As the digital ecosystem evolves, search engine optimization (SEO) remains a critical tool for news publishers striving to maintain visibility, relevance, and audience engagement. To uncover the strategies, priorities, and challenges shaping News SEO in 2025, we conducted an extensive survey with 100 news publishers and SEO professionals from diverse roles, geographies, and experience levels.

This report provides actionable insights into the key trends driving the future of News SEO. From the rising prominence of Google Discover to addressing the implications of AI-driven search features, the findings equip publishers with data-driven strategies to thrive in a competitive landscape.

In this article, we explore the survey results, identify growth opportunities, and examine how News SEO experts adapt to an ever-changing digital environment. Whether you're a seasoned SEO director or an emerging professional, these insights offer valuable guidance to refine your approach in 2025.

The survey covers the following areas:

1. Survey Demographics: A breakdown of participants by experience, roles, and geographical focus.
2. SEO Team Structures: Insights into team sizes, organizational placement, and the number of brands managed.
3. SEO Practices: Editorial training, Google Discover prioritization, and responses to AI-driven changes.
4. Key Challenges: Resource limitations, AI disruptions, traffic declines, and content protection strategies.
5. Future Outlook: Priorities and strategies for 2025, including Google Discover, tool investment, and diversification.
6. Conclusion: Summary of key findings and actionable recommendations for news publishers.

 

But before we start let's go over the demographics of the participants:

Survey Demographics

Our 2025 survey drew responses from 100 publishers / News SEO professionals, providing a rich and diverse dataset that highlights the broad spectrum of expertise, roles, and geographical focus areas within the industry. Here are the key demographics from the survey:

Years of Experience:
The participants bring a wealth of experience to the table:

• 34% have 1–4 years of experience in News SEO, showcasing an influx of fresh perspectives.
• 29% boast over 10 years of experience, reflecting a strong foundation of industry veterans.
• The remaining 37% fall within the 5–10 years range, representing seasoned professionals actively shaping SEO strategies.

Role Distribution:

Survey participants represented a balanced mix of roles, with a strong emphasis on decision-making and operational expertise:

• 40% identified as Managers, leading operational efforts across teams.
• 31% are Specialists, executing hands-on SEO strategies.
• 18% hold Director-level roles, driving strategic vision.
• The remaining 11% included VPs and C-suite executives, reflecting the growing strategic importance of SEO in news publishing.

Geographical Focus:

The survey underscored the global nature of News SEO, with participants spanning multiple regions:

• Europe led the focus, with 38% of respondents concentrating their efforts in this region.
• North America followed closely at 31%.
• The remaining 31% were distributed across Asia, Latin America, Africa, and multi-regional strategies, emphasizing the international scope of modern News SEO.

In-house vs Agency/Freelancers

A significant 83% of participants work as in-house SEOs, with the remaining 17% relying on agencies or freelancers for SEO expertise. This highlights the importance of dedicated in-house teams in maintaining competitive SEO strategies.

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SEO Team Structures

The survey provided a detailed look at how News SEO teams are structured, shedding light on their size, responsibilities, and placement within organizations.

• Smaller teams dominate the landscape, emphasizing the need for efficient and scalable tools.
• Managing multiple brands and websites requires streamlined strategies and clear prioritization.
• Organizational alignment is diverse, but cross-department collaboration is critical for success.

 

Team Sizes:

The size of SEO teams varied significantly among respondents:

• 44% of teams have 2–5 members, functioning as lean yet specialized units.
• 34% reported having just 1 team member, often handling multiple responsibilities across their organizations.
• 5% reported the lack of any SEO resources
• Only 11% of participants reported having teams with over 10 members, reflecting the resource-intensive nature of managing larger SEO operations.

Brands and Websites Managed:

On average, each team member is responsible for 4.5 brands or websites.

• The number of managed brands varied widely, with a median of 3 brands per team member.
• This highlights the scalability challenges faced by smaller teams managing extensive portfolios.

