Most businesses are still chasing backlinks and stuffing keywords into outdated templates. But in 2025, SEO isn’t just about ranking for a phrase, it’s about dominating your market in the eyes of both Google and your audience.
That’s why we asked marketing and SEO experts:
“What’s one SEO tactic that’s still surprisingly underrated in 2025?”
Their responses point to one clear trend, the future of SEO belongs to brands that think beyond keywords and start building real authority.
“Google loves it when your brand dominates the market.”
“As someone that ranks local service companies on Google Maps every week, the most underrated SEO tactic in 2025 is PR and brand building. Google loves it when your brand dominates the market.”
— Spencer Hart, CEO of Genius Marketing
While a lot of marketers still obsess over step-by-step optimization tactics, Hart says what actually moves the needle now is brand presence. Not just clicks, but mentions, visibility, engagement, press, consistent messaging, and third-party authority. In other words, the things that position your business as a leader, not a search result.
Google’s AI is getting smarter about detecting who’s trusted and known in a market, and the businesses that invest in brand building early are the ones that show up everywhere, from Maps to AI Overviews to organic.
Why This Strategy Gets Ignored
Traditionally, SEO has been taught like a checklist:
- Meta tags
- H1 structure
- Backlink outreach
- Keyword density
All still matter, but they’re no longer complete on their own. You can optimize your website all day, but if nobody else online talks about your brand, Google sees that as a credibility gap.
That’s where press, brand content, and authority stacking enter the picture. The more you’re recognized, the more you’re ranked.
“Cover subjects from many different sides of the coin.”
“I believe the biggest missed opportunity is building topical authority with semantic clusters of content. Most agencies and teams are still working with individual keyword optimization methods from 2018. Google’s AI has become much better at reading the content for depth, not just keyword density.”
— Aaron Franklin, Head of Growth at Ylopo
Franklin says Google now rewards brands that create layered, interlinked content ecosystems, not just surface-level blog posts. One “pillar page” connected to several subtopics wins faster and more sustainably than dozens of standalone posts.
“I’ve seen real estate teams create content clusters on topics such as ‘first-time buyer financing’ and dominate the search results for those terms within weeks.”
“User-focused SEO is the future of search.”
“One tactic brands still don’t leverage enough is investing in content that answers every stage of the buyer journey, not just bottom-of-funnel keywords.”
— Andreea Zorz, Head of SEO at DistantJob
Zorz says Google rewards brands that help people think, not just purchase. Whether it’s in-depth explainers, comparison guides, or personal stories from the field, content that engages and educates fuels both ranking and conversions.
How To Start Building SEO Authority in 2025
- Get featured, get cited, get shared. PR creates powerful ranking signals beyond backlinks.
- Create content clusters, not content islands. Connect pages together to show depth.
- Make Google Maps a priority. Local SEO is still the fastest path to revenue for service brands.
- Invest in your brand everywhere. Website consistency, GBP updates, press releases, webinars, LinkedIn, it all matters.
- Talk like a leader, not a marketer. Clear expertise beats keyword recycling every time.
Key Takeaways
- Authority and brand-building are now as important as classic SEO.
- Topical depth > keyword density.
- Google rewards brands, not just pages.
- Local presence remains a major competitive edge.
- The AI era favors companies with recognizable names and credible signals.
About the Author
Spencer Hart is the CEO of Genius Marketing, a digital agency that helps service businesses dominate Google Maps and search rankings across the country. Spencer specializes in local SEO, Google Business Profile optimization, and PR-driven brand authority.
Learn more at GeniusMarketingCo.com
