Your audience is searching and consuming content everywhere. It feels impossible to keep up.
That’s because they’re regularly engaging with 7+ platforms and spending 4+ hours daily across search surfaces.
If you're like most search marketers, your instinct is to prioritize. Pick your platforms. Focus. Move methodically.
That made sense when the job was ranking in the 10 blue links. It's less clear now as AI Overviews and AI Mode have reshaped Google. And TikTok and Reddit threads are influencing purchase decisions before search.
You probably need to show up in more places than you currently are. And produce more content than feels feasible.
But scattered presence isn't the answer either.
The practitioners actually doing this well aren't just "being everywhere." They've built systems that let them move fast without moving recklessly.
In prep for this article, we partnered with Ashley Liddell, founder of Deviation. Ashley trademarked "Search Everywhere" in 2023 and launched his consultancy to put the approach into practice. He's been refining the playbook ever since.
I've also been pushing this approach internally—often making our team uncomfortable. But that discomfort is the point. Not "do everything." Think bigger than SEO culture has trained you to think.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
Why Search Everywhere Matters Now
Search Everywhere Optimization matters because people engage in research behavior proportional to their perceived commitment.
A routine $5 bamboo toothbrush purchase? Maybe a quick search and you're done in under five minutes.
Your first electric toothbrush at $150? Now you're researching across multiple platforms over several days.
When the stakes rise, perceived risk multiplies across five areas—performance, financial, psychological, time, and social.
These perceptions push us to invest disproportionate effort to avoid even small probabilities of major losses.
That means that as a marketer, you need to treat every digital touchpoint as a precious interaction. That's exactly what Search Everywhere Optimization helps you do.
When someone evaluates your $10K software solution, they're searching across 25 different places. They're not just visiting your website over and over. Instead, they're checking multiple platforms to reduce their risk before buying.
This is why visibility across the web matters more than ever.
If you're not present when curiosity sparks—regardless of where it's routed—you don't get the chance to influence what happens next.
Tools like Semrush's Traffic & Market report can show you where competitors are getting referral traffic.
But that data alone doesn't tell you where to invest. It tells you where to start asking questions: Are our customers using those platforms the same way their customers do? Is that traffic converting, or just existing?
It's not enough to get to #1 on Google’s ranked results if your audience is using every available tool to de-risk their decision, and you're invisible everywhere else.
But this goes beyond visibility.
When someone encounters your brand on Google and then sees you again on YouTube, they're building familiarity.
That repetition creates preference even before they fully evaluate your solution.
Commitment level predictably determines research intensity.
You can't fight this behavior. You can only acknowledge it and ensure you're present throughout the journey.
The question is: What do you get from showing up?
The Compounding Returns of Search Everywhere Optimization
The benefits of being where your audience is compound over time.
For example, if you have a dedicated social team, how does Search Everywhere Optimization help performance on TikTok?
The thing is, social teams tend to optimize for virality. They're chasing the algorithm's first push, measuring views and engagement in the initial window.
What they're not necessarily thinking about is shelf life.
Search-optimized social content stays discoverable in platform search for months.
Every time someone searches TikTok or Instagram for "best LED face mask for acne" or "best CRM for small business," that content resurfaces. Your value as a search marketer is extending the lifespan of the content the social team is creating.
That shift changes the math. But it's not the only benefit.
The comments and questions on social content become audience insights that improve your product pages.
Your best-performing organic content becomes tested creative for paid campaigns.
And if your brand is presented across multiple platforms, you’re more likely to be referenced in AI responses. The models reward multi-platform authority.
None of these benefits exists in isolation. They reinforce each other. That's the flywheel.
Further reading: Feeling Behind on AI Search? How to Catch Up in 2026
The rest of this guide covers six principles we’ve found essential for Search Everywhere Optimization. Let's start with the foundation.
1. Start With Your Audience, Then Choose Platforms
Do your audience research before you pick your platforms.
This sounds obvious, but it's the most common mistake I see, and one I’m guilty of, too.
It's easy to default to what our tools show us. Competitor activity, trending platforms, search volume. That data feels concrete.
Audience research is harder. It's qualitative and messy.
But skipping it means you end up choosing platforms based on trends, then scrambling to figure out what content to create.
If you start with "we need to be on TikTok" because you've read that Gen Z is searching there, you're working backward. You'll end up creating content for a platform rather than for your audience.
Flip the sequence. Understand where your ideal customer directs their curiosity, then build presence there.
