Looking Back on Our 2024 Search Predictions

Looking back on 2024’s search trends: Were our SEO predictions spot-on, or did surprises like ChatGPT’s switch to real-time web access change the game?

When we read Search Engine Journal’s “SEO Trends 2024” ebook and made our own predictions for the upcoming year, the internet was a different place. AI Overviews were still called Search Generative Experience. There was no Google leak. The March and August algorithm updates had yet to happen.

With so many changes to search and user behavior within it, we thought we’d wrap up the year by reviewing our 2024 search predictions to see if they became reality. 

1. Your Whole Website Must Be Useful = TRUE

We entered 2024 believing Google would take a more holistic approach to website quality. Instead of banking on a few high-quality pages to carry your site, we predicted your whole website (or at least most of it) would need to be useful. 

Throughout the year, we saw several instances where this holistic approach to website quality proved its worth. For example, a client had a solid site, but their location pages lacked content. Once they added quality content to these pages, we saw an increase in clicks and impressions across their entire site, not just the location pages.

2. Intent Will Be More Important Than Ever = TRUE

Creating content that matches user intent has always mattered, but we expected it to become even more of a ranking and performance force in 2024 — and it was. Whether it’s a landing page, blog, location page, or other piece of content, it needs to satisfy the searcher’s need for information. Even better if you can anticipate any follow-up questions the reader may have. 

3. You Will Lose Clicks on Searches with Information Intent = TRUE

Going into 2024, we had a feeling that traditional SEO strategies would no longer cut it. Instead, we believed the focus should be on making websites useful. With this tactic, we understood there’d be a decrease in clicks for queries where the user never intended to click anything. 

Throughout the year, clicks decreased for some informational keywords, especially those with quick answers. Think of a query like, “What is the capital of France?” Google gives you the answer directly on the SERP in a knowledge panel. A user completing this search likely just wants that one-word answer, and they have no intent of clicking through to any of the website results. While this is an extreme example, we saw fewer clicks for those queries with quick, no-click-needed answers. 

However, AI did not kill informational searches. We’ve seen recent increases for an array of informational-intent keywords in Semrush for many of our clients. AI may, in fact, be helping people click more for informational clicks by citing sources to the sites. These informational search queries usually require a more in-depth answer than can be provided in a knowledge panel or a featured snippet. 

4. You Will Have Fewer Clicks, Less Data, and a Harder Story to Tell = FALSE

As generative AI became more popular toward the end of 2023, we entered 2024 with the understanding that it would impact website traffic, we’d lack access to any data regarding how our sites performed on AI platforms, and we wouldn’t have a story to tell. 

This is one prediction we’re happy to say didn’t fully come true. Yes, we might have experienced click decreases, but the data and story are there. As the year progressed, we learned how to acquire data on AI results, like using Semrush’s AI Overviews tracking feature and tracking AI chatbot traffic in GA4. The story is not more challenging to TELL; it’s just a bit more difficult to FIND. There’s no less data, but one more data point that might require some investigation. 

5. ChatGPT Can’t Analyze the SERPS in Real-Time and Only Serves As a Jumping-Off Point = FALSE

At the beginning of 2024, ChatGPT could not access real-time data. We were looking for ways AI could be leveraged while crafting SEO content strategies and figured it could be a good jumping-off point for keyword research. You could use the prompt, “Create a list of X keywords that target users searching for [search intent],” to help generate ideas you could validate in Semrush.

A lot has changed since then. ChatGPT now has the capability to search the internet and analyze SERPs — in real time. At this point, it could be an invaluable tool while creating a strategy. It can check out live search results, help with keyword research, provide competitive analyses, create a link-building initiative, and more. Whatever you need to be more efficient and strategic, it has the potential to help. This evolution of AI presents exciting opportunities for the future of SEO. 

6. Understanding the User’s Journey Will Be More Important Than Ever = FALSE

With gen AI changing how users behave online, it was believed that understanding the user’s journey would be a must. In other words, we thought we’d need to connect every single dot to stay relevant in SEO. 

While the user’s journey is a fantastic marketing tactic, it does not make or break your SEO strategy. There are so many other important factors — like publishing useful content across your whole site — to focus on when you want to rank in search. 

7. Valid Schema Will Be Pivotal for Site Ranking = TRUE

We predicted Schema would become pivotal as search continued to trend from lexical (matching keywords) to semantic (matching meaning), and pages with valid, rich Schema would see an uptick in CTR. 

Schema helps Google understand what your content is actually about, which helps it determine which searches it’s relevant to. AI Overviews have gotten robust in the type of content they show and how they display it, and the less Google has to guess, the better. So, we had the goal of taking Schema seriously and serving content with as much additional information as possible. It paid off. Websites with valid schema have provided better results in AI overviews. 

Preparing for 2025 and All It May Bring

If there’s one thing 2024 taught us, it’s that the world moves fast and the search landscape is growing right alongside it. We may not know what the next year, month, or week might hold — which is why we remain dedicated to staying on top of the latest industry news and trends. Our continued learning as a team keeps us ready to adapt when a curveball is thrown our way (like a huge search algorithm update or ranking factor leak). 

The year 2024 was full of surprises, and we took them all in stride. We’re excited to see what new challenges 2025 may bring.