Search Everywhere Optimization: The New SEO

The search landscape is fracturing. 

Google is no longer always the first place people go for answers. They’re increasingly turning to social media, YouTube, Amazon, and ChatGPT. These platforms have become search engines themselves.

SEO needs to evolve as a result. Search “engine” optimization alone isn’t enough anymore. Brands need to optimize their organic presence across every platform.

You need a new type of SEO: search everywhere optimization.

In this article, I’ll tell you all about search everywhere optimization, including why it’s so important, where to focus your efforts, and how to optimize your presence across the most important channels. 

Ready to go all in on the new SEO? Let’s begin. 

Key Takeaways

• Search everywhere optimization is the new SEO. It optimizes your brand’s organic presence on every platform your customers use. 
• The modern search landscape is fractured. Consumers find answers on sites like YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and ChatGPT—as well as on Google and Bing.
• Optimizing for search everywhere can boost brand awareness, drive more traffic to your site, and generate more revenue.
• We sort platforms into five categories: traditional search, social search, artificial intelligence (AI) search, shopping platforms, and underdog platforms (like podcasts).
• Some search everywhere optimization strategies are platform-specific optimizations, like adding relevant keywords to your bio. Others work across platforms, like increasing experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) signals.
• If you have limited resources, focus your efforts on the platforms your customers use most often. 

Table of Contents

• Key Takeaways
• What Search Everywhere Optimization Is and Why You Need It Now
• Where to Focus Your Search Everywhere Optimization
  • Traditional Search
    • Google and Bing
    • YouTube
  • Social Search
    • Instagram and Facebook
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest
  • AI Search
  • Underdog Channels
    • Branded Podcasts
    • Voice Search
    • Forums
  • Shopping Platforms
    • Amazon
    • App Stores
• How to Implement Your Search Everywhere Optimization Strategy
• How to Handle Search Everywhere Optimization Challenges
  • Limited Resources
  • Changing Algorithms
  • Balancing Platform-Specific Content with Brand Consistency
  • Avoiding Organizational Silos
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What Search Everywhere Optimization Is and Why You Need It Now

Search everywhere optimization, a strategy my team and I are pioneering at NP Digital, is the new SEO. It takes advantage of the fractured nature of the search, optimizing organic presence for as many different platforms as possible.  

Since people are now using several channels to find answers organically, we want them to find our clients, well, everywhere. 

An expansive search footprint brings:

• Increased reach and awareness. Different audiences use different platforms. Search everywhere optimization helps brands reach users on the platforms they’re most active.
• Higher engagement. Each platform offers unique engagement options (e.g., likes, comments, shares) that can deepen customer relationships and build loyalty.
• Improved conversions. Consistent brand visibility across platforms builds trust and influences conversions.
• Resilience to algorithm changes. A multichannel strategy reduces the impact of changes to any single platform’s algorithm.
• Increased SEO real estate. Search engines like Google rank podcasts, videos, and social media posts, which means you can increase your search real estate by creating them. 

Search everywhere optimization doesn’t require a radically different approach. It just takes a little more effort to reach users on more channels. 

Where to Focus Your Search Everywhere Optimization

You know the what and why of search everywhere optimization. Now, let’s look at the where. 

Below, I’ll run through the top channels to optimize, split into the following categories: traditional search, social media, artificial intelligence (AI), shopping, and underdog channels. 

Traditional Search

Don’t forget about traditional search engines when implementing a search everywhere optimization strategy. Google remains the global search champion, referring almost two-thirds of all web traffic (SparkToro).  

That means you’ll still need to do traditional SEO on the following platforms:

Google and Bing

Google is the overwhelmingly dominant player among search engines, with a 91 percent market share. But don’t overlook second-place Bing. It may only have a 3.4 percent share, but it can still send you a surprising amount of traffic. 

Improve your visibility by implementing the time-tested tactics I cover regularly in this blog, such as:

• Creating high-quality backlinks
• Cleaning up your technical SEO
• Creating great content

And don’t forget about new search engine results page (SERP) features like AI overviews, which often highlight concise, authoritative answers to common questions. 

How can you up your odds of being featured in these prominent positions? By incorporating expert quotes and authoritative insights into your content. The more you can demonstrate E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness), the better.

YouTube

YouTube is the second most popular search engine and an essential target if you create video content. 

Improve your YouTube SEO using keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and transcripts. Fulfill search intent by identifying content gaps for videos that answer specific queries. 

Use search listening platforms like AnswerThePublic to research the questions consumers have about your topic. 

Social Search

Social media platforms are the most common places consumers turn to after search engines. 