Here's a simple framework:
How do you do audience research?
The most reliable method is embarrassingly simple: Ask your customers.
Interview 5-10 recent buyers with one question: "Walk me through how you found us and researched before purchasing."
You'll hear things like: "I saw you mentioned in a Reddit thread, then watched a YouTube comparison, then searched your brand name to check reviews."
That's your platform map—straight from someone who converted.
Beyond interviews, stay close to where your audience talks.
On LinkedIn, I’m constantly reading what people in our industry are discussing. I also engage folks directly for feedback.
What frustrations keep surfacing? What questions do they ask each other? That ongoing attention shapes how I think about platform priorities.
Tools can help, too.
The Semrush Traffic & Market Toolkit reveals where competitors get referral traffic. If two competitors are pulling meaningful visits from Facebook, dig deeper.
But keep this in mind: Data informs questions, not decisions.
To take this further, we've built what my colleague Kyle Morley calls an "Audience Intelligence Engine."
It’s a system that scrapes posts from Reddit, LinkedIn, and X, uses AI to categorize them by theme, and outputs a weekly trend document.
It tells us how people in our industry are actually talking about their problems, not just what keywords they're searching.
If you're not listening to potential customers, you're missing the most valuable data possible.
Stay close to your audience.
2. Map Intent Pillars (Not Just Keywords)
Your keyword research skills translate directly to Search Everywhere. They're actually your starting point.
The shift is in what you do after you've identified your keywords.
Instead of stopping at "generative engine optimization" and creating a single optimized page, you expand that keyword into an intent pillar.
What's an Intent Pillar?
An intent pillar is the conversation behind the keyword. The real thing someone is trying to figure out.
The keyword "GEO" tells you what people type.
But the intent pillar reveals what they actually want to know:
- How do I get my brand to appear in AI-generated answers?
- Will traditional SEO still matter if people are using ChatGPT instead of Google?
- What changes do I need to make to my content strategy?
When GEO gained popularity—thanks to a16z and other outlets—we faced a choice. We could follow the trend, or we could focus on what our audience truly values: appearing in AI answers.
We chose the second option.
Instead of centering our content on GEO, we linked it to our core intents: AI search (the discovery ecosystem) and AI SEO (the practice).
For example, in posts about GEO (and similar definitions), we’d guide the narrative to AI SEO.
This way, we can engage in the conversation about this shift, remain relevant in industry talks, and promote true thought leadership—without letting others dictate our strategy.
Understanding the intent—not just the keyword—is what lets you create content that genuinely helps people.
Further reading: What Is Search Intent? How to Identify It & Optimize for It
Where Is This Conversation Happening?
Once you've defined your intent pillar, map where that conversation is active.
Take an emerging topic like LED face masks, a skincare trend that's popped in 2025/2026.
Tools like Exploding Topics show the growth curve and a channel breakdown, revealing where the activity is concentrated.
The channel breakdown tells you immediately: Facebook, Pinterest, X, and TikTok are where this conversation lives.
LinkedIn, on the other hand? Minimal activity.
If you're a skincare brand, this is early intelligence.
You know LED face masks are trending, you know which platforms are driving that conversation, and you can position your content (or products) before the market gets crowded.
This pattern applies to any business. The specific topic changes; the research process doesn't.
This mapping gives you permission to say no.
If there's minimal conversation on a platform, that's not a gap to fill. Redirect your efforts elsewhere.
How to Build an Intent Pillar
The process for creating an intent pillar isn’t complicated. It’s just a different endpoint than traditional keyword research.
- Start with your keyword list (the one you’d normally use for SEO)
- For each high-priority keyword, ask: What’s the underlying question or problem?
- Search that question across platforms, and note where conversation exists
- Validate which platforms are most active for that conversation
That fourth step is where the real work begins.
Tools like Exploding Topics can help. It shows you which platforms are over- or under-indexed for a topic.
I’m biased, as Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. But it’s a tool I’m reaching for more than usual when thinking through multi-channel strategy.
However, Ashley Liddell, who contributed to this piece, was doing this before those tools existed. Many teams (likely you included) still work without them.
The manual process means searching each platform separately. You’ll note content volume and recency, see what creators are covering the topic, and read comments to find the real questions people ask. It’s time-consuming but reveals details that automated tools might miss.
That validation step is important. It turns gut feelings into evidence and helps explain why you’re not on a particular platform.
