The Growth Engine Startups Can’t Afford to Ignore
Years ago, SEO was a long-term solution that would bring results only after a significant amount of time. However, in 2025, SEO is no longer optional – it’s a company’s primary growth motor that decides the fate of a startup.
BrightEdge reports that 68% of all digital journeys originate from a search engine, and traffic from organic searches is more than ten times that from social media. Hence, for startup leaders and Chief Marketing Officers, there is just one conclusion to draw: not taking into account SEO equates to putting out of sight those customers that are most likely to buy.
Why SEO is More Critical Than Ever in 2025
The digital landscape is shifting fast:
Boosted ads are more expensive CPV (cost-per-view) for competitive niches has gone up by 19% within the last two years.
Data protection laws reduce the efficiency of the target group. Since the use of third-party cookies is being phased out, SEO offers a dependable method to connect with the target audience without intrusive tracking.
People are mistrustful. According to a study by Edelman, 63% of consumers trust the results of a search more than advertisements. Getting on the front page of search engines in an unpaid way is one of the most effective ways to build brand trust, which is also hard to achieve using paid campaigns.
For startups, this is good news. Unlike massive corporations with million-dollar ad budgets, SEO offers a level playing field.
The Three Pillars of SEO Growth in 2025
To cut through the noise, businesses need to focus on three interconnected pillars of SEO:
Localized SEO for Market Expansion
The iGaming playbook shows how fast digital-first industries can scale. Startups can apply these lessons to their own sectors. Thinking IT supports this journey with proven strategies.
Technical Excellence
Mobile-first design, compliance, and gamification are proven adoption drivers. Startups that adopt them see stronger retention and faster growth. These principles apply across all digital industries.
Authority & Backlinks
Innovation keeps iGaming ahead through blockchain, AI, and cloud technology. Startups can gain the same advantage by adopting these tools early. Thinking IT makes this transformation seamless.
Why Startups Should Think Like Teachers
In 2025, SEO that is most successful is educational SEO—content that your audience learns from, practices, and applies.
You shouldn’t promote your product features, but:
Develop “how-to” guides focusing on common problems in your industry.
Establish resource hubs that make your brand an expert source of knowledge in the field.
Release case studies that demonstrate real results, rather than just making claims.
This method not only leads to higher rankings but also deepens customer loyalty, as they have already familiarized themselves with your expertise before contacting the sales team.
Where SEO and Growth Strategies Intersect
Chief Marketing Officers and growth leaders have the mindset that search engine optimization is not merely a marketing tool but a business plan. It:
Generates compounding ROI – a single piece of content published today can attract leads for the next few years.
Enables other channels – good SEO content provokes the delivery of email newsletters, the publication of articles on LinkedIn, and even the preparation of sales presentations.
Attracts targeted leads – in contrast to social impressions, organic visitors are those who have already identified your product/service as the solution to their problem.
Once SEO is combined with a holistic growth plan, it not only lowers CAC but can be counted as a steady source of revenue.
The Future of SEO: AI + Human Expertise
AI technologies are revolutionizing the creation of content, but if only AI is used, the result will be bland, low-quality content. Recent changes in Google’s algorithm prioritize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust).
This implies that new businesses need to use the smartness of AI to save time, and then allocate the saved time to their best human expert to write a unique and trustworthy piece of content.
AI technologies are revolutionizing the creation of content, but if only AI is used, the result will be bland, low-quality content. Recent changes in Google’s algorithm prioritize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust).
This implies that new businesses need to use the smartness of AI to save time, and then allocate the saved time to their best human expert to write a unique and trustworthy piece of content.