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February’s breaking news gives a preview of what to expect throughout 2025 – and, spoiler alert: AI is everywhere. In search, AI Overviews are making their mark on SERPs, Google is testing a new “AI Mode” and Google Ads now rates the quality of landing page navigation. Elsewhere, advertisers are spending big on AI ad campaigns and LinkedIn is going all-in on short-form video.
Google ramped up AI Overviews in the second half of 2024, showing them up to 100% more often for some queries. The frequency of AI Overviews is increasing across all industries and keyword types, but the fastest growth is for long-tail queries with 8-10 words. This suggests Google is increasingly confident that AI Overviews can address the needs of more complex queries.
At the same time, AI Overviews are also taking up more pixel height, especially on mobile, and pushing organic results further down the page.
Google is also testing new media types in AI Overviews with some users seeing complete product listings and comparison tables for certain product queries.
Another example of an AI Overview Google's experimenting with functionally taking up the whole SERP for a highly transactional "vs" keyword comparing two kids' bikes models.Notice the flyout menus under each of these different points of comparison with long lists of specs. In… pic.twitter.com/xKcQvtOnPG— Blair MacGregor (@blairmacgregor) February 4, 2025
Another example of an AI Overview Google's experimenting with functionally taking up the whole SERP for a highly transactional "vs" keyword comparing two kids' bikes models.Notice the flyout menus under each of these different points of comparison with long lists of specs. In… pic.twitter.com/xKcQvtOnPG
The impact of AI Overviews on SERPs and organic traffic continues to evolve as Google experiments with the feature. The search giant changes frequency several times throughout 2024, making it difficult to measure the impact on organic traffic. As AI Overviews show for more queries, and Google continues to experiment with media types, analysing the impact on CTRs, traffic volumes, conversions, etc. is key in 2025.
Google is testing a new “AI Mode” in organic search, according to ongoing reports from 9to5Google. Powered by Gemini 2.0, the experimental AI Mode offers a more conversational experience to explore topics with successive prompts and follow-ups.
Apparently, Google is testing the new experience with employees and, based on emails shared with 9to5Google, it’s a very ChatGPT-like implementation in Google Search. When a user clicks on AI Mode, the SERP is replaced with a conversational interface showing an AI-generated response to their query.
Citations appear on the right-hand side and users can ask follow-up questions by typing in the dialogue box at the bottom of the screen or activating voice queries.
A potential AI Mode in Google Search could integrate a closed, ChatGPT-esque experience that provides all the information users need with no organic results showing at all. With AI Overviews showing more frequently, and concerns about zero-click searches growing, marketers need to pay close attention to everything Google is testing right now.
Whatever happens, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has promised that 2025 will be “one of the biggest years for Search innovation yet”.
According to the Q4 2024 Quarterly Trends Report, published by AdTech provider Skai, retail ad spend surged by 23% YoY in the final quarter of 2024.
Retail media was the key driver of growth in 2024, led by a +44% increase in spend on Amazon DSP.
Spend across paid search and social remained stable YoY but dramatic spend increases on Performance Max (+46%) and Advantage+ Shopping (+43%) reveal drastic changes in budget allocation. Across all three channels, advertisers are investing heavily in new AI ad formats from the major providers: Amazon, Google and Meta.
Retailers are dedicating more budget to AI campaign types like Performance Max, especially during busy times of the year. Even for channels where total ad spend is down (paid search), advertisers have increased spend on PMax significantly. Elsewhere, spend on TikTok is also up by +28% as advertisers experiment with new platforms and campaign types.
Google’s ad quality system pays close attention to the relevance of content on your landing page. It doesn’t want you to run ads for one thing and direct users to a page for something else. However, it has updated its system to now analyse both the content and navigation of landing pages.
“We’ve improved our ability to understand and predict if a Search ad leads to an unexpected destination and doesn’t offer other helpful navigation options. As a result, we’re now able to show you fewer ads like this, reducing these types of negative experiences for people searching on Google.” – Search ads and the importance of landing page navigation;
Google wants to address potential scenarios where users click through to a landing page that doesn’t provide what they’re looking for – or easy navigation to what they want. In its announcement, Google suggests the example of a user expected to click through to a login page, but landing on a promotion. In such cases, Google says the quality of experience “depends on how quickly you can find the login page from there”.
Google developing a new model to rate landing page navigation shows the search giant is still addressing issues with relevance and user experience. The new ad quality system is both more capable of rating the relevance of landing page copy and the navigation options users might expect to find.
Video views on LinkedIn increased by 36% in 2024 and video creation grew by 2x the rate of other post formats, according to Director of Product at LinkedIn, Lakshman Somasundaram.
Even LinkedIn isn’t immune to the TikTokification of social media it seems, as the presence of video posts in user feeds continues to grow. In response, LinkedIn is expanding its video offering across the platform. First of all, the video tab and “Videos for you” module already present on the mobile app are making their way to desktop.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn is also rolling out new video tools to help users grow their following, engage audiences and capture leads:
If you’re new to creating video posts for LinkedIn, the network also has a series of short “nano courses” to help you get up to speed.
If short-form video is taking the lead on LinkedIn, then we’re truly in the age of video content. Marketers will have to keep a keen eye on video performance to see who’s watching and how they’re interacting with video posts. Building a following with entertaining videos is one thing; reaching decision-makers and influencing buying choices is something else entirely.
If you’re worried about any of the latest marketing news, we’re always here to help you make sense of new developments and adapt your strategy, if necessary. Call us on 023 9283 0281 or send us your details below to speak to our team.
Dave is head of SEO at Vertical Leap. He joined in 2010 as an SEO specialist and prior to that worked with international companies delivering successful search marketing campaigns. Dave works with many of our largest customers spanning many household names and global brands such as P&O Cruises and Harvester. Outside of work, Dave previously spent many years providing charity work as a Sergeant under the Royal Air Force Reserves in the Air Cadets sharing his passion for aviation with young minds. He can often be found in the skies above the south coast enjoying his private pilot licence.
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Categories: AI, SEO