Search Journey Optimization: How We Win the Modern Search Landscape

Say you’re looking for a niacinamide serum.

You’ve heard it’s great for reducing pores and evening skin tone. But, you don’t know if it’s any good, where to buy or which brand to trust.

You start on Google, searching for “best niacinamide serum” You see the usual suspects.

High-end brands with fancy packaging.

But then you notice a brand with minimalist bottles and scientific names: The Ordinary.

It’s mentioned in a few blog posts and has thousands of reviews.

Interesting.

But you’re not sold yet.

So you head over to YouTube and search for “The Ordinary niacinamide review.”

Dozens of videos pop up.

Lots of videos from skincare enthusiasts and dermatologists giving their honest opinions.

The consensus is overwhelmingly positive, and it’s only $6.

Now you’re intrigued.

But you need the unfiltered truth.

You go to Reddit and search for “The Ordinary niacinamide reddit.”

You find multiple threads in r/SkincareAddiction where people are discussing their results.

There are some who say it didn’t work for them.

but the majority are posting before-and-after photos and calling it a “holy grail” product.

Interesting but let me see some short reviews of this on TikTok and see if it’s popular among younger people especially.

There are thousands of TikToks about this product from a lot of top beauty influencers and medical people.

That’s reassuring for sure.

I think it’s also good to run this by ChatGPT and see if there are any other products better than this as I don’t have the time to fully read and compare various products.

There are a few decent alternatives, but I might just buy this and test it myself. Before that, I should check whether it’s available on Amazon so I can see how popular it is and read the reviews.

You usually need to purchase the product there to leave a review, so that will give me a better sense of its real feedback.

Over 40k reviews and 4.2 out of 5 rating.

That’s pretty good. But, It’s still around $6.

Maybe there is a sale on their official website given its closer to Black friday…

Ah, yes its $4.62 on their official website. Small but a decent discount.

That’s the final piece of the puzzle.

You’ve seen the brand on Google, watched reviews on YouTube, and gotten social proof from a community you trust on Reddit, TikTok and Amazon. Used ChatGPT to compare with other similar products. Then checked Amazon for prices and one final verified reviews. Decided to buy and then you saw it’s cheaper on their official website so you went there and add it to your cart.

This is not a hypothetical scenario.

This is the exact journey that millions of people take when discovering ‘The Ordinary.’

The brand understood early on that ranking #1 on Google wasn’t enough.

They had to win the entire search journey, across every platform their customers use to make decisions and it worked.

They went from a small startup to a global phenomenon.

Search Has Changed Because People Have Changed

The way we find information and make decisions is no longer a straight line.

It’s a complex, multi-channel experience.

We research on one platform, compare on another, and buy on a third.

This is especially true for younger audiences.

Consider that nearly half of Gen Z now uses TikTok as a search engine, with a staggering 51% actively preferring it over Google for their queries.

Long-form content, the bedrock of traditional SEO, is no longer enough.

Your audience is consuming information in the form of short-form videos, image carousels, and community discussions.

If your brand doesn’t appear at these critical touchpoints, you are effectively invisible to a huge, engaged audience that is actively looking to make purchasing decisions.

This new reality demands a new approach.

It’s no longer enough to practice Search Engine Optimization.

To succeed, you must embrace Search Journey Optimization.

What is Search Journey Optimization? (And Why It’s Not Just Another Buzzword)

Let’s be honest, the SEO world hates new acronyms.

We get it. But we needed a term that accurately describes this new reality.

It’s not just about being “everywhere”; it’s about being present and valuable at every single step of a customer’s path to purchase.

That’s why we call it Search Journey Optimization. It’s a holistic strategy designed to ensure your brand is not only visible but also trusted, from the first moment of discovery to the final click to buy.

It’s a fundamental evolution from the old way of thinking.

Feature	Traditional SEO	Search Journey Optimization
Focus	Ranking on Google	The entire, non-linear customer journey
Goal	Drive website traffic	Influence customers at every touchpoint
Tactics	Keywords, backlinks, technical SEO	Platform-native content, community engagement, multi-format media
Measurement	Rankings, organic traffic	Cross-platform visibility, brand recall, multi-touch attribution

This new paradigm is built on a simple yet powerful philosophy that guides every strategy we build for our clients.

We believe that winning in this new era requires mastering three core principles:

1. Match queries with the right platform.
2. Create content that fits the right format.
3. Reach people with the right intent.

By embracing this mindset, you move from being a passive participant in search to an active architect of your customer’s discovery journey.

Search Journey vs. Search Everywhere: Why Strategy Beats Noise

You’ve probably heard the term “Search Everywhere Optimization” gaining traction.

The idea is simple: be present on every platform.

While the intent is right, the execution is often flawed. Being “everywhere” is a recipe for burnout, not results.

It’s noisy, expensive, and ignores the most important factor: the unique journey of your customer.

The path to buying a Porsche is not the same as the path to buying a television.

You might spend hours looking at in-depth reviews on YouTube for guides/tips.

Or look for key aspect of ownership such as maintenance cost etc.

Maybe you will join community discussions on enthusiast forums, and brand-building content on Instagram.

The latter might involve a quick Google search, a few video reviews, and a price comparison on Amazon.

A one-size-fits-all “everywhere” strategy treats these two journeys as identical, wasting resources on platforms that don’t matter.

That’s why we pioneered Search Journey Optimization.

It’s a more strategic, surgical approach. It’s not about being everywhere; it’s about being where it counts for your specific customer.

It’s about understanding their unique path to purchase and being the most helpful, trusted voice at every single step.

Feature	Search Everywhere Optimization	Search Journey Optimization
Focus	Being present on all platforms	Being present on the right platforms for the customer journey
Goal	Maximize visibility	Maximize influence at critical touchpoints
Tactics	Broad content distribution	Platform-native content tailored to journey stage
Measurement	Channel-specific metrics	Cross-platform attribution and journey-based ROI

The Two Sides of the Search Journey: Managed vs. Influenced

To master the search journey, you need to understand the two types of experiences your customers have with your brand:

1. Managed Experiences

These are the touch points you directly control. Your website, your official social media profiles (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube channel), your email newsletter, and your product listings. Here, you shape the narrative, control the messaging, and design the user experience.

2. Influenced Experiences

These are the touchpoints you don’t control, but can (and must) influence. This includes Reddit threads, customer reviews, third-party comparison articles, mentions by influencers, and AI-generated summaries in tools like ChatGPT. This is where trust is truly built or broken.

A successful Search Journey Optimization strategy masters both.

For The Ordinary, their website and YouTube channel are managed experiences. The Reddit threads and influencer reviews are influenced experiences. They built a strategy to excel in both.

The Multi-Platform Search Ecosystem: Where to Focus Your Efforts

A common mistake we see is companies trying to be everywhere at once, spreading their resources too thin and failing to make an impact anywhere.

A successful Search Journey Optimization strategy isn’t about being on every platform.

It’s about being on the platforms that matter most to your audience.

Understanding the unique user intent behind each ecosystem is the first step to making smart, strategic decisions.

Here is a breakdown of the key search ecosystems and what you need to know about each one:

Traditional Search (Google, Bing)

This is the foundation. These platforms are still the go-to for high-intent, navigational, and informational searches.

Users here are often looking for direct answers, official websites, and in-depth resources. While no longer the only piece of the puzzle, a strong presence here is still non-negotiable.

Social Search (TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn)

These platforms are powerhouses of visual discovery, trend-spotting, and social proof. Users on TikTok and Instagram are often searching for inspiration, authentic reviews, and “how-to” content in a short-form video format.

LinkedIn, on the other hand, dominates the B2B space, where users search for professional insights, industry analysis, and solutions to business challenges.

Community Platforms (Reddit, Quora)

This is where the world’s most authentic conversations happen. Users turn to Reddit and Quora for unfiltered opinions, niche discussions, and solutions to highly specific problems. They are wary of corporate marketing and value genuine, community-driven advice above all else.

Video Platforms (YouTube)

As the world’s second-largest search engine, YouTube is the undisputed king of how-to content, in-depth product reviews, and visual storytelling.

Users come here to learn, to see products in action, and to be entertained. The intent is often informational but can quickly lead to a purchase decision.

AI Search (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode/Overviews, Perplexity)

The new frontier of search is conversational. Users are turning to AI chatbots for complex problem-solving, personalized recommendations, and synthesized answers drawn from multiple sources.

Optimizing for these platforms requires a focus on structured data, clear and factual content, and building brand authority.

Shopping Platforms (Amazon)

When it comes to product-focused research, Amazon is a search engine in its own right. Users on this platform have high commercial intent.

They are actively comparing products, reading reviews, and are often moments away from making a purchase.

Why Winning the Full Journey is So Hard

Optimizing for the entire search journey is incredibly effective, but it’s also incredibly difficult.

The challenges are what keep most companies stuck in their old, Google-centric ways.

