In digital marketing, 2024 was a year of change, learning and adaptation. AI continued its meteoric rise to the forefront of nearly everything. From phone integrations to search engines and beyond, AI was everywhere last year, and it shows no sign of slowing down in 2025.
Google was in the news several times in 2024—and, in multiple cases, for the wrong reasons. The behemoth tech company lost an antitrust suit and is awaiting a final ruling from the judge. A big chunk of their algorithm was leaked, and—surprise!—we found out that they weren’t entirely truthful when asked direct questions about the algorithm in the past.
There were new email sender regulations, an FTC ruling about fake online reviews and more updates on a potential TikTok ban. Let’s dive into the top stories of 2024.
1. Google Loses Antitrust Case
In August 2024, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over online search, a decision that could completely reshape the search landscape.
Although the judge’s final ruling isn’t expected until the spring of 2025, Google could be forced to sell its popular Chrome browser and/or the Android operating system. It could also be forced to share its vast trove of data with competitors to create a more competitive landscape.
This one’s not over yet, but 2025 will surely see the outcome of this suit begin to take shape—until it’s appealed.
2. Google Algorithm Leaked
In May 2024, the SEO world was rocked by an unprecedented leak of Google’s internal search algorithm documentation. Over 14,000 potential search ranking factors were revealed when documents from Google’s Content Warehouse API were inadvertently made public.
Although these ranking factors didn’t contain any weighting parameters, it provided SEO practitioners with some confirmation that their tactics were correct. It also revealed that Google wasn’t entirely truthful about things they had previously denied, such as the existence of page authority as a ranking factor, user interaction playing a role in rankings, and the use of Chrome user data in the algorithm.
Long story short: It wasn’t Google’s finest moment.
3. ChatGPT Launches Search Product
In October, OpenAI delivered a Halloween treat—the long-awaited launch of its search product. Its AI-powered search engine integrates web search capabilities directly into the ChatGPT interface. For marketers, it doesn’t take a big leap to see how disruptive this could be to the traditional search landscape.
With ChatGPT’s share of the search market estimated to be around 4%, it has already become a force to acknowledge. For more context on what 4% of the search market means, let’s compare Bing and YouTube. Bing possesses less than 2% of the search market, and YouTube—the second-largest search engine—is between 6% and 7%.
Could 2025 be the year we see the first serious threat to Google’s dominance in two decades? We’ll find out.
4. FTC Issues Final Rule on Fake Online Reviews
On August 14, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a final rule to combat fake reviews and testimonials in online advertising. This landmark regulation, which took effect on October 21, 2024, represents a significant step in the FTC’s efforts to protect consumers and promote fair competition in the digital marketplace.
Among the prohibitions in the rule are:
- Writing, selling or buying fake reviews
- Employees posting reviews without disclosure that they work for the business
- Family and friends posting reviews without disclosing their relationship to the business
- Misrepresenting that reviews on a website represent all submitted reviews
With a hefty fine of $56,000 per incident, businesses need to pay close attention to the reviews on their websites or third-party sites and clean up any potential problems.
5. New Email Sender Requirements
Early 2024 spelled significant, behind-the-scenes changes for email campaigns. Email marketers had to dot their i’s and cross their t’s regarding sender security. Google and Yahoo! launched new sending requirements to verify the legitimacy of email senders and help your inbox get less spam. (Win-win!)
The guidelines included setting up SPF or DKIM authentication, keeping spam rates low, and no longer using an @gmail.com or @yahoo.com address as your “From:” sending address. Businesses with larger subscriber lists also had to set up DMARC email authentication for enhanced security.
With the guidelines came a new feature: one-click unsubscribe. As of last winter, you can unsubscribe straight from your Google or Yahoo! inbox without opening an email. For senders, this meant going beyond an unsubscribe link inside emails (which you should still do!) to offer a one-click unsubscribe option, which many email automation platforms did on behalf of their clients.
6. Potential TikTok Ban
In the social media world, TikTok has had us holding our breath to see what will become of the video platform. For several years, TikTok has been seen as a potential security threat to the U.S., though many American creators make their living from the platform.
In 2020, President Donald Trump tried to ban American companies from transacting with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, through an executive order. Last spring, President Joe Biden signed legislation that required ByteDance to sell to a U.S. owner in a year. If it did not sell, it would be banned from the country. Currently, the sale deadline is January 19, 2025.
TikTok and ByteDance have filed challenges against the law, claiming it violates constitutional free speech. The Supreme Court will hear arguments from ByteDance and the U.S. government on January 10, 2025. Soon enough, we’ll know whether or not TikTok will be here to stay.
7. AI-Powered Adobe
AI has found its way into Adobe tools, allowing for quicker edits and nearly endless creative possibilities.
For example, Photoshop introduced the Find and Remove Distractions tool. This tool allows you to remove people or powerlines from the background of your images with one click—no more editing those out for hours.
Adobe Premiere is also testing its Firefly Video Model, which generates AI videos according to your prompts. You can bring AI videos to life via text directions or use its Generative Expand feature to add frames.
What about Illustrator? Once you upload a photo, Illustrator can offer you illustration styles to help you get started and find inspiration.
Adobe plans to continue launching AI-powered features in the future. These features add more capabilities; however, they also contribute to a larger discussion about creator integrity and copyright in the age of AI.
As 2025 begins, we’re excited about what’s next—regardless of the many changes happening across our industry. Digital marketing is ever-evolving. That’s what makes it such a fun job. It’s our role to adapt and learn to serve our clients better.
Want to stay up to date? Follow our blog for future digital marketing updates. If you’re ready to enhance your marketing in 2025, reach out to our team. We’d love to hear about your goals for the year.
Written by Ryan Simmons and Taylor Stanton.
