Think beyond Google

Izabela says: “Think beyond Google and start optimizing for other search engines and other platforms.

What other search engines should SEOs be optimizing for?

“We should definitely start thinking about Bing when we talk about search engines. Of course, Google is still the master, and they own the majority of search queries, but Bing is slowly climbing back. It’s getting some of Google’s percentages from the search market.

The percentages might sound tiny – because it’s 1% or 0.62% – but think about how many people actually search on the internet. Even a small percentage is a significant number that you can’t afford to ignore.

The other thing is that we have had a lot of success with Bing advertising for our clients. If you compare Google Ads and Bing Ads, Bing has a lot fewer people searching, and yet we have still had massive successes.”

Why is Bing becoming more popular?

“There are various reasons. Their partnership with OpenAI is probably one reason. One thing that’s been circling on LinkedIn is that Google is getting less relevant than it used to be. For example, it throws up a lot of Reddit results when you might not want to see Reddit for a particular search

At the same time, Bing is getting more and more relevant. They did some search updates about two years ago and, since then, they’ve been climbing. It’s very slow, and it’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s something that you can’t afford to miss out on.”

How different is optimizing for Bing?

“It’s not that different. There are some small things that Bing focuses more on and Google focuses less on – and vice versa. However, it’s not like you have to create two completely different websites to optimize for each one.

Interestingly, SEOs have stopped paying attention to Bing completely. When I started, in 2013, we still had both the Google ranking and the Bing ranking, and we paid attention to it. Now, you don’t even hear about Bing, even though there’s real potential there.

You also have to think about different audiences. Some people have to use Bing, when they’re at work or based on their location, because they can’t use Chrome. If you think about it from that perspective, you’re opening yourself up to a completely different audience that you might not get in front of if you solely focus on Google.”

What is a search engine nowadays? Should SEOs be optimizing for social discovery as well?

“As I said, there are other search engines and other platforms as well. Search engines are not only Google or Bing these days. In different countries, you have different search engines. There’s also Yahoo and Yandex, for example.

Outside of the platforms that are purely search engines, we’ve also got socials. There’s Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Depending on what sort of content you want to run with, and what business you are or what industry you’re in, you should be focusing on some of them as well as the general search engines.

There have already been conversations about Instagram optimization and YouTube optimization. These should form a part of your marketing strategy, depending on the business you’re in. If you’ve got a lot of video content, or you’re in a position to create a lot of video content, and your audience hangs out on YouTube, definitely go for YouTube. If you’re targeting Gen Z, and a majority of your target audience hangs out on TikTok, don’t forget about TikTok.

Don’t just post content and forget about it. Think about it, add it to your strategy, and think about optimizing for these other platforms as well.

The other thing that we obviously can’t forget about is optimizing for AI. That’s an emerging trend. We don’t know how it’s going to play out, but it’s definitely something that we should keep an eye on, think about, and see how it’s going to work.

From my personal experience (as a searcher, not as a search engine specialist) I’ve noticed that, when I get results from generative AI, sometimes I like them but sometimes I don’t trust them. Sometimes, I want to go into the actual article, see who wrote it, and read about it. That might change with time, in some areas. I would be willing to try a recipe that AI showed me, for example. Worst-case scenario, it’s just not going to work.

Depending on your industry and what sort of content you’re serving, you should really be thinking about the other opportunities that you have outside of Google. Don’t forget about Google – don’t get me wrong, Google is still obviously the biggest player – but we can’t afford to miss the smaller players anymore.”

What areas are users more likely to trust AI for?

“It depends on the type of content.

A few years ago, there was a talk at brightonSEO where someone did a test about where users would trust AI. They asked users about Netflix recommendations and queries related to health, and a smaller percentage of people would trust AI for Netflix than for health queries. That’s a bit scary, but it’s something to think about. Personally, I would rather trust AI for a Netflix recommendation.

It really depends on what subject you’re talking about. It could be something to keep an eye on and see how it evolves, so you don’t miss out if it hits in the future.”

How do you know if your audience is on YouTube, TikTok, or somewhere else, and which platform you should be aiming for?