• Fragmented Teams – Most companies have separate teams for SEO, social media, content, and video. They operate in silos, with different goals and KPIs. A successful Search Journey Optimization strategy requires a unified approach, which is organizationally very difficult to achieve.
  
• The Content Treadmill – Creating high-quality, platform-native content for multiple channels is a massive undertaking. You can’t just post a link to your blog on TikTok. You need to create a video. You can’t just share a video on Reddit; you need to engage in a genuine conversation. This requires diverse skill sets and significant resources.
  
• The Measurement Nightmare – As we’ve discussed, tracking ROI across a dozen different touch points is a complex challenge. Without a clear way to measure success, it’s hard to justify the investment.

This is where our unique advantage comes into play.

We’ve structured our entire agency to solve these specific problems.

Our Approach: How We Unify the Search Journey

At Snippet Digital, we don’t have a rigid “framework.” We have a dynamic, technology-powered approach that allows us to unify the fragmented search journey.

We bring together the strategy, the content creation, and the measurement into a single, cohesive process.

Step 1: Map the Full Search Journey

Before you can win, you have to understand the battlefield. We use our proprietary technology to map out the entire search journey for your specific customers.

We answer questions like:

1. Discovery: Where do they first learn about new products? (TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest?)
2. Research: Where do they go to compare options? (YouTube, Reddit, blogs?)
3. Validation: Where do they look for social proof? (Reddit, review sites, forums?)
4. Purchase: Where do they ultimately buy? (Your site, Amazon, a retailer?)

For The Ordinary, we discovered that their target audience (skincare enthusiasts) started their journey on TikTok and YouTube, did deep research on Reddit, and then looked for scientific validation on blogs before purchasing.

Step 2: Identify and Prioritize Gaps

Once we have the map, we identify the gaps.

We analyze your presence vs. your competitors’ at every single touchpoint.

This isn’t just about who has more followers. It’s about who is answering the right questions in the right format.

We use a Platform Prioritization Matrix to score each platform based on Audience Fit, Business Impact, and Resource Cost.

This tells us exactly where to focus our efforts for the highest ROI.

This ensures we invest your resources where they will have the greatest impact.

Criteria	Description	Score (1-5)
Audience Fit	How closely does the platform’s user base match your target customer?
Business Impact	How likely is a presence on this platform to drive meaningful business results (leads, sales, brand awareness)?
Resource Cost	What is the investment in time, money, and talent required to succeed on this platform?
Competitive Landscape	How saturated is the platform with competitors? Is there an opportunity to stand out?

By scoring each platform, you can quickly identify the 2-3 channels that offer the highest potential return on investment and focus your energy there.

Step 3: Build a Platform-Aware Content Plan

This is our secret sauce. We don’t just create content; we create platform-native content designed to win at each stage of the journey.

A keyword like “best niacinamide serum” requires a different approach on each platform:

YouTube: A 10-minute video comparing The Ordinary Niacinamide to other serums, with detailed scientific explanations.

TikTok: A 30-second video showing the texture of the serum and a quick before-and-after.

Reddit: A text-based post in r/SkincareAddiction asking for community feedback, or an AMA with the founder.

Blog: A long-form, SEO-optimized guide to the science of niacinamide, with citations.

We specialize in mapping user queries to the right platform and the right content format, ensuring your message always resonates.

Step 4: Execute and Influence

Finally, we execute. This involves two streams of work:

Managing Owned Platforms: We create and optimize content for your website, social profiles, and other managed assets.

To do this efficiently, we rely on a Topic Cluster Pillar Content model.

We start by building one major, authoritative asset like a comprehensive guide and then intelligently deconstruct and repurpose it for every relevant channel.

That single guide becomes a series of TikTok videos, a LinkedIn carousel, and a Reddit discussion prompt.

This approach maximizes reach and efficiency without sacrificing quality.

Influencing Earned Platforms: We don’t just wait for conversations to happen; we spark them.

We engage in Reddit discussions, partner with trusted YouTube creators, and encourage genuine customer reviews.

For The Ordinary, this meant seeding conversations on Reddit and getting the product into the hands of respected skincare influencers.

The Technology Advantage: How We Scaled This Before Anyone Else

The biggest challenge of Search Journey Optimization is scale. We faced this problem years ago, which is why we built Keyword Insights.

We needed a way to automate the most time-consuming parts of SEO so our team could focus on high-level, multi-platform strategy.

This is where our Reddit integration becomes so powerful.

Our “Social Sources” feature automatically detects when platforms like Reddit, YouTube, or Quora are ranking for your target keywords.

This doesn’t just tell us to create content; it shows us where the conversations are already happening.

