What does search everywhere optimization mean?

Rand Fishkin of SparkToro wrote about the term in a May 2025 post. He credits Ashley Liddell of Deviation with coining it. His definition: the job is to "influence audiences in all the places they go to consume content about your topic" (SparkToro, read 1 November 2026).

The idea is simple. People don't only search on Google. They search on YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn and Pinterest, and they ask AI assistants. Search everywhere optimization treats all of those as search.

It is also an argument about names. Fishkin prefers to keep the letters SEO and give them a wider meaning, instead of a new acronym. He writes that "AIO, AEO, GEO, LLMEO" and the rest "are not the way" (SparkToro).

Why does it matter for B2B SaaS?

B2B buyers research in many places, and AI assistants read those places. In a study of 325,000 prompts published in March 2026, Semrush found that 11% of AI answers cite LinkedIn. Only one domain is cited more often. G2's 2026 survey found that 51% of B2B software buyers now start their research in an AI chatbot more often than in Google.

So a SaaS brand that only works on its own website misses where buyers, and the assistants, are reading.

How do you do search everywhere optimization?

  1. List the places your buyers search. Ask customers, check which sites send you traffic, and look at what AI answers cite for your category.
  2. Keep classic SEO in place for Google and Bing. Assistants still use search indexes.
  3. Publish where buyers already read: LinkedIn posts, YouTube how-tos, answers in relevant Reddit threads, and newsletters in your niche.
  4. Be honest on community sites. Say who you are when you mention your product.
  5. Get included in the third-party "best X" lists for your category.
  6. Measure each channel on its own terms: views and followers, referral visits, and how often AI answers name you.

What does it look like? (hypothetical example)

A hypothetical example: a sales software startup finds that its buyers watch YouTube demos, read two LinkedIn creators and ask ChatGPT for tool lists. It keeps its blog, but it also records short demo videos, sponsors one creator's post, and answers questions in a Reddit community as the founder, with its name shown. It checks every month which of these channels sends visits and which ones AI answers cite.

How is it different from AI SEO and GEO?

  • AI SEO and generative engine optimization (GEO) focus on AI answers.
  • Search everywhere optimization is wider: AI answers are one channel next to video, social and community platforms.
  • Reddit SEO is one part of it: showing up in Reddit threads that rank in Google and get cited by AI.

For how classic SEO, GEO and AEO compare, read SEO vs GEO vs AEO.

How does it connect to third-party lists and AI citations?

Lists are one of the places people and assistants look. Prefer found that in July 2026, 40% of the sources AI assistants cited for buyer questions were independent lists. A search everywhere plan for a software brand counts those lists as a channel, next to LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit.