How consumers discover brands and products has fundamentally shifted. If you’re still banking on your website ranking on page one of Google search results to drive traffic, it’s time to wake up. According to a recent Search Engine Land study, only 11%—or roughly 1 in 10—consumers actually trust those first-page results anymore.
This is a big deal. Companies that fail to pay attention are headed for declining organic traffic and less visibility online. You need to take steps now to build brand visibility across platforms.
How Consumer Search Has Changed: Multi-Channel Approach
Gone are the days when consumers relied primarily on search engines to discover and vet brands. Today’s consumers are much more sophisticated—and honestly, more skeptical. They’re piecing together information from multiple sources: search engines, AI platforms, social media, review sites, Reddit threads, TikTok videos, and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Think about how you search for something new yourself. You probably don’t stop after clicking on the top Google result. You might ask an AI chatbot, scroll through Instagram or TikTok, check Reddit for real user experiences, browse review aggregators, and visit multiple brand websites before making a decision. That’s the consumer journey in 2025, and it’s radically different from just five years ago.
The fragmentation matters because it means there’s no single path to discovery anymore. Where a potential customer finds you depends entirely on their personal preferences and habits. Some will start with search engines. Others might begin with AI assistants or social platforms. A few might stumble upon you through a review site or influencer mention. The key insight? You need to be visible everywhere they might look.
What This Means for Your Brand
I’ve been saying this since summer: build your online brand—not just your website, but your entire digital presence.
Of course, you still need a solid website. Your own platform is your home base, your owned land. It’s where you control the narrative, direct traffic, and nurture leads. Think of it as essential infrastructure.
But that’s just the foundation. You also need to be active on social media, securing guest posts on relevant websites, accumulating genuine customer reviews, and building mentions across the wider internet. You need a comprehensive digital footprint that tells a consistent story about who you are.
Why does this matter? Several reasons. First, when customers search in different ways, they’re more likely to find you if you’re everywhere. Second, AI platforms are increasingly using this distributed information to build business profiles and answer user queries—if you’re not visible beyond your website, you’re invisible to these emerging discovery channels. Third, a robust online presence simply signals legitimacy and trustworthiness to today’s skeptical consumers.
Building Your Multi-Channel Digital Footprint
So how do you actually do this? Here’s what I recommend:
Start with strategy and consistency.
Identify which platforms your target audience actually uses. There’s no point chasing every social network if your customers hang out on LinkedIn and TikTok, not Instagram and Snapchat. Develop a unified brand voice and visual identity across everything you publish, so customers recognize you instantly, whether they’re on your website, social media, or a third-party review site.
Create for each platform, not just everywhere.
Don’t just copy-paste the same content across channels. A LinkedIn post should look and feel different from a TikTok video or a blog article. Tailor your content to each platform’s format, audience, and culture. This effort pays off in better engagement and reach.
Stay active where it matters.
Maintain a consistent presence on the platforms that matter most to your business: your website, priority social channels, email, potentially mobile apps, and relevant marketplaces. Consistency beats perfection; showing up regularly is more important than sporadic viral moments.
Track what works.
Use analytics to understand which content resonates, which platforms drive real engagement, and where your audience is actually spending time. Let data guide your decisions. If TikTok drives zero meaningful engagement for your B2B software company, you’re wasting time there.
Blend SEO and paid strategies.
Traditional SEO still matters. Implement it across your owned channels and aim for visibility across search engines. But also use paid advertising strategically across platforms to amplify your reach and target specific audience segments where they’re most receptive.
Make it personal with CRM.
Integrate your customer relationship management system across channels so you can personalize interactions. When someone engages with you on social, sees your email, and visits your website, they should experience a connected journey, not fragmented silos.
Amplify through partnerships.
Collaborate with influencers, complementary brands, or industry partners who can help you reach new audiences across channels. These partnerships extend your reach and build credibility through association.
Test, iterate, and optimize.
Run small experiments with messaging, formats, and channel mixes. Double down on what works. The digital landscape changes constantly, so treat your strategy as a living thing that evolves based on real performance data.
Automate the routine work.
Use scheduling tools, publishing platforms, and reporting software to handle repetitive tasks. This frees up your team to focus on creating great content and meaningful customer interactions rather than drowning in administrative work.
Make mobile non-negotiable.
Optimize every digital touchpoint for mobile devices. Your website, emails, and social content all need to look and perform beautifully on phones. Your audience is using mobile devices to look for information, so make sure your website is find-able on smartphones and loads quickly.
Relying on Search Online Is So Last Week…
The era of relying on first-page Google rankings as your primary traffic source is over. Today’s consumers are smarter, more skeptical, and more distributed across platforms. They’re assembling their own picture of your brand from multiple sources before they ever decide to do business with you.
That means you need to meet them where they are online. Build a consistent, authentic presence across the channels your audience actually uses. Focus on providing real value, not just selling. Stay flexible and keep optimizing based on what your data tells you.
Brands that adapt quickly to this fragmented search landscape will thrive. Those that cling to outdated SEO-only strategies will increasingly find themselves invisible to the customers they’re trying to reach. The choice, as always, is yours.