Demystifying SEO and Online Presence for SMB Owners - Part 2

This is the second of 4 articles on this topic. This first one, dealing with the basics, is available HERE. 

The world of SEO and Online Presence is in turmoil. Largely driven by the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the evolution of both existing and new social media platforms, effectively managing your Online Presence isn’t the same as it was just a short time ago.  Approximately 60% of all Google searches are "no-click" or "zero-click" searches, where users find the answer they need directly on the search engine results page (SERP) without clicking through to a website. It has caused both concern and controversy among those providing SEO services. Those entrenched in providing “traditional” SEO services contend that the basics haven’t changed, while more progressive SEO providers assert that the established methods, by themselves, are no longer enough.  Both are right!  What has emerged is a need for a broader, more complete approach to 

The topic for today is to examine and learn what has changed in the online presence/online marketing environment. To help us understand this, we look to Neil Patel, co-founder of one of the world’s largest digital marketing agencies and famous for his “early adopter” status based and accuracy on data-driven decisions. You can read our summary below or view his entire presentation on YouTube in less than 12 minutes. Our next SEO topic will focus on an approach to SEO activities and content that will address the impact on, and changes to, customer search behavior attributable to Artificial Intelligence. For today, let’s consider:

Introduction to Modern Consumer Behavior

• Consumers are no longer "searching" in the traditional sense, but rather "making decisions" in various online platforms such as TikTok, Reddit, and Amazon, and businesses need to adapt to this shift by optimizing for decision moments, not just keywords or content.
• Many businesses are still focused almost exclusively on optimizing for Google rankings. This narrow approach is no longer effective, as it only accounts for 27% of all search activity, with the remaining 73% occurring on other platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
• The "Google trap" refers to the phenomenon where businesses optimize for visibility on Google but miss out on the decision-making process that occurs on other platforms, resulting in flat conversions and stagnant sales despite decent traffic and rankings.
• Consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted, with people making rapid-fire decisions across multiple touchpoints, and businesses need to understand this new landscape to develop effective marketing strategies.

The "Google Trap"

• The modern consumer journey is a constellation of micro-decisions, with different platforms serving different psychological functions, such as Google for searching, Reddit for trusting, and Amazon for buying, and businesses need to show up in these moments of micro-choice to be part of the conversation.
• The new marketing approach is called Search Everywhere Optimization, which involves optimizing for decision moments across various platforms, rather than just focusing on Google rankings or keywords.

Search Everywhere Optimization

• ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI models are also playing a significant role in the decision-making process, with consumers using them to validate decisions, ask for recommendations, and gather information, and businesses need to take this into account when developing their marketing strategies.
• Search everywhere optimization is about getting chosen across the entire internet, by designing content, presence, and brand to show up in all places where customers make decisions, not just Google.
• This approach is not about volume, but about strategic presence, understanding that when someone asks for a recommendation, the brand needs to be in that response, and being mentioned in conversations on various platforms.
• Roughly 73% of searches are happening outside the traditional ecosystem, and if a business is not optimized for this reality, it will be invisible, emphasizing the need for a new approach to search engine optimization.

Platform-Specific Strategies

• Each platform, such as TikTok, YouTube, ChatGPT, Amazon, Instagram, and Reddit, has its own decision engine, psychology, algorithm, and way that people make choices, requiring platform-specific strategies.
• For example, TikTok decisions are driven by emotions and novelty, while YouTube is about retention and perceived expertise, and ChatGPT is about citations and semantic clarity, highlighting the importance of tailored content.
• Amazon is driven by social proof and trust, with people relying on reviews from real users, and Instagram is about aspirational identity, where people buy into a lifestyle, while Reddit values raw authenticity and honest opinions.

Visibility vs. Validation

• Search Everywhere Optimization requires understanding the difference between visibility and validation, where visibility is showing up in search results, but validation is being mentioned in the conversation and having others cite or reference the brand.
• Validation is what drives decisions, and it is about what others say about a brand, not just what the brand does, emphasizing the need for businesses to focus on building a strong reputation and presence across multiple platforms.
• AI summarizes search results based on who gets mentioned the most and trusted the fastest, and if a brand isn't part of the validation network, it doesn't exist in AI's decision-making process, which is why Search Everywhere Optimization focuses on earning trust signals across platforms.
• Being trustworthy is not just good business, but the only way to stay visible in a world where AI is increasingly making recommendations for people, and it's not necessary to be active on every single platform, just to be trusted somewhere that matters.

The RICE Framework

• The RICE framework can be used to prioritize which platforms to focus on, with R standing for Reach, I for Impact, C for Confidence, and E for Ease, allowing businesses to score each from 1 to 10 and multiply by the reach number to determine where to start.
• Most businesses will likely focus on two to three platforms maximum, such as getting cited by ChadGPT, dominating Amazon reviews, or becoming the go-to expert on podcasts, to achieve strategic presence rather than omnipresence.

Compounding Influence

• When a business nails search everywhere optimization, its influence compounds across platforms automatically, such as when being mentioned in a popular Reddit thread gets indexed by Google, or when dominating Amazon reviews influences buying decisions started on TikTok.
• Competitors are often stuck in the "Google Trap", fighting yesterday's battles, and most marketing teams are barely keeping up with Google's algorithm updates, let alone optimizing for other platforms like TikTok, ChatGPT, and Reddit, creating a massive opportunity to get ahead.

Getting Started

• To start, businesses should start by picking one platform outside of Google where their customers are most likely to validate their decisions and focus on earning trust there before expanding to other platforms. A more complete strategic approach can follow that initial step.