Organizational Placement:

News SEO teams are integrated across various departments, emphasizing their cross-functional importance:

• 32% are part of Editorial teams, ensuring alignment with content strategies.
• 22% are part of Marketing teams, which is often considered an outsider.
• 14% belong to Audience Development teams, focusing on traffic and growth metrics.
• 19% operate under Product and Engineering teams, reflecting the technical aspect of SEO.
• Only 5% report independent SEO teams that work across multiple disciplines.

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Dedicated Resources

SEO Teams are also diversifying their focus with specialized roles:

• 30% have dedicated Editorial SEO resources.
• 26% have Technical SEOs managing infrastructure and performance.
• 23% employ SEO Analysts to guide data-driven strategies.
• A smaller percentage focus on specialized areas like Google Discover (14%) and Commerce (7%).

 

SEO Focus

 

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SEO and Editorial Practices

The 2025 News SEO Survey highlights the practical strategies used by news publishers to align SEO efforts with editorial priorities. Training, collaboration, and prioritization are key elements shaping successful SEO and editorial partnerships.

• Regular SEO training empowers editorial teams to create content that aligns with search best practices.
• Strong editorial buy-in ensures SEO strategies are effectively integrated into content creation workflows.
• SEO involvement in both day-to-day operations and major events ensures comprehensive optimization efforts.

 

Training Editorial Teams:
Training remains vital for bridging gaps between editorial and SEO teams. According to the survey:

• 55% offer only basic SEO awareness, indicating opportunities for growth in advanced training adoption.
• 27% of respondents provide regular workshops or webinars to their editorial teams, focusing on SEO best practices.
• 14% reported advanced SEO training to the editorial teams.

  

Editorial Buy-In for SEO Recommendations:
The survey reveals the varying levels of alignment between editorial and SEO teams:

• 45% of respondents reported that their editorial teams actively listen to and act on SEO recommendations.
• 52% noted partial buy-in, where editorial teams sometimes consider SEO suggestions.
• Only 3% stated that their editorial teams do not follow SEO advice at all.

SEO Team Involvement in Editorial Processes:

• The majority of SEOs (64%) are actively involved in day-to-day editorial operations, optimizing content as it is created.
• 22% focus their efforts on large-scale events and tentpole content, such as major news events or seasonal trends.

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Traffic & Audience Development

The 2025 News SEO Survey reveals key insights into how news publishers define and measure success in SEO. Traffic growth, audience engagement, and revenue generation are critical metrics that guide strategies.

• Google Discover continues to be a game-changer, with most respondents prioritizing it as a key traffic source.
• Balancing traffic growth and audience monetization is critical for long-term success.
• Adapting to changes in Google Discover visibility requires a mix of technical optimization and engaging content.
• AI-driven search features are a double-edged sword, requiring proactive strategies to adapt and thrive.
• Traffic impacts from AI are varied, highlighting the need for robust monitoring and experimentation.
• Protecting content from unauthorized AI scraping is becoming a priority for many publishers.

 

Measuring Success:

When asked about the primary metrics for measuring SEO success:

• 35% of respondents identified traffic growth from Google as their primary Key Performance Indicator (KPI).
• 31% highlighted overall site traffic, emphasizing the importance of holistic growth across multiple sources.
• Another 31% prioritized revenue and subscriptions as critical success metrics, reflecting the growing focus on monetization and audience loyalty.

Google Discover as a Key Traffic Driver:
A striking 52% of respondents ranked Google Discover as a top priority for 2025. This reflects its potential to drive significant traffic, especially among mobile-first audiences. 

Impact of Google Discover on Traffic:
The survey revealed mixed outcomes regarding Google Discover’s impact on site traffic:

• 56% of respondents reported an increase in traffic from Google Discover over the past three months.
• 21% experienced a negative impact due to changes in visibility.
• 23% noted no significant changes.

Is Google AI Overview a Threat to News Publishers?

The survey revealed mixed perspectives on AI-driven search changes:

• 39% see Google AI as a potential threat to publishers' traffic.
• Many others (43%) are uncertain or not formed an opinion yet regarding Google AI Overview.

Google AI Overview Impact on Traffic

• 47% of respondents reported no noticeable impact from Google AI features on their traffic.
• 32% experienced a negative impact, citing declines in visibility and click-through rates due to AI-driven changes.
• 21% were uncertain about the impact, suggesting a need for better tools to analyze AI-related shifts.