The average social media user visits nearly seven different platforms each month. According to Google research, almost 40 percent of young people turn to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to find answers. 

To optimize for social media, also known as social SEO, use the following tactics across all your profiles:

• Use logical handles and profile names.
• Fill out your profile in full.
• Optimize bios and posts using keywords.
• Add high-quality visuals at every opportunity.
• Create trend-related content.

You’ll also need specific tactics to optimize for the following channels. 

Instagram and Facebook

These Meta-owned platforms are essential for brand discovery and user engagement. They are attracting younger audiences, too. According to the latest figures, Facebook now counts 40 million young Americans and Canadians as daily active users—an uptick from recent years. 

Optimize your Facebook and Instagram SEO by:

• Using keywords, hashtags, and location tags to improve visibility.
• Collaborating with influencers and using targeted content planning to expand reach and increase engagement
• Acquiring a branded profile

Source: Instagram

TikTok

Known for its viral trends and quick-hit content, TikTok has become an incredible discovery engine. Users flood Google with search phrases coined in the app and use TikTok Shop to buy the products they see.

Source: TikTok

Improve your TikTok SEO by leveraging trending hashtags when creating videos. Partnering with influencers is a great way to increase brand exposure—just make sure influencers align with your brand goals. 

Pinterest

Pinterest is an incredibly powerful visual search engine ideal for lifestyle, fashion, and retail brands.

Increase the visibility of your images using the following Pinterest SEO tactics:

• Use keywords in pin titles, descriptions, and board names.
• Focus on high-resolution images and video pins.
• Don’t forget about alt text.
• Create an in-depth and compelling bio using keywords.
• Be consistent with pinning.

Source: Pinterest

AI Search

People are turning to AI chatbots (like ChatGPT and SearchGPT) to find detailed answers to a range of questions. 

These platforms won’t always send traffic your way (though their ability to provide external sources that corroborate their outputs is improving by the day), but they are fantastic at raising brand awareness. 

Source: ChatGPT

GEO (generative engine optimization), or large language model (LLM) optimization, focuses on increasing the chances chatbot platforms mention your brand. 

It boils down to making your brand a go-to source for these AI chatbots. When these powerful tools need information in your industry, you want them to confidently recommend your brand to users. 

So, how do you do this?

Start by building your brand’s reputation through high-quality content, expert contributions, and a strong online presence. So, focus on increasing E-E-A-T signals as much as possible. 

Spend time creating in-depth, structured content with natural language keywords. Make sure every article you write has an FAQ section where you answer your audience’s most common questions. 

Finally, optimize your technical SEO. Use schema markup and structured content to make your site more interpretable by LLMs. Ensure Google indexes your content and there are no crawling issues.  

Underdog Channels

Branded Podcasts

Podcasts are an undersaturated market compared with blogs, making it much easier to stand out. Increase the chances of listeners finding your podcast using podcast SEO.

How? By implementing the following strategies:

• Create exceptional content.
• Focus on answering common questions in podcast titles and descriptions.
• Engage with your audience. Respond to feedback and build a loyal community.
• Implement digital public relations (DPR) to increase authority and drive engagement.

Voice Search

With voice search on the rise, optimizing for natural language queries is crucial. The trick to voice search SEO is to think about how people ask questions and digest answers. 

Use these tactics to optimize for voice search go-to’s like Siri and Alexa:

• Use long-tail keywords and answer questions.
• Use natural language throughout your content.
• Mark up your content with structured data.
• Increase your site’s authoritativeness.

Forums

Consumers value the opinions of other people. That makes forums like Reddit and Quora popular places to find information on the hottest dining spots and latest products. 

In fact, according to Google data analyzed by Reddit, more than 100 people add “reddit” to Google searches every second. 

Brands must play a genuine and active role on these platforms to increase visibility. Achieve this by:

• Creating clearly branded accounts
• Giving honest answers, opinions, and support
• Discovering and leveraging relevant subreddits
• Creating content on current affairs and the latest trends

Shopping Platforms

While Google Shopping is a powerful tool, it’s far from the only way consumers find products. Online stores are search engines in their own right, and you’ll want to optimize accordingly if you sell physical products. 

Start, though, by optimizing your Google presence using e-commerce and product schema to highlight your products, shipping policies, and reviews to the search giant. 

Then, optimize your presence on these platforms. 

Amazon

Amazon is a major search engine for product discovery, especially in e-commerce. Getting your listing to the top of search results can pay off big time. Here’s how to optimize for the platform:

• Use detailed, keyword-rich product titles and descriptions.
• Get as many five-star reviews as possible.
• Invest in A+ content and enhanced visuals to boost conversions and visibility.

