You can’t get any more British than “Keep Calm and Carry On”. And with the current state of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) it’s both the best advice and the best practice.
First this Keep Calm and Carry On, what is that?
In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, the British Ministry of Information created a series of posters to boost public morale in the event that there would be widespread aerial attacks on our major cities. The slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was just one of a series of three posters, and was printed in the millions but apparently never widely displayed during the war. In fact, due to the general resource and particularly the paper shortages during WWII many posters were pulped and recycled. Very few original posters survived.
Fast forward to the year 2000 and in a box of old books brought at auction, the co-owner of a Northumberland second-hand bookshop finds a rare original copy of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster. Stuart Manley, the bookshop’s co-owner, framed the poster and displayed it in his Alnwick shop. Quickly becoming popular with local customers, the bookstore printed reproductions and soon the poster became a national and international phenomenon.
Ever since the reintroduction of the plucky slogan, many parodies ensued, but the stoic British text became a much beloved and iconic motivational expression.
The State of SEO in 2025
And now, with the world of SEO in a spin, I can’t think of a more appropriate mantra.
But what exactly is going on in the SEO sphere?
Well every year for the last 25 years there have been changes in Search Engine Optimisation. Some changes have been so tiny people have not noticed, whilst other developments have caused major upheavals.
Quiet changes have included the Hummingbird algorithm update in 2013 which helped Google understand the meaning and context of search queries. Bigger changes have been the March 2024 core update which, thankfully, suppressed issues like scaled content abuse.
But in early May 2025 Google held its annual I/O conference and introduced a new AI Mode in the USA. On the back of last year’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) which was renamed AI Overviews (AIOs), this is the second year of seismic shifts in SEO.
The important thing is that it affects a holy trinity of humans – the users who conduct the searches, those whose websites appear in search, and the huge SEO community of professionals who earn a living by ensure that these websites are seen by and visited by the searchers.
What Did AIOs Do in 2024?
The introduction of AIOs (Formerly SGE) in 2024 added an, er, AI Overview at the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
We’d already been used to seeing featured snippets, which were helpful summaries for some search queries. Whilst providing a quick answer, these snippets took up valuable screen real estate and pushed the rest of the organic search results down the page. The featured snippet became the “position 0” for many, being above the traditional number 1 position of regular organic listings. Many SEOs scrambled to optimise for featured snippet rankings.
However, displaying an answer rather than providing a link to where you could find the answer, changed behaviour and we ended up with many “zero click searches” – a click to a source site was not necessary, you had the answer directly in the SERPs.
AIOs went a step further. Generative AI started producing more complex answers to queries. As such this took up ever more screen real estate and has allegedly been compounding more zero click searches.
For the searcher, they get answers directly.
The website owners get fewer chances to get clicks.
SEOs needed to think more strategically to earn rank, visibility, and clicks.
And AI Mode in 2025?
Google have gone one step beyond AIOs
AI Overviews appeared for general search results with specific search intent, chiefly informational intent.
Now AI Mode is the first button in the list of search options. Well, it is in the US right nw, but hopefully we’ll see it in the UK around August time if the SGE rollout from last year is any indication.
Where search engines traditionally produced lists of links, then these new mixes of news, images, videos, maps etc. dependent on the type of search, AI Mode is more conversational.
What Google has done is bring Gemini to the fore. Google Gemini, formerly named Bard, was Google’s response to ChatGPT. People were starting to query AI engines for certain requirements over traditional search. So AI Mode is Google’s attempt to bring search up-to-date for answering all types of queries, especially those complex, long-form, nuanced questions that actually involve multimodal searches.
Whereas previously you might search Google for trainers, and trawl through different styles, colours, and brands, now you can ask specific questions like looking for blue trainers that are good quality and are sturdy enough for your preferred application of fell running, for instance.
Apparently what Google does now is a fan-out search where it conducts multiple multimodal searches at once, collating the results to synthesise perfect answers to more human like questions.
You Say More Human-Like Questions?
Yes, the tail’s been wagging the dog for years. We’ve been searching according to how search engines have classically behaved. All you have to do is go through your Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console data, and which queries do you see first?
Brand searches, yes, but they’re two, three, and four-word keywords, right?
That’s not how articulate, intelligent humans ask. Voice search was supposed to be the next big thing a few years back but I don’t believe it ever really took off. My evidence is when I worked for a local digital marketing agency, just a mile from my house as the crow flies. When I set my home up with a couple of Amazon Echo Plus and a few Echo Dots, I asked;
“Alexa, find a digital marketing agency near me, please.”
First, that’s a longer tail query than just “digital marketing agency near me“.
Second, the result was a marketing company 33 miles away! I was not impressed by the inaccuracy of that answer. I checked Alexa’s sources and apparently it used Yelp at the time, and the business I worked for was accurately listed so there was no excuse for the incorrect result.
But I digress…
Questions are partially conversational, they are verbose and “longtail”. Two- to five-word searches are artificially short, and our habitual behaviour in using traditional search engines has abbreviated our questions.
And now we don’t have to!
The Evolution of Search: From Keywords to Conversations
If you’ve ever wondered why your analytics are now filled with longer, more conversational queries, you’re not alone. In 2025, searchers are finally searching the way they speak, typing (or voicing) full questions and expecting nuanced answers, not just a list of links. This shift is a direct result of AI’s growing role in search – Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity, and others have trained users to expect direct, context-aware responses.
The Rise of Zero-Click Searches
What’s changed most dramatically is the rise of “zero-click searches”. In 2025, nearly two-thirds of Google searches end without a click to any website, especially on mobile where the rate is even higher. Featured snippets, AI Overviews, People Also Ask (PAA) boxes, and knowledge panels all provide answers instantly, leaving less room for traditional organic results. For brands and SEOs, this means visibility is no longer just about ranking – it’s about being the answer.
AI Mode: Not Just Another Tab
Google’s new AI Mode is more than a cosmetic update or a response to a trend. It’s a fundamental shift in how search works. It’s also a strategic move to keep Google’s dominance as the world’s number one search engine, in whatever mode keeps it there versus the new competition.
Rather than simply listing “ten blue links”, AI Mode delivers conversational, synthesised answers to complex queries, drawing from multiple sources (Using the “query fan out“ technique) and presenting the information directly in the results. If you’re not cited in these AI-generated overviews, you may find your traffic dropping—some sites have already reported losses of 20–60% as AI Overviews expand. I’ve seen some webmasters this week report even higher traffic drops.
What Does This Mean for SEOs and Content Creators?
1. Intent Over Keywords
The days of poring over exact-match keywords are over. AI-powered search engines now prioritise user intent and context, not just the literal words used. Search has been going in this direction for some time anyway. But now it’s becoming the norm and this means that your website content should answer real questions, solve actual problems, and reflect the way your audience naturally communicates.
2. Optimise for Zero-Click Features
To stay visible, you need to optimise for SERP features, especially those featured snippets that have been around for a few years, People Also Ask (PAA) boxes, and AI-generated summaries. This involves:
- Writing clear, concise answers to common questions.
- Using question-based headers (HTML heading tags, your H2s and H3s).
- Formatting information as lists, tables, or Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
- Implementing structured data (schema) to help search engines understand and display your content.
These are all existing techniques but they need to be more front and centre than ever now. They’re not just nice additional techniques when you find time to execute them, they’re essential everyday actions now.
3. Brand Visibility Matters More Than Ever
Even if users don’t click, being the cited source in a snippet or AI response builds authority and brand recognition. Double down on branded searches and always make sure that your brand is woven into the answers you provide.
4. Embrace Conversational Content
With AI Mode and voice search on the rise, content must now be more conversational than ever and always comprehensive. It‘s now the perfect time to address nuanced, long-tail queries and provide detailed, context-rich answers. FAQ sections and how-to guides are especially effective for marching your content to users‘ queries.
5. Technical SEO Still Counts
Traditional SEO isn’t dead; it’s just evolved. Webmasters, SEOs, and business owners, you need to ensure your pages are indexed, technically sound, and adhere to Google’s best practices. Sites that already rank well organically are apparently more likely to be featured in AI Overviews and AI Mode, when we get it in the UK.
So if you’ve been doing “white hat” SEO for years and staying working Google‘s guide rails, you’ll be in a great position for this new age of AI mode.
Keep Calm and Optimise On
SEO in 2025 is not about panicking over lost clicks or chasing every new trend. It’s about adapting to a world where search is finally more human, more conversational, and more immediate than ever before.
Focus on user intent, create genuinely helpful content, and optimise for the features that matter most today. The fundamentals of clarity, authority, and relevance are more important than ever. And remember your E-E-A-T.
So, keep calm and carry on optimising. The landscape may have changed, but the opportunity to connect with your audience is still very much alive: just in new and evolving ways.
Next Steps
If you need help with your SEO in 2025, give me a call on 01252 692 765 or leave a message via my contact page. Together we can create an SEO strategy that will keep you ahead of the pack.
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