If you felt like 2024 came flying at you and never stopped accelerating, let me say I feel ya.

For the last five years, Top of Search’s specialization in marketing strategy for local search has helped clients generate YOY revenue growth. So much so that my very first client went from new and unknown with zero revenue to $4 million in three short years before selling in 2022.

However, this year, changes to the marketing world came faster and with more curveballs than I could have anticipated.

Here are a couple of the curveballs from this year.

GOOGLE + REDDIT

In February of this year, Google began prominently featuring Reddit results in the SERPs, so much so that I had to “google” what was going on (because of their storied history) and realized Google had purchased Reddit’s Data API.

For marketers like myself who were aware of Reddit but not active daily users, it became of utmost importance to go into a Reddit rabbit hole. Reddit can offer businesses an unfiltered consumer perspective that is void of any marketing spin but loaded with community sarcasm. It’s a great research vehicle and should not be overlooked.

The AI Effect

In May, Google launched its AI-driven features, most commonly known as AI Overviews. These features allow users to receive a quick, concise answer to search queries. This curveball wasn’t unexpected since Google is continuing to advance its goal of keeping you on the search engine results page and off the information source’s website. But, it will require businesses to adjust how they write and publish content on their website and it’s just additional confirmation that a zero-click search is on the way.

For all the positives that AI brings, mainstream adoption of AI has made many businesses sound less human and more like they are floating in a sea of sameness.

For example, head to Realtor.com and read a sampling of real estate listings in our area. You might just find that every home on the MLS is nestled in a tranquil setting, has a blend of elegance and comfort, and is the epitome of coastal luxury and tranquility, not to mention a coastal paradise offering oceanfront bliss.

Copy and paste is the cardinal sin of marketing. You never want to be the same as everyone else. And, as a business vying for visibility you MUST stand out.

But wait, there were more curveballs thrown…

Video and Visual Search

SERPs (Search engine results pages) became even more visual with video. If you had a YouTube strategy, your YouTube videos were shown more and more on the first page. Visual search also became more popular. Google Lens really started growing. Ask yourself how often you took a picture while shopping to see where else you could find the item this year. I was snapping store pics all year long.

SearchGPT

Most recently, on October 31, OpenAI introduced SearchGPT, which, aside from keeping many avid users in the platform longer, will have lots more implications down the road. This topic deserves its own post, as I have so many thoughts here. Look for my thoughts in an upcoming blog.

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A New Chapter for Search

The one commonality among all news breakers in 2024 was that they tested Top of Search in ways it hadn’t been challenged before. The challenge was refining client marketing plans to deliver the most appropriate marketing strategy (and tactical mix) for this “New Chapter of Search” so that they would continue to see revenue success.

As we shift into 2025 and businesses start thinking more about what worked and what didn’t, I’m sharing my perspective on what savvy businesses will start doing more in 2025.

1 – You Will Worry About More Platforms

For the last five years, strategically being multi-channel has been good enough. I’d tell my clients, “Let’s put priority focus on your website and your brand’s differentiation and create content with multichannel distribution to GBP, directories, and social platforms.“

Today, you need to be omnichannel. What’s the difference? It’s simple: Your channels need to be connected and consistent. You need an overarching strategy that considers the movement between channels a buyer might go through. Your marketing plan must be prepared enough to anticipate that and meet them there seamlessly with a consistent message.

What channels are we talking about?

Short answer: All.Of.Them.

Longer answer: Google, Bing, Apple, Google Business Profile, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Tiktok, SearchGPT, Perplexity, Google Lens, the list goes on.

It might just be easier to say again… all.of.them.

2 – Optimize for More Places

Industry players are calling this new era of SEO “Search Everywhere Optimization” because SEO is evolving, and buyers are literally now everywhere, utilizing search engines on all their preferred platforms to find products and services.

To be in any of these places, you have to take up real estate. To be in even more places than you have been, you need a new strategy. SEO tips I might have shared in 2020 don’t apply anymore. It’s not good enough to just add your NAP (name, address, phone) and show up occasionally. You really have to be present on the channels. You need to go omnichannel and expand your reach with a strategy that delivers the right content for each platform.

3 – Expand Your Net

Now, if you are starting to ask the question like “OMG, how can I be everywhere? And, how do I know the right content for every platform?” Well, again, it’s safe to tell you I’ve been there too.