The next question is: How do you know if any of this is working?
3. Make Branded Search Your North Star
Platform metrics are often misleading. Views, impressions, and follower counts measure activity, not impact.
Branded search volume is one of the best signals that Search Everywhere is actually working.
Attribution gets messy when someone discovers, validates, and converts through different platforms. Be comfortable with some uncertainty. And collect as many data points as you can to tell your story.
When someone types your brand name into a search bar—whether that's Google, YouTube, or even Reddit—they're demonstrating preference, not just awareness.
They've moved from "I'm researching this problem" to "I want to hear what this company has to say."
That shift is what you're optimizing for.
Google is where you'll track it most reliably (Search Console gives you the clearest data), but the behavior happens everywhere.
Someone searching "[your brand] review" on YouTube or your name within a subreddit—that's the same signal. They're seeking you out.
Branded search also includes "[your brand] alternatives." That query might feel like a threat, but it's an opportunity.
Wiz, the cloud security company, ranks #1 for "Wiz alternatives" with a page titled "Why there's no exact substitute."
Join the conversation when others compare you to competitors. Show them why they should pick you.
Ashley learned this the hard way with an ecommerce client, BullyBillows.
The brand was known for dog harnesses, collars, and leashes—but they wanted to push a new product line: dog treats. So the Search Everywhere strategy focused there.
It didn't work.
The audience wasn't searching for treats from BullyBillows. They were searching for what they were already known for.
When the strategy refocused on what the brand is known for (harnesses, collars, and leashes), branded search grew 65% year-over-year.
The lesson isn't "don't launch new products." It's that Search Everywhere amplifies what you’re known for.
If you're an established brand, lean into your strengths.
If you're starting from scratch, pick your lane and build recognition there first.
Either way, the strategy compounds over time.
Track branded search as your primary metric.
4. Scale Through Creators
Your in-house content team can't meet Search Everywhere volume demands alone. I learned this the hard way.
We tried ramping up internally first. Hit the ceiling faster than expected. Not because our team lacked skill, but because the output required across every relevant platform exceeds what any brand team can realistically sustain.
And even when we could produce the volume, the content felt like brand content. Audiences noticed.
One approach is to try agencies. But that's often a challenge. (And I say that with almost a decade as an agency consultant.)
Outside consultants often pitch the same thing: "We'll capture your expertise and scale it through our systems."
But the tension was immediate. We needed first-hand experience and genuine authority. They were optimizing for efficiency.
You can't mine charisma from a process doc.
The same applies to AI.
Teams that rely on generic content or AI-only production are at the most risk right now. Real expertise has to come first. Then, AI can amplify it.
Another thing: People resonate with people way more than brands.
The content on my personal LinkedIn account routinely outperforms the exact same content on our brand accounts.
Talent, relatability, and first-hand expertise. These don't scale internally. They scale through partnership.
This article is a case in point.
We partnered with Ashley Liddell because he's been building the Search Everywhere playbook since he coined the term.
His experience with BullyBillows, his framework for intent pillars—that's not something we could manufacture in-house.
We're also bringing Brian Dean (founder of Exploding Topics and Backlinko) back to create content with us because his credibility with this audience is something we'd spend years trying to replicate on our own.
The model that works:
You bring the strategy (what questions to answer, which platforms matter, what intent to target), and creators bring the execution (platform fluency, audience trust, native voice).
Search briefs meet creator relatability.
What Goes in a Search Brief for Creators?
A search brief provides strategic direction while leaving room for the creator's voice:
- The intent pillar you're targeting (the question, not just the keyword)
- Key points that must be addressed (based on your research)
- Platform-specific guidance (format length, hooks that work)
- What success looks like (saves, shares, branded search lift)
The creator decides how to deliver it. That's what makes it connect.
Finding the Right Creators
Look for creators already talking about your space organically. They've built trust with the audience you want to reach.
Tools like Influencer Analytics can identify who's generating engagement in your category.
But manual discovery (searching your topics on each platform, noting who shows up consistently) works, too.
Quality at Volume
This model requires producing more content than most SEO teams are used to. Quality is maintained through two approaches: selecting creators with proven engagement history and providing briefs that are strategically tight.
Over time, your creator database becomes an asset. A roster of proven partners who understand your brand and deliver consistently.
5. Own Emerging Conversations Early
Traditional SEO waits for search volume to develop before creating content.
By the time you publish, competitors have already established authority.