Blocking AI Scrappers Protecting Content from AI Scraping:

With the rise of AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini, safeguarding content is a growing concern:

• 32% of respondents allow AI platforms to scrape their content.
• 29% are selectively blocking certain platforms.
• 11% reported blocking all AI scrapers, reflecting a proactive approach to protecting proprietary content.

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News SEO Key Challenges

The 2025 News SEO Survey highlights the primary obstacles faced by news publishers and SEO professionals. Based on the chart, the following challenges emerged as the most significant:

• Low Budget: 
  • The biggest challenge, reported by 34% of respondents, is a lack of sufficient budget. This constraint impacts the ability of teams to invest in tools, training, and additional resources needed to scale and optimize their SEO efforts.
• Advanced SEO Skills:
  • A significant 24% of respondents cited the need for advanced SEO skills within their teams. This highlights a gap in expertise that could hinder effective implementation of complex strategies and technical optimization.
• Lack of News SEO Tools:
  • 17% of participants pointed to the absence of specialized tools for their teams to use as a key hurdle. The lack of tailored solutions makes it challenging to analyze trends, identify opportunities, and monitor performance at the granular level required for news SEO.
• Shortage of Talent:
  • 13% of respondents mentioned the difficulty in finding skilled professionals to hire and join their teams. This shortage of talent further exacerbates resource constraints and limits the ability to scale SEO operations.
• Google Algorithm Core Updates:
  • 5% of respondents identified Google’s algorithm updates as a challenge. The unpredictability of these updates requires constant adaptation and monitoring to maintain rankings and traffic.
• Organizational/Editorial Buy-In:
  • Only 4% of respondents noted issues with getting organizational or editorial buy-in for SEO strategies. While this is a smaller percentage, it remains a crucial factor in ensuring alignment and collaboration between teams.
• Limited Resources:
  • Another 3% of respondents mentioned limited resources as a challenge, emphasizing the need for efficient workflows and scalable solutions to maximize output.

Budget for SEO Tools:
SEO tools play a critical role in optimizing content, analyzing trends, and staying ahead of the competition. However, as the chart indicates, budget allocations for SEO tools vary widely among news publishers:

• Very Small Budgets (< $1,000/month):
  • The largest segment of respondents, 45%, operate with a very small budget, allocating less than $1,000 per month for SEO tools. This reflects the financial constraints many smaller teams face, limiting their access to advanced tools and data insights.
• Moderate Budgets ($1,000–$2,000/month):
  • 25% of respondents reported an "OK budget," ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per month. This allocation provides room for a mix of essential tools but may still fall short for larger teams or those managing multiple brands.
• No Budget:
  • Surprisingly, 13% of respondents reported having no dedicated budget for SEO tools, relying entirely on free resources or in-house solutions. This can hinder competitiveness, particularly for news publishers aiming for high visibility.
• Higher Budgets ($2,000–$5,000/month):
  • Only 6% of participants have budgets in this range, indicating a limited number of teams with access to advanced, scalable solutions that cater to their needs.
• Premium Budgets (>$5,000/month):
  • A small 3% of respondents allocate over $5,000 monthly for SEO tools, reflecting the investment capacity of larger organizations with significant SEO demands.
• Based on Needs:
  • 2% of respondents indicated their budget is flexible and varies based on specific needs, allowing for tailored investments in tools when required.
• Unknown Budgets:
  • 6% of respondents were unsure of their exact tool budget, suggesting a lack of visibility into resource allocation within their organizations.

 

Future Outlook

Looking ahead to 2025, the survey provides a forward-looking perspective on the priorities and strategies News SEO professionals are adopting to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

• Google Discover remain a top priority across many SEO teams in 2025, requiring technical and creative alignment.
• Investment in tools and technology is essential for staying competitive and scaling effectively.
• Diversifying traffic sources is key to reducing dependence on traditional search.
• AI adaptation will separate leaders from laggards in the evolving SEO landscape.
• Collaboration across departments will continue to drive success.