Edge of Search 2025 happened last month – and I missed it. Well, in person anyway. Thankfully, my ticket gave me the session videos. So yesterday, I sat at my desk for a day of playbacks.
The sum-up: nine industry experts, one guest panel, and a whole lot of juicy SEO, AI and content knowledge.
The big takeaway? Search engine optimisation (SEO) has shifted. AI, Google algorithm updates, and evolving consumer behaviour mean businesses and marketers need to move too.
Gone are the days when sprinkling relevant keywords with high search volume and building quality backlinks would magically land you #1 in search engine results pages (SERPs). The playbook has changed.
There was so much I could talk about, but I’ve honed it down to my top seven SEO strategy takeaways (with a content marketing angle) that can help you stay visible.
1. Build and manage your whole brand
It’s time to stop thinking about SEO as just something for your website.
Yes, your website matters. But SEO thinking needs to happen at a brand level. That means focusing on building – and managing – your name, reputation and wider digital footprint for online visibility.
In practice, this looks like:
- Getting mentions (or citations) in news articles, podcasts, and social media – PR-style
- Ensuring full, complete profiles on directories, industry sites, and Google Business
- Encouraging customer reviews and testimonials
- Writing guest posts and thought leadership pieces
- Being active on Reddit and other relevant platforms
When your brand appears in credible sources, is talked about positively online, and maintains consistent messaging, it sends strong trust and authority signals. That’s what boosts your visibility in search and strengthens your overall reputation – both with the search engine gods and your audience.
2. Create unique content for information gain
With sloppy, generic AI content everywhere right now, creating fresh, unique content is the best way to catch a bot’s attention and build your authority. There’s a term for this: information gain.
Put simply, information gain means how much new and valuable information your content adds to what already exists online.
If your content simply repeats what everyone else says, there’s little information gain. But if it adds fresh insights, data, examples or perspectives, Google sees it as more valuable.
How do you create content with real information gain? Here are a few ideas:
- Interview experts in your business or industry
- Talk to customers and clients for real-world insights
- Conduct your own research – surveys, interviews or data analysis
- Build a new tool or resource on your website
- Put your own spin on existing research or ideas – a little controversy is fine!
The key is quality over quantity. Yes, this type of content takes more time, creativity, and investment. But it’s a brand play that pays off. Aim for 10%-40% unique content in each piece.
See also: Why you (still) need a copywriter in 2025
3. Build topical authority around content clusters
If you want Google to see you as an expert, you can’t just write one great blog on a topic and call it a day. You need a pattern of content that connects around a shared theme – aka a content cluster.
Think of it like this: your main page is the ‘hub’ (the core topic), and your supporting articles are the ‘spokes’ (subtopics that link back to it). Together, they signal depth and authority.
For example, instead of a single post on stress management, your cluster could include:
- Mindfulness techniques for busy professionals
- How sleep affects stress and wellbeing
- The role of nutrition in mental health
- Simple daily exercises to reduce tension
Each piece reinforces the others and helps Google understand that you’re not just touching on the topic – you own it.
When you do this at scale, you’re building topical relevance in search engines and building trust with readers who see you as the go-to voice in that space.
4. Easy to read and crawl bite-sized content
We can read between the lines, pick up sarcasm and understand subtle meaning— algorithms can’t. They don’t interpret nuance; they only process patterns and signals. That’s why structure is everything.
Because of this, your content needs:
- Headings and signposts to guide the reader (and the bot)
- Answers up front, not buried halfway down a paragraph. This is especially important with the introduction of AI overviews, which love to pull this out
- Clear, bite-sized paragraphs – SERPs often reference individual sections, so clarity is key
Eliminate ambiguity wherever possible. Use schema markup, FAQs, and step-by-step instructions. Make it explicit. Spoon-feed the algorithms with clear signals so your content is not just readable by humans, but LLM- and search-engine-friendly, too.
The result is better rankings, easier discoverability and content that works for both people and machines
See also: SEO copywriting services: what the heck are they?
5. Diversify channels and repurpose high-quality content
PEOPLE DON’T JUST SEARCH ON GOOGLE!
Yes, I shouted, but it’s an important point. Writing unique SEO blogs and articles for your website is just one piece of the puzzle. To really get seen, you need to think multi-platform and multi-format, repurposing your content to reach more people without creating everything from scratch.
Here’s how it works:
- Website/blog: Your hub for long-form content, guides and in-depth resources.
- YouTube: Turn tutorials, interviews or webinars into video content. Both long-form and short-form snippets work.
- Social media: Share bite-sized tips, carousels, Reels, TikToks, LinkedIn posts, or infographics. Repurpose blog insights into engaging visuals or quick advice.
- Podcasts/audio: Record conversations, panels or expert interviews. Later, pull quotes or highlights for social posts or blog excerpts.
- Email newsletters: Highlight key points from your blog, video or podcast to drive traffic back to your main content.
- Visuals + graphics: Turn stats, tips, or key quotes into infographics, shareable images, or short video clips.
One core piece of content can live in many forms across many channels. Create once, repurpose often, and meet your audience wherever they consume content.
The payoff is that you expand reach, build authority, and make your content work harder – without reinventing the wheel each time.
6. Think SXO instead of just SEO
A website isn’t just about search engine rankings – great SEO is only one element. To create a seamless, memorable experience, multiple elements need to come together. Your website needs to be:
- Discoverable: People need to find your signage, location and visibility matter.
- Enjoyable: Once they arrive, the experience has to be smooth and satisfying. Navigation, speed, readability, and design all contribute to this.
- Enticing: You want them to stay, explore and come back. Compelling content, calls-to-action, and a clear value proposition make your site irresistible.
This is where SXO – search experience optimisation – comes in. It’s about synergy: combining SEO with usability, design, and content to create a website people (your target audience!) love to visit.
Alone, SEO drives traffic; together with discoverability, enjoyment, and enticement, it drives engagement, loyalty, and results.
7. Don’t think immediate metrics – look longer term
Traditional metrics like sessions and impressions in Google Analytics are becoming less relevant. Sure, they show activity – but they don’t capture brand value. If you want to be a better marketer, you need to focus on brand salience.
The reality is that people encounter your brand across multiple touchpoints. That conversation, that moment of influence, could turn into action two years down the track. Marketing isn’t just a performance channel anymore. It’s about building lasting brand awareness and trust.
You won’t see immediate clicks or a perfect funnel. The impact shows up over time, in revenue, recognition and loyalty. So listen to your marketers: measure what actually matters, not just what’s easy to count.
SEO strategy 2025 wrap-up
So, to sum up what Edge of Search 2025 made clear:
Search engines like Google are smarter, users are savvier, and your SEO content strategy needs to keep up. From building brand trust and topical authority to improving user experience (SXO) and repurposing content across channels, your SEO efforts should focus on long-term visibility – not quick wins.
If you want to drive organic traffic and keep showing up in Google search results, think beyond optimisation. It’s not goodbye to keyword research and technical SEO, it’s a mindshift to connection, credibility and consistency – that’s where the real magic (and modern SEO) lives.
A big thanks to the host – Firewire – and all the speakers at the event!
Want to create some standout SEO content with information gain – let’s chat!