Search Everywhere flips this. Find emerging conversations before volume exists, and own them from day one.
Remember the LED face masks example from earlier?
That topic showed +1150% growth in Exploding Topics, and the curve is still climbing. Strong activity across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram signals an emerging conversation, not a saturated one.
If you create engaging content across those platforms now—while the conversation is still forming—you have a real shot at becoming the default authority.
When search volume catches up, you're already the answer.
Why This Matters for AI SEO
AI models draw from many sources.
If you build authority early across various touchpoints, you'll gain an edge while competitors are getting started.
When someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini about a new topic, these models reference content that has established trust online.
If you appear consistently on your site, YouTube, Reddit, and social platforms, you’re more likely to be mentioned.
This is where LLM seeding is important. The goal is to create a presence in places AI models learn from before a topic becomes popular.
If you wait for search volume, you start from scratch, while others have already laid the groundwork.
How to Find Emerging Conversations
Tools like Exploding Topics surface rising entities before they hit mainstream search volume.
Go to the “Trends Database” and type a broad category related to your product, like "project management." Look at the trending topics that appear and select ones that appeal to you to see the channel breakdown.
When choosing trends, you want to look for:
- New product categories adjacent to your space
- Emerging problems your audience will face
- Cultural shifts that intersect with your brand
The goal isn't prediction. It's pattern recognition, spotting conversations that are gaining momentum and getting there before the window closes.
6. Get Buy-In
Search Everywhere needs teamwork, which means getting buy-in from budget holders.
Pushback is common.
Internally, colleagues may ask why you’re spreading resources across platforms when Google drives most traffic.
Externally, Ashley faced similar resistance at his agency. Brands were unsure about measuring success on TikTok and Instagram without clear return tracking from paid campaigns.
The turning point was the rise of AI Overviews and zero-click searches. These "bad guys" made the pitch easier. Suddenly, Search Everywhere became essential for building brand preference before AI models decide who gets cited.
The takeaway? Siloed budgets lead to poor visibility.
If your YouTube strategy is with one team, SEO with another, and social with a third, you’re optimizing channels instead of building a strong presence.
Present Search Everywhere as an operating model, not just a marketing experiment.
Experiments can be cut; operating models get defended.
When making your case, highlight branded search growth as your main indicator. Attribution will be imperfect—acknowledge this upfront.
The value builds over time, and brands investing now will be harder to catch later.
Your Platform Map Starts With Your Audience
You have the strategy. You have the language to defend it. Now start.
Build your audience map. Interview five recent customers. Check your referral traffic. Set a branded search baseline in Google Search Console. Track it monthly.
Then, see where your competitors are getting traffic, and where you might be missing with Semrush’s Traffic & Market Toolkit.
Methodology: Daily Time Spent Data
The "Daily Time Spent on Top Search Surfaces" chart draws from the following sources:
Social Platforms
- TikTok (52 min): eMarketer, "US TikTok Usage and Time Spent 2025"
- YouTube (46 min): Exploding Topics, "Worldwide Daily Social Media Usage"
- X (32 min): Backlinko, “X (Twitter) Statistics”
- Instagram (33.1 min): Backlinko, “Instagram Statistics”
- Facebook (31 min): Exploding Topics, "Worldwide Daily Social Media Usage"
- Reddit (30 min): Backlinko, “Reddit User and Growth Stats”
- Snapchat (30 min): Backlinko,“Snapchat Demographic Stats”
- Pinterest (14 min): Semrush, “Website Traffic Checker” (based on average user visiting once daily)
Search & AI Platforms
- Google Search (~30 min): Estimated based on Semrush session duration data (13 min/visit) and conservative daily visit frequency (~2 visits). Direct "daily time spent" data not publicly reported for search engines.
- ChatGPT (~26 min): Estimated based on Semrush session duration data (13 min/visit) and conservative session frequency (~2 sessions/day). Reflects desktop usage, which accounts for ~76% of ChatGPT traffic.
- Amazon (~12 min): Estimated based on Semrush session duration data (11 min/visit) and conservative visit frequency (~1 visit/day). Direct "daily time spent" data not publicly reported for e-commerce platforms.
All figures represent U.S. users and were current as of Q4 2025 / Q1 2026. Time spent on social platforms varies significantly by age group and should be interpreted as population-level averages. Estimates for Google Search, ChatGPT, and Amazon are derived from session duration data; direct daily time measurements are not publicly available for these platforms.