Source: Amazon

App Stores

If people want an app for their phone, they’ll turn to the App Store or Google Play before Google Search. Use the following app store optimization (ASO) techniques to increase your app’s visibility:

• Add keyword-rich titles and descriptions to your listing. Update it regularly. 
• Add high-quality screenshots and other visuals.
• List update notes clearly. Respond to user feedback.
• Monitor reviews and ratings for credibility and visibility in app store search results. 

How to Implement Your Search Everywhere Optimization Strategy

Ready to get started with search everywhere optimization? Here are the steps to take to implement your first campaign:

• Identify audience search behavior. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics alongside customer surveys to find out where they spend their time online. Don’t just ask which platforms they use. Learn which podcasts they listen to, where they shop, and whom they follow.

• Customize content for each platform. Your content will resonate more if you tailor it to the platform. Research platform-specific features and best practices to learn what works and what doesn’t. 

• Use analytics for performance. Optimize your strategy using platform-specific analytics (like TikTok Insights) to evaluate what’s working and adjust as needed.

• Optimize for local and voice search. If you run a local business, ensure accurate information on Google Maps and Yelp. You should also optimize FAQ-style content for voice queries.

• Maintain consistent branding. Whichever channels you optimize for, make sure you maintain consistent branding. That means using the same handle and profile name (where possible), brand visuals, messaging, and tone of voice.

Don’t be overwhelmed if this feels like a lot of work. It may seem like I’m asking you to quintuple your workload, but many tactics you use will apply to multiple platforms. 

How to Handle Search Everywhere Optimization Challenges

If search everywhere optimization were easy, everyone would be doing it. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but there are some challenges you’ll need to overcome. 

Our experience tells us these are the most common:

Limited Resources

Let’s be real. Many marketing departments don’t have the budget to suddenly invest in optimizing organic presence on six or more platforms. 

So, how do you know where to focus your efforts if you literally can’t optimize your brand everywhere?

Use your limited resources efficiently by focusing on the platforms your audience uses most often. Check your analytics to see where website visitors are already coming from, and then double down on these platforms by optimizing your presence in the ways I’ve described above. 

Remember: You can always expand your efforts as your resources grow. 

Changing Algorithms

What worked a decade ago on Facebook or Instagram won’t work today. In fact, there’s no guarantee last year’s most powerful strategy will still work. 

Search everywhere optimization requires you to adapt your strategies in response to platform updates and algorithm changes. It can be a lot to keep track of, which is why our clients often lean on us to track these changes instead. 

Balancing Platform-Specific Content with Brand Consistency

You must tailor your content to individual platforms to succeed. Videos tend to look different on TikTok than Instagram, for example. But you still need to maintain brand consistency where possible. 

I recommend doing this by incorporating brand colors into all of your visuals, making one or two people the figureheads of your business (this is important for video consistency), and using the same tone of voice. 

Avoiding Organizational Silos

Corporate America’s marketing departments aren’t necessarily set to facilitate a search everywhere optimization strategy. Each channel has its own department, and things like strategy and budget are kept separate.

Solve this by encouraging cross-team collaboration to maintain consistent brand standards across platforms.

Explain the benefits of a search everywhere optimization approach to individual departments to get them on board. That might mean talking up perks like increasing engagement and conversions.

FAQs

What is search everywhere optimization?

Search everywhere optimization is the process of optimizing your organic presence on multiple platforms (not just search engines) to take advantage of an expanding search landscape.

How to do search everywhere optimization?

Search everywhere optimization means optimizing for organic visibility across multiple platforms. You’ll want to adopt platform-specific tactics as much as possible, but there are cross-platform strategies you can implement, too. These include increasing your brand’s E-E-A-T signals and implementing keyword research.

What channels should you optimize for search everywhere optimization?

We recommend implementing search everywhere optimization on as many platforms as you are active on. Broadly speaking, these platforms will fall under the following categories: traditional search engines (e.g., Google, YouTube, Bing), social media (e.g., Instagram, TikTok), AI search (e.g., ChatGPT), shopping (e.g., Amazon), and underdog platforms (e.g., podcasts).

Conclusion

It’s time to embrace the future of SEO. 

That means looking beyond traditional search engines and embracing search everywhere optimization.

In 2025, a genuinely comprehensive digital marketing campaign requires you to optimize your brand’s organic presence on every possible platform. 

That means social networks like Instagram and TikTok, AI chatbots like ChatGPT, shopping platforms like Amazon, emerging mediums like podcasts—the list goes on.
So, roll up your sleeves, open up a keyword research tool like Ubersuggest, and start implementing the strategies I’ve discussed here.