How to use this guide
Use this guide for whatever you need to learn, whether that is:
- What search everywhere optimisation is
- Whether traditional SEO is dead
- Who should be doing it
- How search everywhere optimisation works (and how to measure it)
- And more
Learn the basics
Start with the basics of search everywhere optimisation:
What is search everywhere optimisation?
Search everywhere optimisation is the process of optimising a brand's visibility across search experiences, both traditional and generative, to build brand awareness, drive website traffic and nurture conversions.
Is search everywhere optimisation a passing fad?
It is fair to be sceptical: voice search optimisation was billed as the next big thing for years. The data, however, points in a different direction for search everywhere optimisation:
- 1 in 10 US internet users now turn to generative AI first for an online search (Source)
- ChatGPT has 800 million weekly active users (Source)
- More than 400 million people use Meta AI every month (Source)
- More than 10 million people use Perplexity AI every month (Source)
- Organic search engines, from Google to DuckDuckGo, have seen traffic fall (Source)
- ChatGPT is one of the 10 most visited websites in the world (Source)
Search behaviour is changing, and businesses that want to be found online will have to extend their optimisation work across platforms, from social networks and search engines to review sites.
Which search experiences does search everywhere optimisation cover?
Search everywhere optimisation spans several search experiences:
| Platform | Examples |
| Search engines | Google Bing DuckDuckGo |
| Generative engines | ChatGPT Perplexity Microsoft Copilot |
| Social | Facebook YouTube |
| Media networks | Media outlets |
| Directories | Google Business Profile Bing Places Apple Maps |
| Voice assistants | Siri Alexa Bixby |
What are some examples of search everywhere optimisation?
Here are some examples of search everywhere optimisation that our team has worked on:
| Industry | Optimisation | Result |
| SaaS | - Build mentions on third-party sites - Target middle-of-funnel keywords | Citations in Perplexity, DuckDuckGo and Copilot |
| Professional services | - Produce content optimised for both traditional and generative AI experiences - Target conversational phrases across the whole funnel | Citations and mentions in AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot and others |
| Essential services | - Improve existing SEO - Target bottom-of-funnel conversational phrases - Earn mentions on third-party sites | Mentions in Copilot and Perplexity |
What is the difference between search everywhere optimisation and search engine optimisation?
The differences between search everywhere optimisation and search engine optimisation include:
| Area | Search everywhere optimisation | Search engine optimisation |
| Search experiences | 30+ different search experiences across social platforms, generative AI and more | Focus on search engines (mainly Google) |
| Metrics | Mentions Citations Positions Referral traffic Conversions | Rankings Traffic Conversions |
| Targeting | Conversational questions | Short-tail or long-tail phrases (keywords) |
Despite these differences, the two approaches overlap on optimisation tactics. Both, for example, focus on producing unique, authoritative content.
Is SEO dead?
SEO is not dead.
Our hands-on experience with search everywhere optimisation has shown that traditional SEO is a core part of it. Sites that have done well with a consistent SEO strategy are more likely to appear in search results.
That is because traditional SEO already covers these elements:
- Being reachable online
- Producing useful, unique content
- Building a trustworthy online reputation
SEO is not dead, but its lead is no longer unchallenged.
Across industries, businesses are seeing a drop in organic search traffic: Gartner predicts that sites will lose 25% of their organic traffic to AI platforms and experiences such as ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and Meta AI.
At the same time, businesses are seeing revenue go up, which suggests that user buying journeys now run across several platforms, from search engines to AI tools and social networks, and that marketers need to adapt their approach to SEO.
Who should practise search everywhere optimisation?
Everyone.
Search engines like Google are not going away, but they are adapting their search experiences. Google, for example, launched AI Overviews to show AI-generated summaries in search results (and has reported growing use of the feature).
Meta, for its part, launched Meta AI across its social networks, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It also partnered with Ray-Ban on smart glasses, and with that launch beat its internal sales and revenue targets.
Bear in mind that search everywhere optimisation takes more time, skills and resources than traditional SEO. For small businesses that is a big step up, so it can make more sense to start with core SEO and add search everywhere optimisation later.
Getting started
Here is how to start putting search everywhere optimisation into practice:
What are the challenges of search everywhere optimisation?
Before you set goals, plan optimisations and measure progress, understand that search everywhere optimisation is not perfect. Several things will make the work harder, including:
Reporting
Reporting is one of the biggest challenges. Without data, it is hard to prove the value of this work to senior management, which can affect the budget and resources you get.
In most cases, businesses have to pull the numbers manually.
We have seen companies track mentions in generative AI experiences in Excel or Google Sheets, for example. It is slow and takes up time the team could spend elsewhere.
What are the alternatives? Very few, unfortunately.
One option is to use an AI SEO service. That way you can identify, track and optimise specific phrases for different search experiences, such as:
- Google AI Overviews
- ChatGPT
- Microsoft Copilot
- Perplexity
- Apple Intelligence
- Meta AI
- And more
With data collection handled (plus competitor tracking), businesses can spend more time on optimisation and analysis and less on gathering and managing data.
Budget
Asking leadership for budget and resources for SEO, and for search everywhere optimisation on top, is not easy, especially as search everywhere optimisation is still new.
The data does show that search is changing, though:
- 73% of consumers use several channels when shopping (Source)
- 67% of users use social media to discover new brands (Source)
- 58% of consumers have replaced traditional search engines with AI platforms (Source)
- 35% of Amazon purchases come from AI-driven product recommendations (Source)
One way to pitch search everywhere optimisation is the 70-20-10 rule:
- 70: 70% of resources go to what works well now.
