What is Total Search Optimisation and why does it matter?

For a while now, it’s felt like the term “SEO” just…doesn’t quite cut it.

You only have to consider the seemingly endless number of acronyms that’ve reared their heads in recent years (from AMP, to LLMs and AIOs, and everything in between) to know that SEO is a very different beast today than the one depicted in the best practice guides of even five years ago. 

And let’s be honest, even if we put down our glossaries and ignore the above, for even longer, SEO has really been a synonym for “Google”. 

(Sorry Bing). 

Google created the world’s most popular browser and search engine. It owns YouTube, the world’s most-subscribed video sharing platform (and second most popular search engine). We use it for ads, for maps, for recipes. “Googling” is even a verb, for God’s sake.

But for the first time, that dominance is under question. The company has lost two antitrust lawsuits in the past year, with a US judge ruling that Google holds an illegal monopoly on the search market. It may even be forced to sell Chrome, with competitors OpenAI, Perplexity and Yahoo all lining up to take a piece of the lucrative pie should that happen. 

Accumulating lawsuits, concerns about AIOs “stealing” traffic, users increasingly favouring TikTok for everyday searches – these are all chinks in Google’s considerable armour, and to remain ahead of the curve, businesses need to find their users where they are; not just where they expect them to be.

This is where Hallam, and Total Search Optimisation, can help.

Defining Total Search

Total Search is our comprehensive strategy for ensuring a business appears organically in front of its customers across multiple platforms, not just traditional search engines. 

This approach considers the rise of AI-driven search, social media discovery, and non-Google search engines, positioning businesses where their audiences actively seek information.

Platforms Beyond Google for Organic Visibility

As Google’s dominance is challenged, businesses must optimise for alternative platforms to remain competitive. Analysis tools exist within the market (such as SparkToro) that audit brands and identify where their demographics spend time online. These programs will act as the new “starting point” for all Total Search campaigns to ensure businesses appear wherever their audience is.

Key platforms involved in Total Search include:

1. Alternative Search Engines

• Bing: Microsoft’s search engine, holding 3.64% of the global market share (April 2024). It’s worth noting that ChatGPT’s search functionality relies on Bing’s indexing system, so it shouldn’t be ignored!
• Baidu: The leading search engine in China, with 76.05% market share.
• Yandex: Russia’s dominant search engine, controlling over 63.8% of the market.
• Naver: South Korea’s most popular search portal, gaining traction in the past few years.

2. Social Search & Visual Discovery Platforms

• Pinterest: A visual discovery platform where users search for ideas and products, making it essential for e-commerce and lifestyle brands.
• TikTok: With younger audiences using TikTok as a search engine for recommendations, brands must consider optimising content for in-platform discovery.
• YouTube: As the world’s second-largest search engine, video SEO is critical for brands leveraging this platform.

3. AI & Large Language Models (LLMs)

• ChatGPT & AI Overviews: AI-driven search assistants like ChatGPT are influencing how users find and consume information, with ChatGPT reaching 400 million weekly active users by February 2025 (Business Insider).
• You.com & Perplexity AI: Emerging AI-powered search engines challenge Google’s monopoly, indicating a shift in user search behaviour.

Why is Total Search Important?

As well as the aforementioned legal pressures Google is facing, several other trends necessitate search strategies independent of Google:

• Competitive pressure: Search startups like You.com claim Google’s monopoly is under threat as alternative search models gain traction (Business Insider).
  
• AI’s Influence on search behaviour: Google’s dominance in search traffic remains strong, but AI-driven search tools and AI-generated answers are beginning to change how users seek information. 45% of searches now trigger AI-generated overviews directly on search results pages, with fewer than 60% of Google searches resulting in clicks.
  
• Search migrating to socials: Nearly 40% of Gen Z prefer TikTok or Instagram over Google for everyday searches.
  
• Search visibility isn’t guaranteed: Google’s algorithms are constantly changing, and tactics that work today aren’t guaranteed to work tomorrow. A SEJ article found that ranking volatility increased by 26% in 2024 vs 2023. A strong post on LinkedIn or a helpful answer on Reddit can still be seen months or years later. Google-indexed content, by contrast, is often short-lived if not constantly updated.
  
• Evolving SERPs harming smaller businesses: With organic listings being pushed further down by AIOs and Rich Snippets, rising CPCs, and zero-click searches becoming more common, smaller businesses are struggling to compete.

A Total Search strategy will help diversify traffic across the web and increase conversions by targeting the right audience on the right platforms. It will also leave users less at the mercy of an ecosystem that doesn’t guarantee lasting visibility. 

Benefits of Total Search for the B2B Market

Our Total Search approach has a lot of inherent benefits for B2B businesses.

For one thing, B2B purchasing decisions don’t happen purely within Google. These purchases involve extensive research, often across multiple platforms beyond Google, such as LinkedIn, YouTube, and AI-driven search tools. Total Search ensures brands are visible at every stage of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to conversion, by optimising for multiple discovery platforms.

Also, Total Search strategies have the potential to be more cost-effective than Paid Search alone. Many B2B industries face high CPCs due to competition for niche, high-value keywords. By balancing Organic, Paid, and Alternative Platform strategies, Total Search reduces reliance on potentially costly paid campaigns while maintaining strong visibility across multiple channels.

Ultimately, our approach will help B2B businesses stay ahead in an ever-changing search landscape. More professionals use AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI for industry research and decision-making. Optimising for AI-driven search ensures that B2B brands provide authoritative answers and remain visible in AI-generated responses.

The Total Search Tiering System

So, what does a Total Search strategy look like in practice?

To deliver an effective and scalable strategy, we propose a three-tiered system:

1. Organic Search

• Focuses on optimising a business’s website to rank higher on search engines.
• Includes technical SEO, on-page optimisation, content strategy, and link building.
• Primarily targets Google but also considers other search engines like Bing and Baidu.

This initial stage ensures B2B businesses have mastered SEO fundamentals, both from a technical and content standpoint, before exploring further growth opportunities. Any effective Total Search strategy needs to be based on organic best practices to succeed.

2. Unified Search

• Integrates Organic Search with Paid Search strategies to maximise efficiency
  and conversions.
• Allows Paid Search campaigns to reduce bidding on high-value keywords when strong organic rankings are achieved, ensuring budget efficiency.
• Focuses on the synergy between SEO and PPC to drive optimal on-site performance.

A collaborative and considered strategy encompassing Paid and Organic allows for shared learnings between channels to strengthen acquisition. For example, Paid data can determine when particular products are in high demand, informing decisions around Organic seasonality. Or, Organic data can be used to support bidding decisions and maximise paid budgets.

3. Total Search

• Encompasses Organic and Unified Search, while expanding visibility beyond traditional search engines.
• Optimises for alternative search platforms, AI-driven discovery tools, and social search (e.g. Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok).
• Ensures a brand’s presence across multiple touchpoints, adapting to changing consumer search behaviours.

Ultimately, a Total Search approach evolves alongside the changing Google ecosystem, while also recognising its limitations in acquiring the right users for all businesses. It allows B2B businesses to reach users earlier in their journey, build more resilient, future-proof strategies, and drive consistent performance across multiple platforms.

At Hallam, our SEO Team can help you move beyond traditional search strategies and embrace a holistic approach to organic visibility.