Our key takeaways from Brighton SEO 2025

Digital marketers and SEO professionals came together once again for this year’s brightonSEO event, gathering in the city beside the sea to share the latest news and updates from the world of search (as well as an ice cream or two). Our senior social media manager, Emily, explores the key takeaways from this year’s event, focusing on how to plan for an AI-first search world, the role that websites now play and how TikTok is redefining search and shopping. 

There are now more – and arguably easier – ways to shop or book an experience online, with dedicated social media platforms and apps taking away the need for a website to make an action. It can be argued that websites don’t receive as much traffic anymore – they can also be expensive to run and complicated to manage. 

So, what is the point of a website anymore? Experts at brightonSEO claim that they still play a vital role as the anchor in a fragmented search universe and are key to feeding Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT. Remember, you’re still optimising your website content for humans, but looking to rank with machines to boost your brand’s visibility. 

People want first-person storytelling, with content that uses a language native to social media. For example, watching a content creator’s make-up tutorial in which they share an educational story about a niche topic. User-generated content or employee-generated content is a great vehicle for delivering expertise and authority whilst appealing to genuine human curiosity. 

Curiosity is an upward trend in SEO - users are no longer asking one single question when they search, they’re following up with more search questions and diving deeper than ever before. This means that search strategies need to focus on slower searches and consider the multiple questions that your audience might be asking. 

If TikTok shop isn’t already part of your ecommerce brand’s search strategy, it should be. According to key speakers at brightonSEO, ecommerce brands can expect to experience a conversion rate that is five times higher than if they only have one singular conversion platform. 

Audiences are becoming increasingly more likely to use the TikTok platform specifically to shop, with 49% of under-35s believing that it will rival Amazon within the next five years. Whilst TikTok isn’t replacing traditional search, it is redefining what user search intent looks like, providing the ability to discover new products from trusted content creators within the ‘For You’ page. 

With 90% of ecommerce businesses already selling on TikTok shop, will your brand be joining them? 

With the ever-growing presence of AI, search has evolved beyond traditional answer engines, with AI agents now not only responding to queries but also performing tasks. Industry professionals at brightonSEO reinforced the point that blue links are no longer the most important part of a user’s search journey. AI overviews have overtaken the number one spot in Google results and remove the need for further clicks. 

To get ahead with your SEO strategy, you need to plan for an AI-first search journey. Video and audio content will surface more easily in AI overviews, so consider how to optimise these formats as well as your written content. 

The monetisation of platforms such as ChatGPT is also in sight, with speakers at this year’s event anticipating the arrival of sponsored product ads. This will present further opportunities for brands to feature directly where their customers are searching. 

As the digital marketing industry’s favourite buzzword, AI was once again a core focus at brightonSEO - its impact on the future of search simply cannot be ignored. To stay ahead of this paradigm shift, successful SEO strategies need to incorporate a human approach across organic, paid and PPC deliverables. 

If you’re looking for more advice on how to adapt your digital marketing strategies for the future of search, Cartwright is here to help. Contact our digital marketing experts today.