- 20: 20% of resources go to what is emerging and expected to work well.
- 10: 10% of resources go to what is new and experimental.
You could propose putting 20% (or 10%, depending on your audience) of resources into search everywhere optimisation. The strategy is new, but there is hard data showing its value.
Resources
Resources are another sticking point, and can include:
- Time
- Talent
- Tools
- Budget
Some of these are easier to solve than others (hiring a marketing agency, say, rather than asking for a bigger budget), but it is worth taking the time to look into each problem and the realistic options for solving it.
For example, is it worth cutting investment in a weaker strategy to fund search everywhere optimisation? Or could you spend a few hours less each week on specific tasks to make room for it?
Do your research and weigh up the pros and cons of each option.
How does search everywhere optimisation work?
How it works depends on several factors:
- Search experience, such as AI Overviews vs ChatGPT
- Targeted search, such as an informational or transactional query
- Search platform, such as social media vs search engines
For example, if you are going after a more transactional question such as "what are some affordable car insurance companies", your optimisations might focus more on getting mentioned by third-party sites.
By contrast, optimising for an informational question such as "how to choose car insurance cover" might focus more on producing or improving content on your own website about the topic.
You will find specific optimisations in the step-by-step section below.
How much does search everywhere optimisation cost?
Pricing for search everywhere optimisation is not as established as it is for traditional SEO, where monthly retainers are well understood (see how much SEO costs). In Italy, where we work, SEO typically costs €1,500 to €5,000 a month, and providers of search everywhere optimisation usually ask a few thousand euros a month.
If you are considering these services, ask up front about experience, case studies and reviews. It also helps to ask for a list of deliverables, so you know what you will get and what it will cost.
How to get started with search everywhere optimisation
Get started in three stages:
How to build a strategy
Building a search everywhere strategy is similar to other digital marketing initiatives, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing or social media marketing. Work with stakeholders to agree:
- How much budget, time and resources are available
- Which metrics will measure performance (and success)
- When to review performance and reassess investment
- Which activities and tools to prioritise and use
In our experience, the most common mistake businesses make when planning search everywhere optimisation is expecting too much, too soon. Like search engine optimisation, it takes time.
It is also a strategy built around touchpoints across the whole user journey, unlike paid campaigns, which focus on users who are nearly or fully ready to buy.
Here is an example strategy:
- How much budget, time and resources are available
- Budget: 10% of the budget
- Time: 4 hours a week
- Resources: existing tech stack
- Which metrics will measure performance (and success)
- Citations and/or mentions for these phrases: X, Y and Z
- When to review performance and reassess investment
- Performance: 3 months
- Investment: 8 months
- Which activities and tools to prioritise and use
- Activities: targeted research, content creation
- Tools: existing tech stack, including Microsoft Excel for performance tracking.
Work with your team to build a strategy for your organisation, and stay flexible. Strategies can change based on what works (and what does not), so do not feel bound to the original plan if it is not working.
You can also try using AI in digital marketing to get more out of your marketing work.
How to optimise visibility
The most effective optimisations for improving visibility across search experiences are:
| Optimisation | Tactics |
| Produce compelling content | Brainstorm content ideas with customer-facing team members Cover topics in full, for example with guides Share your first-hand experience Back up information with data Write simply (for example, for a reading age of around 12) Give specific details, such as "apply ice for 10-15 minutes" Structure content with headings, tables, lists and short paragraphs Include trust signals such as certifications, partnerships and reviews Use images, video and GIFs to add value to the content |
| Build a trustworthy brand online | Create profiles on local directories such as Bing Places and Google Business Profile Ask customers for online reviews, for example through an email campaign or cards in your shops Produce thought leadership content such as studies, reports or opinion pieces Build interactive tools, such as a calculator or a document generator |
| Practise search engine optimisation | Allow crawlers (including those of AI platforms) to crawl and index your website Build a logical site architecture Use keyword research tools to create content for search engines Enhance content with schema markup Improve page speed, for example with compressed image formats and lighter code. |
Read more: How to rank in answer engines
How to measure success
When it comes to measuring success, there are two things to decide:
- Which metrics to measure
- How to measure them.
The most common metrics for search everywhere optimisation include:
| Metric | Meaning | How to measure |
| Citations | A search experience links to a website | Manual searches Visilay's AI SEO service |
| Mentions | A brand is mentioned in a search experience | Manual searches Visilay's AI SEO service |
| Position | Where a brand appears in a search experience's answer (first, second, etc.) | Manual searches Visilay's AI SEO service |
| Referral traffic | Traffic sent to a site from another site, such as chatgpt.com | Google Analytics 4 A separate analytics platform |
| Conversions | Conversions generated, directly or indirectly, by a search experience | An analytics platform A marketing automation suite, as used by lead generation businesses |
Some traffic options depend on a company's tech stack, but most businesses use Google Analytics 4. If yours does, set up a new custom channel group to split referral traffic into two groups:
- Traditional referral traffic, such as traffic earned through traditional SEO backlinks.
- "Search everywhere" traffic, for example from ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot.
This makes measuring search everywhere traffic simpler and faster.
To start your new SEO approach, work through the three steps: strategy, optimisation and measurement.
Get found everywhere in the new era of SEO
You now have the basics of the new era of SEO. The next step is to get found across search experiences, from Google to Meta AI and ChatGPT, by putting search everywhere optimisation into practice.
If you want a tailored service to help you build a multi-channel optimisation strategy, get in touch.
