Smart brands are betting on social search, not SEO, in 2025

Organic search is declining

Unless you’re a brand new company implementing your first-ever SEO playbook right now (e.g., setting up your Google Business Profile, fixing issues like broken links, crawl errors, missing sitemaps, encouraging customer reviews, etc.), your search stats are probably dropping. Not a slow, steady decline for some keywords that would be indicative of a need to refresh your content; but an across-the-board, steep decline indicative of a generational change in industry performance.

There are many factors for why search stats are dropping, but some of the main reasons are: (1) more people are using the AI Overviews on Google search rather than clicking into content, (2) more people are asking their questions directly to genAI chatbots, skipping search engines altogether, and (3) similar to increased usage of genAI chatbots, more people are searching directly on social media channels (aka social search).

Introducing social search: your brand’s new growth opportunity in 2025

Unlike SEO, which is in decline, social search is blowing up. And unlike GEO, social search is measurable, with a slew of new search and AI capabilities for marketers to take advantage of on nearly all social media channels right now.

What is social search?

Social search is how users discover content within social platforms, whether they’re looking for a trending TikTok, a Reddit thread about a niche hobby, or a product review on YouTube. It relies on signals like engagement, keywords, popularity, and personalization — making it a powerful tool for users and a strategic opportunity for brands and creators to boost visibility where people are actively searching.

Your audience is already searching on social media.

You need to meet your audience where they are, on every channel in their search journey.

Google usage among Gen Z has dropped by 25% compared to Gen X, according to a 2024 Forbes study. And Google usage has likely continued to decrease since the study wrapped up. Which leads to the question: Where are people searching? AI chatbots, yes. But also, pretty much everywhere else too. Especially social media channels like Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

• 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials prefer social media over traditional search engines, according to eMarketer.
• 57% of people use YouTube to search for information in the same way they use Google.
• Over 2 in 5 Americans use TikTok as a search engine.
• A survey by Jungle Scout found that nearly a quarter of Millennials started online product searches on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, while 20% of Gen Xers started on Facebook (source).

The social search journey isn’t linear, and it includes many channels.

Take the below search journey, for example. This is about a marketer trying to figure out where to apply for a job with good company culture in the U.S. The applicant started with ChatGPT, found themselves on TikTok and a Reddit forum, then went to Google, which took them to Instagram. Only then did they land on the company’s careers site to apply for a job.

1. The applicant starts on ChatGPT to get recommendations of where to apply for a job.

2. They then turn to TikTok and Reddit to learn more about what people are saying about the recommended company cultures, specifically Adobe in this example.

3. After watching Adobe company culture videos on TikTok and reading about employee benefits on Reddit, the potential applicant searches on Google to learn more.

4. The Google search then takes the potential applicant to Adobe’s Instagram post.

5. Only then, does the applicant finally make it to Adobe’s career page to potentially apply for a job.

Why we need to understand how social media search works on every major platform in 2025

The above example illustrates how an applicant can go from ChatGPT to the careers site on a very winding road. If we as marketers don’t understand the road users use to get from ChatGPT to the “final destination” site, then we won’t be creating the right content for the right channels, nor will we be measuring success accurately. If an applicant has five touchpoints (ChatGPT, TikTok, Reddit, Google, Instagram) before ever reaching their final destination (in this case, the careers site), and we’re only measuring two of those and owning content on three of those, we’re missing the mark as a brand.

In order for brands to understand their user journeys in the current multi-channel landscape, they need to invest in their social search strategy and update their definitions of success.

How to optimize your marketing for social search

Optimizing for social search isn’t one-size-fits-all. It depends heavily on your audience, the platforms they trust, and how search behavior shows up natively in each channel.

On platforms like TikTok and YouTube, the old SEO playbook still works, like strategic tagging, keyword-rich descriptions, and engagement signals. But on others, like Instagram, Reddit, and Facebook, it’s more nuanced. You’re optimizing for algorithms that reward interaction, relevance, and now, increasingly, AI-powered search layers. As you may have seen in my blog’s header image, Reddit has a new beta “Answers” experience. Check out this sample Reddit Answers results.

Some platforms are leaning hard into AI searchability, but the rules for showing up in those results are still evolving. That doesn’t mean you should wait. It means you should test, track, and adjust fast.

What channels to prioritize by audience

Social search is still new territory, but there are smart bets depending on your space. Here’s where I’d focus first if you’re just building your strategy:

For B2B brands:

• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Facebook
• YouTube

For tech-focused audiences:

• Reddit
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Medium
• Substack
• Bonus: If you have a risk-tolerant org, test out Bluesky, Discord, Hacker News, or Slack communities.

For consumer brands:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• Facebook
• YouTube
• LinkedIn (especially for career/lifestyle products)

What you should be doing right now

There’s no perfect formula (yet) for dominating social search, especially with AI reshaping how discovery works in real time. But here’s what you can do now:

• Start testing. Choose one or two platforms where your audience lives and start publishing with intent.
• Use platform-native tools. Tags, keywords, alt text, captions. These small choices matter.
• Measure differently. Look beyond vanity metrics and track saves, shares, comments, and mentions, which are signals of actual relevance.

I’m still refining my own approach. But I’m testing, tracking and learning every day to make sure my work is optimized for this new, evolving multi-channel landscape.

Coming soon: A breakdown of searchability features on each channel to get started on your social search strategy.