accurate structured data that matches the visible content.
Reality check: in March 2025, ~13% of queries triggered AI Overviews, skewing heavily toward informational searches—so top-of-funnel content is most affected. Create clear, concise answers, FAQs, and visuals that AI can cite while still giving users reasons to click for depth.
Do this now
- Make key answers scannable (short summaries, FAQs, comparison tables).
- Strengthen topical authority with internal links among related guides.
- Keep content accurate and up to date; ensure eligibility for snippets.
Nail technical basics (Core Web Vitals, indexing & internal links)
Great content needs a solid frame. In 2025, Google’s Core Web Vitals are LCP (≤2.5s), INP (<200ms), and CLS (<0.1). Faster loads, instant interactivity, and stable layouts keep users—and rankings—happy. Use Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report, PageSpeed Insights, and real-user monitoring to find wins.
Also confirm you’re crawlable (robots.txt), serving indexable pages with useful text, and connecting pages with descriptive internal links so Google (and people) can discover your best work.
High-impact fixes
- Compress and lazy-load media, preconnect critical resources, and ship less JS for better INP.
- Consolidate thin or overlapping pages; point internal links to your money/content hubs.
Use structured data to earn rich results
Structured data (Schema.org) helps search engines understand your pages and unlock rich results (products, FAQs, events, articles, videos). Implement JSON-LD, validate with Google’s Rich Results Test, and keep markup consistent with on-page content. This becomes even more valuable as SERPs blend AI, visuals, and entity understanding.
Where to start
- Ecommerce:
Product,Offer,Review. - Content hubs:
Article,FAQ,Breadcrumb. - Events & webinars:
Event.
Validate and monitor to avoid errors that break eligibility.
Stay safe: follow policies and watch core updates
Shortcuts are risky. Avoid spammy tactics like keyword stuffing, thin affiliate pages, or cloaking—violations can cause demotions or removal. Stick to Google’s spam policies and focus on lasting quality.
Finally, monitor core updates. The June 2025 core update finished rolling out July 17, 2025. If you see volatility, analyze impacted pages a week after rollout, improve overall quality, and be patient—real recoveries align with subsequent updates.
FAQs
1) Is AI-generated content OK for SEO in 2025?
Yes—if it’s accurate, original, helpful, and compliant. Disclose how content is created when appropriate, avoid scaled low-value output, and meet Search Essentials and spam policies.
2) Do I need special markup to appear in AI Overviews?
No. There’s no special schema or file. Ensure indexability, strong people-first content, supportive media, and matching structured data.
3) What Core Web Vitals targets should I hit?
Aim for LCP ≤2.5s, INP <200ms, CLS <0.1. Improve images, scripts, and layout shifts to hit these thresholds.
4) How do I know if a traffic drop is from a core update?
Check the Search Status Dashboard for dates, compare performance week-over-week after rollout, review affected queries/pages, and improve site-wide quality.
If your strategy still chases loopholes, you’ll always be behind. In 2025, the winning play is simple: become the best answer. Put readers first, make pages fast and clear, and package knowledge so both people and AI features can understand—and cite—it.
Conclusion
To improve your website SEO in 2025, double down on people-first content, eligibility for AI features, clean technicals (especially Core Web Vitals), structured data, and policy-safe practices—then track performance across core updates. Want more? Dive into our other guides on keyword intent, internal linking, and content refresh strategies.