When I started noticing a lot of these changes over this past year with my clients, I knew I had to get positioned to pivot. However, for businesses well-established in the local Google search rankings, like my clients, pivoting into strategies for social and beyond isn’t just a quick plug and play. It’s going to take some testing or like Neil Patel likes to say throwing some spaghetti at the wall until you find what sticks.

With lots of testing (and continued!! testing) for clients, I do see commonalities. Buyers want authenticity. Video is “down and dirty.” Think less production value and more relatability across platforms. Specifically, short-form. TikTok, Reels, YouTube shorts. When it comes to content, most audiences are not looking to hear that you and your business made $100K last month; they want to know as a business how you can help them…with their problem. Sell the problem you will solve. Not the product you offer.

What’s In My Net?

The platforms that should be included in your marketing mix depend on the ideal customer for the products or services you offer.

For one Top of Search client with a 55+ demographic, we have found through testing that YouTube is the most successful “new” platform in our omnichannel strategy so far. This platform is connected back to the website, and we have established daily publishing consistency centered on expertise. The strategy has been deployed for about four months and has just started to generate revenue for the business.

For another client with a Millennial demographic, success and engagement were found on Instagram. More specifically, success has been found in team members niching into specific interests and specializations so they can engage more deeply while sharing a perspective that only an expert would have that’s very helpful or relatable to their audience.

Get A Savvy Start for 2025

Now, if you are ready to get a savvy start in 2025, here’s my recommendation for deciding where to expand your net, aka your visibility.

• Look at the data: Start by reviewing the research available to you and make educated guesses about where your ideal customer is. Take a look at these demographic findings from GWI.

• Study Your Competition: Ask yourself (or Top of Search for help) where your competition is. If they show up and engage with your ideal customer on a specific platform, you likely want to be there. If they are NOT showing up on a platform and research shows your demographic is there, you MIGHT want to be there.
• Identify Your Strengths: An often overlooked question to ask is what you are really good at. If an ideal platform prioritizes brands that show up in bold, funny, trendy, and cool ways and that’s just not in your wheelhouse, rethink whether the time and effort to be there makes sense. If it does, but it just isn’t something you can consistently deliver on, find a team member or consider handing it off to a marketer who can.
• Repurpose Don’t Duplicate: This GWI chart below highlights what specific platforms look for and why it’s critical to understand what’s suitable for each platform. Unlike in 2020, when you could get away with duplication for local search visibility, today, you should repurpose and make it fit for each platform.

If your business is ready to boost visibility and make an impact in 2025, an omnichannel marketing strategy is needed! Success will start with you or your team mapping out the right channels to attract local customers.

Your Buyers are literally everywhere.

If you’ve read this far, I hope you’ve taken away some key insights. This year has shown how complex marketing can be, especially in this “New Chapter for Search”, where buyers are literally everywhere.

Here’s a recap of the 2024 curveballs that informed the marketing approach for 2025.

• Google + Reddit partnership
• The AI impact in SERPs
• Video and Visual Search on the rise
• SearchGPT’s recent launch

Considering buyers use search engines on all their preferred platforms to find products and services, Top of Search’s 2025 marketing approach is centered around “Search Everywhere Optimization.”

The 2025 Marketing Playbook

Here are the key strategies savvy businesses will use to grow.

• Take inventory of your current marketing mix.
• Analyze where and how you show up.
• Study your competition with the understanding that you won’t be able to copy and paste your way to success in 2025.
• Select as many platforms as your business has the bandwidth for, and bring your most authentic self to your chosen channels.
• Accelerate revenue success by building an omnichannel marketing strategy that seamlessly connects your chosen channels.

If you do not have the resources to be in more places this year, choose the channel your ideal customer will most likely be and prioritize showing up with very clear brand differentiation. Don’t waste a second pushing out content that looks like everyone else and sounds like anyone else. Be different. Then, as your business grows over time, look beyond and start throwing your spaghetti.

If you are advertising to fuel the fire or get the word out, focus on the bottom-of-the-funnel opportunities where you spend ad dollars – to expand your net and reach your ideal customer – at the decision-level stage. For decision-level advertising, create content that supports final decisions like “top pontoon boats” versus awareness-level content that might address “what types of watercraft are there?”

If you need help implementing any of these suggestions for 2025, Top of Search offers various marketing services, including strategy audits, which give actionable insights into what’s working and where improvements can drive growth. Reach out if you want to get ten steps ahead, and let’s set you up for success!