We can then join those discussions, provide real value, and naturally introduce our clients to an audience that is actively looking for solutions.

It’s how we helped a new skincare brand, Symphonic MD, find thousands of hidden keywords and gain a foothold in a hyper-competitive market.

We also have other proprietary internal tools that we use to audit your brands user journey visibility across multiple channels.

When you work with us, you’re not just hiring a team of strategists.

You’re gaining access to the proprietary technology that powers our entire operation.

We don’t just follow the trends; we build the tools that make them actionable.

Measuring Success in a Fractured Search World

This is the question that keeps most marketers up at night.

How do you possibly measure return on investment when a customer’s journey starts with a TikTok video, moves to a Reddit thread, continues with a Google search, and finally ends with a purchase on Amazon?

The old models of last-click attribution are completely obsolete in this new reality.

It’s what I call the attribution nightmare.

While there is no magic bullet, a practical and effective measurement framework is possible.

It requires a shift in mindset from tracking single-source conversions to understanding multi-platform influence.

Here is a simplified version of the framework we use to provide our clients with a holistic view of performance.

Step 1: Establish Platform-Specific KPIs

First, you have to stop using the same metrics for every platform. Each ecosystem has a different role in the customer journey, and your KPIs should reflect that.

Success on TikTok isn’t measured in the same way as success on Google.

Platform	Primary KPIs	Secondary KPIs
Google / Bing	Organic Traffic, Keyword Rankings, Conversions	Click-Through Rate (CTR), Bounce Rate
TikTok / Instagram	Views, Engagement Rate (Likes, Comments, Shares), Follower Growth	Profile Visits, Website Clicks from Bio
Reddit / Quora	Upvotes, Comment Volume, Brand Mentions, Referral Traffic	Sentiment Analysis, Community Growth
YouTube	Video Views, Watch Time, Subscribers, Click-Through Rate	Likes, Comments, Shares, Traffic from Links
AI Search	Brand Mentions, Citation in AI Answers, Referral Traffic	Placement within AI Responses

Step 2: Embrace Blended Attribution Models

Instead of relying on a single attribution model, we use a blended approach to get a more complete picture.

This involves combining several different models to understand the full customer journey:

First-Touch Attribution: This helps you understand which platforms are most effective at introducing new customers to your brand. It gives credit to the very first touchpoint in the journey.

Last-Touch Attribution: While flawed on its own, this is still useful for understanding which channels are most effective at closing the deal.

Linear Attribution: This model gives equal credit to every touchpoint in the journey, helping you see the cumulative impact of your multi-platform presence.

Step 3: Build a Centralized Dashboard

To make sense of all this data, you need a centralized dashboard that pulls in analytics from all your different platforms.

Tools like Google Analytics 4, combined with social media analytics platforms and custom data visualization tools (like Looker Studio or Tableau), can help you create a single source of truth.

This allows you to see, for example, how a spike in TikTok engagement correlates with a later increase in branded Google searches and, ultimately, sales.

Measuring success in a fractured world isn’t easy, but it’s far from impossible.

It requires a more sophisticated approach, a willingness to move beyond outdated models, and the right tools to connect the dots.

Stop Optimizing for Engines, Start Optimizing for People

The digital landscape has fundamentally and irrevocably changed.

The monolithic era of a single, dominant search engine is over. Your customers are now spread across a dozen different platforms, each with its own language, culture, and user intent.

Continuing to focus all your energy on traditional, Google-centric SEO is no longer just inefficient. It’s a direct path to obscurity.

Success in this new era is not about winning on a single search engine.

It’s about being the most helpful, relevant, and trusted answer, everywhere your audience looks for information.

It requires a strategic shift from optimizing for algorithms to optimizing for the complete human experience.

This is the future of search. It’s more complex, more challenging, and more exciting than ever before.

The brands that embrace this change, that move beyond the old rules of SEO and learn to win in this fractured landscape, are the ones that will dominate the decade to come.

If you’re ready to build a search strategy that meets your customers where they are, and you want a partner with the technology and expertise to navigate this new era, then let’s talk.

Ready to See Your Full Search Journey?

The modern search journey is too complex for guesswork.

It requires a strategic, data-backed approach.

If you’re ready to move beyond traditional SEO and build a strategy that wins on every platform that matters, let’s talk.

Book a complimentary Strategic Deep Dive with our team.

We’ll review your current approach, discuss your goals, and show you how a tailored Search Journey Optimization strategy can drive real growth for your business.

Fill out our quick questionnaire to help us prepare for our call and ensure we make the most of our time together.

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