As search evolves, so too must our approach to visibility. Ranking in Google alone is no longer enough. Users now search across multiple surfaces:AI-powered assistants, social media platforms, voice search, and hyperlocal listings. In this new landscape, mastering a Search Everywhere Optimisation strategy while optimising for user experience (UX) has become more critical.
Local SEO: The foundation for discovery
Local SEO ensures your business appears when people search for nearby products or services. Whether typing “best pizza near me” into Google or asking Siri where to find a nearby gym, local SEO drives these connections.
Tactics like optimising your Google My Business (GMB) profile, maintaining local citations and NAP consistency, encouraging customer reviews, and creating location-specific pages with schema markup help establish your local presence. These not only boost traditional search rankings but also support AI-driven discovery.
A well optimised Google My Business (GMB) profile plays an increasingly important role as AI tools evolve. Verified details, regularly updated photos, positive reviews, and business categories help shape how AI platforms perceive your business. It’s no longer just about showing up on Maps, it’s about being part of the conversation when AI assistants generate local recommendations in real time.
Google my business and AI SEO
GMB is especially crucial. AI tools increasingly pull from trusted, structured data sources to formulate answers, and GMB is one of the most powerful of these. Think of it as your entry point into AI SEO. ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and others reference Google’s data to surface local business information. Keeping your profile up to date ensures better visibility, trust, and relevance, and helps feed AI models accurate data for local recommendations and zero-click answers.
GMB also allows you to communicate directly with potential customers through posts, special offers, and FAQs. This additional content adds context for both human users and AI models alike. Consistency and completeness in your GMB profile reinforce your local authority, helping AI tools recognise your business as a reliable source when generating responses.
AI SEO isn’t about creating more content, it’s about ensuring your brand appears in AI-powered search platforms. Platforms like ChatGPT (with browsing), Gemini, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot now generate answers from trusted online sources. To be included, you need credibility across the web.
This means appearing in articles, blog mentions, reviews, and third-party sites, not just relying on your website. Consistent branding, strong digital footprints, and reputable links make it more likely that AI tools will cite your business in relevant answers.
AI SEO shifts the focus from keyword density to reputation, expertise, and presence. Brands that diversify their mentions and links across various digital platforms will naturally increase their chances of being surfaced in AI-driven search results.
Supporting SEO and AI discovery through a Search Everywhere Optimisation strategy
Discovery isn’t confined to websites. Instagram’s geo-tagging features and business profiles are increasingly influential in Google’s local search results. Posts with location tags, local hashtags, and business information can surface in Google when users search for local experiences or products. This crossover highlights the growing role of social media in local SEO and AI discovery.
To optimise, ensure your Instagram profile includes complete location information, geo-tag posts, and collaborate locally. These steps enhance your presence across both social and search channels, improving your chances of being found by users and AI models alike.
Social media signals serve as modern word-of-mouth references. AI models are beginning to incorporate social proof into how they assess brands. A healthy Instagram presence with local relevance and engagement gives AI another layer of data to validate your authority in your specific area.
Google’s emphasis on UX is not new, but it’s now central to how AI evaluates websites. AI-generated responses often pull from sites that offer fast, clear, and engaging experiences. Page load speed, mobile-friendliness, bounce rates, and well-structured navigation all contribute to positive UX signals. These factors not only impact traditional rankings but also make your content more likely to be selected by AI assistants generating answers in real time.
AI models are programmed to avoid poor user experiences. Sites that load slowly, are hard to navigate, or have outdated content are less likely to be quoted or referenced. Optimising for UX is no longer optional, it is directly tied to AI SEO visibility. Investing in clean design, relevant content, and technical performance pays off across every layer of search.
Search everywhere optimisation: The unified approach
AI SEO, Local SEO, Social SEO: these are not separate tactics. They must work together in what we call Search Everywhere Optimisation. Today’s users discover businesses across a growing variety of channels – Google, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, voice assistants, and AI tools. Building visibility means ensuring your business is discoverable across all of them.
The smartest marketers already recognise this. Visibility in AI-driven tools costs nothing (for now), is not yet saturated, and lacks heavy ad competition. This offers a unique opportunity to build brand awareness and trust before these platforms become paid.
Success in SEO today is about being visible everywhere your customers are searching. Brands that adapt to this shift and optimise for AI discovery, local relevance, social engagement, and UX will gain a significant edge in the evolving search landscape. Those who focus only on traditional ranking factors risk missing where the future of search is truly headed.
By Dawn Kubicek, Founder of Leaders in Digital.
