What will be the SEO trends for 2025 for publishers and media? The journalism industry is undergoing an accelerated transformation in 2025, where every detail matters to gain presence on Google News and Discover.
With the incorporation of artificial intelligence, the expansion of new distribution channels, and the rise of segmented audiences, editorial SEO has become a strategic pillar for ensuring the success of media outlets. This scenario requires journalists, editors, and marketing teams to have a deep understanding of the latest SEO trends and a constant collaborative approach to creating high-value content capable of achieving stable positioning in an ever-evolving digital environment.
The recent SEO News 2025 survey conducted by Newzdash provides several insights on how the sector’s main players are addressing challenges such as technical optimization, editorial relevance, and diversified strategies that transcend traditional channels.
Based on a review of the survey results, we share a detailed analysis of the experience of the interviewed publishers.
Google Discover: The key to traffic growth
The vast majority of respondents agreed that Google News and Google Discover have become highly relevant traffic sources for media. The survey reveals that approximately 52% of participants consider Google Discover a key driver of their organic growth. This is reflected both in the optimization of specific content to appear on Discover and in concerns about understanding visibility fluctuations caused by Google algorithm updates prioritizing certain topics or formats.
The value of Google News lies not only in directing readers to the latest stories but also in granting credibility and prestige to media outlets that achieve positioning in the current affairs section.
Those who develop strong editorial SEO strategies — working closely with their editorial teams — are more likely to gain presence and relevance among audiences seeking verified, real-time information.
Additionally, Google News and Google Discover effectively combine user interests with content quality, positioning these channels as essential pillars within the SEO trends of the industry.
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How are editorial SEO teams structured?
The survey shows that the vast majority of professionals working on news SEO, about 83%, operate internally within newsrooms and product departments, while the remaining 17% belong to agencies or work as freelancers. This data reinforces the idea that proximity to the editorial team fosters much more agile and personalized strategies.
Team sizes vary considerably:
- 44% have two to five members,
- 34% rely on just one specialist handling all SEO-related tasks,
- 11% have teams with more than ten members,
- 5% reported having no formal SEO resources, with the rest in intermediate situations.
This disparity is directly linked to the number of brands or websites to manage, as, on average, each SEO team member handles approximately 4.5 News properties.
The hierarchical placement of these groups varies: some report to editorial departments, others are part of marketing or audience and product development divisions.
- Approximately 32% belong to the editorial team,
- 22% are part of marketing,
- 14% focus on audience development,
- 19% integrate with product and engineering teams, and
- 5% operate as an independent group covering various functions.
These configurations highlight that editorial SEO is no longer seen as an isolated task but as a cross-functional effort where collaboration with editors, writers, and programmers is essential.
What are the key SEO trends for 2025 according to the Newzdash survey?
The results show that SEO teams focus on continuously training their journalists and editors to ensure that content adheres to best practices for positioning on Google News and general organic searches. However, there is still room for improvement.
55% state that newsrooms receive only basic SEO knowledge, while 27% conduct workshops or regular seminars that delve into more advanced strategies, and only 14% provide advanced-level training to their editorial teams.
To align newsroom efforts with organic positioning, internal communication is being reinforced. Around 45% of participants indicate that their editors and reporters respond positively and follow SEO recommendations. About 52% do so partially, depending on the content type and its urgency. Only 3% claim they lack any editorial support for optimization strategies.
Artificial Intelligence in editorial SEO
The rise of artificial intelligence has presented editors with scenarios as challenging as they are full of opportunities.
39% of respondents identify Google’s AI technology as a potential threat to News traffic.
Google features that synthesize or generate instant responses could reduce clicks on editors’ articles if key information is presented directly on the search results page. Meanwhile, 43% still lack a defined stance on this issue, evidencing the complexity of the topic and the rapid pace of AI evolution.
In terms of practical impacts, 32% experienced traffic losses associated with increased AI blocks in search results, while 47% claim to have observed no significant changes in their metrics. This underscores the need for SEO and marketing trends teams to continuously monitor the evolution of these technologies, adapting their tactics to enhance content visibility and devise new ways to retain and engage users.
Another debate concerns how media should protect their content from AI models. 32% of respondents allow their articles to be used as training sources for such systems, 29% implement partial blocks, and 11% prohibit access altogether to safeguard their intellectual property.
It becomes evident that the industry is still searching for a balance between the visibility AI provides and the protection of rights over original content.
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SEO News and Discover: What are the main obstacles?
- 34% of respondents mention the lack of resources as the main challenge, preventing investment in advanced tools, specialized training, or additional staff hiring.
- 24% highlight the need for more sophisticated SEO skills, particularly at a technical and strategic level.
- 17% face the lack of tools specifically designed for News, making it difficult to track and analyze data adapted to the fast-paced nature of current events.
- The shortage of talent in editorial SEO affects 13% of survey participants, which becomes more critical as the demand for versatile professionals with knowledge of SEO trends grows in the market.
- 5% point to constant changes in Google algorithms as a source of uncertainty, requiring immediate adjustments to avoid sudden traffic drops.
- The lack of organizational and editorial support, although minor at 4%, remains a serious impediment when the importance of content optimization is not understood.
- Finally, 3% are constrained by limited overall resources, which ties into budgetary issues and necessitates the implementation of highly efficient strategies.
Tools and marketing trends: The difference
The survey reveals that approximately 45% of participants operate with a monthly budget of less than $1,000 allocated to SEO, forcing them to be very selective in acquiring tracking, analytics, and optimization services. 25% have funds classified as “acceptable,” between $1,000 and $2,000, while only 6% can invest between $2,000 and $5,000.
The highest budgets, above $5,000 per month, apply to only 3% of respondents, generally in large corporations managing multiple media outlets and editions.
For those with limited budgets, the strategy involves prioritizing areas where ROI is most evident, such as improving loading speed and implementing keyword analysis focused on Google News.
The goal is to optimize each piece of content with a focus on SEO trends and real-time searches. In other words, marketing trends shift from being a mere concept to becoming the backbone of growth strategies, aimed at increasing traffic and retaining the most loyal readers seeking quality information.
SEO Trends 2025 in News and Discover
The majority of professionals surveyed agree that 2025 will be a year marked by the consolidation of Google Discover as a strategic traffic channel and the need to go beyond classic on-page optimizations.
Furthermore, the adoption of artificial intelligence solutions will continue to rise, driving experimentation and the reinvention of editorial SEO strategies.
On the horizon, efforts to diversify traffic sources are anticipated, not just relying on Google but also exploring partnerships with emerging social networks and News aggregator platforms. Additionally, digital subscriptions and memberships are gaining prominence as a way to balance the pursuit of massive visits with the need for sustainable monetization. This diversification will allow media outlets to cushion potential declines caused by drastic changes in Google’s algorithm or eventual transformations in Discover.
Specialists emphasize the importance of fostering a spirit of continuous experimentation. The emergence of new search functionalities and the consolidation of AI demand a methodical monitoring process to identify opportunities to optimize content and stand out on search result pages. This includes, for example, adjusting the structure of articles, intelligently using structured data, and exploring innovative formats such as visual narratives or well-optimized short videos. The ultimate goal remains the same: capturing the attention of an audience increasingly conducting searches through mobile devices, aggregation apps, and voice assistants.
