This is your SEO news check. We know there’s a lot of confusion around AI, whether SEO is still worth it, and how to stay competitive with search. We’re gonna share the SEO updates in 2025 that actually matter for small business owners and entrepreneurs. And as usual, we’re skipping the jargon and panic, and keeping it simple.
Key Takeaways:
- Google indexes Instagram posts
- Google core update in June 2025
- AI Overviews aren’t going anywhere
- What is multimodal SEO?
- E-E-A-T is still important
Instagram Is Now Indexed by Google
As of July 10, 2025, public posts from professional Instagram accounts can now be opted in to appear in Google and other search engine results. This means your reels, photos, videos, carousels, and even profiles can show up in Google search!
Here’s how you opt in to having your posts indexed:
- Go to the Instagram app
- Settings
- Privacy
- Search Engine Indexing
- Enable “Allow public photos and videos to appear in search engine results.”
This feature is amazing for small business owners, but it also means that your Instagram posts need to be optimized for SEO. And it’s all about the context of your keyword.
Our motto is to always write for your audience first, algorithm second, regardless of which platform you are on. No keyword stuffing!
Google’s June 2025 Core Update
A core update rolled out from June 30 to July 17, emphasizing high-quality content and penalizing low-value and AI-spammy pages.
This isn’t anything new. As with all core updates, Google’s advice remains consistent: focus on creating high-quality, helpful, and reliable content for people, rather than solely for search engines.
YMYL Content: “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) content, which includes sensitive topics like health, finance, and legal advice, also saw a lot of SEO volatility. Google holds these topics to a higher algorithmic standard, emphasizing the need for high-quality content in these areas.
Maybe you’re thinking, “My traffic dropped after the June update—what should I do first?”
Start with these steps:
- Make sure the drop aligns with the timing of the core algorithm update.
- Review which pages dropped in position in search results.
- Audit your content quality and update based on E-E-A-T (more on that in a minute!)
- Strengthen your internal linking strategy by adding new links to old blogs where relevant.
SEO is still important—it just looks a little different now. Adapt your strategies to the major SEO updates in 2025, especially around AI Overviews and zero-click searches.
AI Overviews are here to stay
And yes, your clicks are decreasing because of it—everyone’s are.
AI Overviews are appearing in a significant percentage of searches (around 15-20% now, potentially growing). They summarize information directly on the SERP, potentially leading to “zero-click” searches, especially for informational queries.
These shouldn’t scare you because:
- Quick answers are where people spend little time on your site anyway.
- Clicks you do get are likely from users who are more engaged, have a stronger intent to learn, buy, or interact, and are therefore more valuable.
Remember: AI Overviews are a feature of search, not a replacement for websites.
Being cited as a source in an AI Overview can provide huge visibility and boost your brand authority, even if it doesn’t always result in a direct click.
You might ask: “How can I make sure my content shows up in AI Overviews?”
- Add FAQs and how-tos to your blogs
- Break up text into short sections
- Have up-to-date information
- Write in natural Q&A format and include short, direct answers
These simple updates can improve your chances of being featured in AI Overviews.
The Rise of Multimodal SEO
Multimodal SEO is the practice of optimizing your online content to be discoverable and understandable across multiple input and output formats.
- Text: Still foundational, but now complemented by other modes.
- Images: Visual search, image recognition, and product discovery.
- Video: YouTube, TikTok, short-form video, and explanatory content.
- Audio: Voice search, podcasts, and audio summaries.
- 3D/AR/VR: Immersive experiences, product visualization, and virtual tours.
With search indexing visuals (Instagram, TikTok, Reels), your brand’s discoverability depends on both site and socials.
This all comes down to…
User Intent Optimization: Understand why someone is searching.
Are they looking to learn, to buy, or to compare? Tailor your content format and depth to that intent.
How do you find this out? You Google it.
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Experience is the new one.
Google wants to see real experience behind the content, and this is especially true for people in the financial world (bookkeepers, accountants, money coaches, etc.) This combats low-quality AI-generated content.
What does this look like in action?
- Experience: Share case studies, testimonials, and personal anecdotes. Feature content written by (and credited to) real people with direct, hands-on experience.
- Expertise: Create in-depth guides, white papers, and resources. Showcase certifications or specific knowledge.
- Authoritativeness: Build quality backlinks, get media mentions, and engage in industry discussions.
- Trustworthiness: Have a secure website (HTTPS), clear privacy policies, easily accessible contact info, customer reviews, and clear author bios.
SEO updates in 2025
There’s your little snapshot of what’s new in the world of SEO. Staying ahead of the latest SEO updates in 2025 is crucial for maintaining strong search rankings.
Did you like this episode? Let us know, and we can do more of these in the future!
FAQs About SEO News
What is the difference between old SEO and new SEO?
Old SEO focused heavily on keywords, while the new SEO model is trending more toward answering long-form questions.
Will SEO become obsolete?
No, it will always be around because SEO is how people find what they need. It might just evolve over time based on user behavior.
What is replacing SEO?
Nothing! Search won’t disappear, and AI definitely isn’t replacing SEO. In fact, AI needs us to create content to show results! It pulls information from the internet for answers—information we write and provide.
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. To learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team, head over to www.duocollective.com.
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