“You have to know your audience first. You have to understand who your audience is and who you are targeting. You can turn back to some of the old-fashioned offline marketing techniques, like personas and focus groups, to understand who you’re trying to sell to.

Based on that, you can take baby steps. Analyse where your target audience hangs out the most, what they like, and what type of content they like to consume. Some audiences might be more into video, and some audiences might be more into reading a blog post. Start from there.

This is something that many of us miss – perhaps because of budgets or because of time. We skip over that, but it’s something that every brand and every marketing specialist should think about. Start by understanding who you’re targeting, then find out where they hang out, what they like, and what sort of content they like, and then take it from there.

In the past, the advice was to be everywhere. Now, you need to be where your target audience wants you to be, and where your target audience hangs out.”

Is there a tool or location online that can help you determine which platform to go for?

“Talk to your client. I’m from a marketing agency and I work with different clients and different brands. Talk to your clients and involve them in the process. They know who they’re selling to. Determining where your target audience hangs can come down to trial and error. I can’t recommend a specific platform, but I’m sure there are many on the internet that you can use.

You can also just observe and see. The majority of users are on Facebook and Instagram now, so the majority of brands are there as well. Observe where you’ve got the most engagement. You can use analytics and platforms like Microsoft Clarity. It’s quite new, but it’s really good. They’ve got a lot of metrics and, if you put it all together, you’re going to be able to determine where the most engagement is happening – at least to some extent. Then, take it from there.”

Is engagement the most important metric for social SEO?

“Many people look at likes or follows on social media. However, when you can spark engagement and get people talking and interacting with your content, that’s one of the most important things you can do.

A lot of people will like something and forget about it. It’s just there; they never look at the content again. With time, it won’t even appear on their timeline, but they still liked your page. In that case, the number of likes is high, but the engagement is close to zero.

Obviously, it can depend on how long you have been in the game. If you’re just starting, then you need people to follow and see your content first. Then, focus on engagement.

Social is a bit different from Google and traditional search engines. It’s more about a community, the social vibe, and the conversations that you can spark. It’s definitely one of the most important elements when it comes to socials.”

Is app optimization also a job for SEOs?

“It depends. I’ve got a bit of experience with app store optimization as well, so you can definitely do that. It’s going to be helpful if you’re an SEO because there is a crossover.

SEO used to be the Wild West 10/15 years ago, and now ASO has kind of taken its place. Everything is a bit all over the place, it’s a bit messy, and we’re not quite sure exactly what is going to work. The general idea is similar, and you’re trying to achieve similar things: you’re trying to get your app to rank.

Is it a job for SEOs? At the moment, I would say it generally is – at least from my experience. However, once it grows, it could become more specialised. To be honest, I’m surprised it hasn’t grown more by now because everything is an app.

Once it does grow, I think we might see the distinction we currently have between things like technical SEO and on-page SEO, with people specialising in different areas. Currently, I see quite a few SEOs doing ASO as well, and they’re doing a great job with it.”

If an SEO is struggling for time, what should they stop doing right now so they can spend more time doing what you suggest in 2025?

“I’m not going to tell you what you should stop doing. I’m going to tell you what you should start doing. I’ve learned a lot of productivity tips over the 6 weeks of the school summer holiday.

I’ve recently come back to using the Pomodoro technique. Basically, you set up a timer. It’s usually for 25 minutes, but I prefer 30 minutes. Then, you focus purely on the task at hand. No distractions, no emails, no phone calls, no socials, no checking Facebook on your phone. You’re just doing your task. Then, you take a 5-minute break.

You can do a lot more when you’re using this approach. When you’re checking your phone and answering emails, you’re removing yourself from the task and it takes some time to get back into it.

Also, if you’re a morning person, try shifting your work hours. If you start even an hour early, and it’s quiet and no one wants anything from you, that’s the time when you can really get into the work and do a lot more. During regular office hours, there are questions, phone calls, and emails that can’t be missed.

Instead of stopping something, start working more efficiently. Maybe stop working 9 to 5 and start working 7 to 1, and then a couple of hours later on in the evening. That could be more effective. If you can afford to do that, it’s really effective. It can be a game changer.”

Izabela Wisniewska is a Director at Creatos Media, and you can find her over at CreatosMedia.co.uk.