The way people search is changing – fast. Social media isn’t just for scrolling and sharing anymore. It’s where audiences are actively searching for ideas, products and experiences they care about.

TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube have become powerful discovery engines. And for brands, that shift rewrites the rulebook of both organic social and organic search.

At SINE, we help brands keep pace – by optimising social content for both in-platform and traditional search. From ranking in TikTok’s search results, to showing up on Pinterest boards and appearing at the top of YouTube watch lists, we make sure our clients are visible where their audiences are already looking.

That’s why social SEO isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s a core part of our organic search strategy.

How Search Behaviour has changed: Why SEO strategies need to adapt to multi-channel search

According to HubSpot’s Consumer Trends Report, audiences are increasingly turning to social platforms and AI over traditional search to get answers online. Since the initial report, Hubspot & Glimpse’s consumer trends report in 2024 shows:

• Social is now the #1 channel for product discovery across all age groups
• 1 in 4 survey respondents prefer to discover new products through social media over any other channel
• Over 20% of social users bought something based on an influencer’s recommendation
• Consumers are bypassing Google and going straight to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube

That’s why Social SEO is a core part of our strategy and outlined as one of our top SEO Trends for 2025 – and key to staying visible as search behaviour evolves.

So – What is social SEO?

Social SEO is all about making your content easy to find inside social platforms – not just search engines. It means understanding how people search on TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram, then weaving the right keywords into your posts, videos and pins so you show up when it matters.

At SINE, we take a multi-platform approach, adapting strategy to fit the way real users browse, search and discover across each channel.

TikTok SEO: TikTok isn’t just an entertainment platform – it’s a search engine.

TikTok has evolved into a search engine in its own right, rolling out search suggestions, SERP-style results and Google visibility. For brands, this means SEO should be a core pillar of your TikTok strategy – built to capture demand from the platform’s growing search audience. 

We optimise TikTok videos using search-driven captions, strategic keyword hashtags, and text overlays. Creator Search Insights plays a key role in TikTok SEO as it reveals the keywords people are searching for, highlights trending topics, and even shows what content is already performing well. 

We use this to guide our video briefs, tailoring captions and hashtags around keywords that are rising in popularity. It ensures our content isn’t just creative – it’s driven by demand. Tools like Glimpse and Semrush complement this by helping us track broader search trends and audience behaviour.

We’ve found that when brands lean into these insights, search performance is stronger. TikTok wants to surface content that fits what users are already searching for, and this tool helps you deliver it.

Some of our TikTok case studies show:

• 79% of video views coming from TikTok Search in early 2025 vs the For You page (FYP)
• Optimised content achieved CTR’s of up to 64%
• TikTok visibility extended beyond the platform, with hundreds of keywords ranking on Google
• 62% year on year increase of traffic driven to the website through TikTok

We find TikTok works especially well for fashion brands, luxury retail, homeware inspiration alongside tourism and the ‘things to do’ audience, including travel, attractions and live entertainment. 

TikTok Paid Search Ads 

TikTok Paid Search ads have also just launched in the UK as of April 2025 – and SINE have been on the forefront of testing this for our paid media clients when the update first rolled out in the US in September 2024. Our work with Romeo and Juliet in New York means we also know how to capture demand for non-branded searches in paid search within the TikTok platform:

YouTube SEO: Video visibility where it matters

YouTube search remains one of the most powerful ways to drive views. At SINE, we focus on titles, descriptions, hashtags, and thumbnails, all with SEO in mind.

With over 21% of one client’s views coming from YouTube Search alone, a solid keyword strategy here is a no-brainer.

Pinterest SEO: Search meets style

Pinterest is especially relevant for fashion, luxury retail and homeware brands, where discovery is often driven by visual inspiration. We optimise pin titles, descriptions and boards based on seasonal and trending terms to ensure content gets seen by the right people.

In Q1, our initial Pinterest tests saw one client’s content saw a +89% YoY lift in outbound clicks, showing the power of Pinterest SEO when it’s done right.

Instagram SEO: Emerging but promising

Instagram is still in the early stages of developing its search functionality, but the recent launch of ‘Edits’ in April 2025, which recognises and indexes text overlay, suggests that more search-led features are on the way. 

We’re seeing better visibility when we use keywords in captions and on-screen text, and we’re keeping a close eye as Instagram’s algorithm evolves. We predict Instagram is positioning itself similar to TikTok, and expect increased search features in Instagram Discover as the platform develops in 2025 and beyond. 

But what about Google?

Google is still by far the leading search engine and still retains the highest market share – meaning it’s still critical to your organic strategy. However, layering in other areas such as social media and AI is important to ensure you can capture your audience wherever they are searching. 

A cross-platform share of search shows how Google still dominates:

However, Google has been responding to changing search behaviour by increasingly highlighting a mix of social media results in search – including forums like Reddit and Quora, alongside short form video from YouTube shorts, TikTok and Instagram Reels. It also launched its Perspectives feed in 2023, featuring scrollable ‘snackable’ social media content, which has now been replaced by Forums results. 

We anticipate seeing more Google tests around social media content – for example, within its Discover feed. Surfacing various social media results has been part of a broader test-and-learn phase as Google refines how it incorporates social media content into search.

We’re continuing to monitor how these updates unfold – and evolving our strategies accordingly. One signal we track is the total number of ranking keywords across major social platforms. While this isn’t the full picture, it’s a useful indicator of shifting visibility. Recent data shows notable fluctuations for video-led platforms, with YouTube and TikTok’s keyword presence in Google results in particular dropping significantly in March 2025 – the same month a Google core algorithm update rolled out – suggesting a potential shift in how Google prioritises video content.

So, what’s next?

The way people search is changing, and it’s not slowing down. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Pinterest and Reels aren’t just part of the conversation; they’re shaping it.

At SINE, we’re working with brands to evolve their approach to SEO in line with how people actually search today. That means:

• Crafting content that’s driven by in-platform search demand
• Aligning social and traditional SEO strategies
• Staying updated on shifts in how platforms serve content, including AI 

Whether you’re refining your current approach or building a strategy from the ground up, we’ll help you turn discoverability into performance.

Looking for a Social SEO Digital Marketing Agency?

We’re here to help! We team up with your organic and paid social teams to brief keyword-optimised content and data-led content calendars – helping you get seen across TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram, as well as in Google, AI results and digital PR.

This isn’t new to us. We’ve been integrating social media optimisation into our SEO roadmaps since 2023 – and it’s working. Our social-first search strategies recently earned us a spot on the shortlist for Best Use of Social Media in a Search Campaign and Most Innovative SEO Campaign for our work with Percival Menswear at the European Search Awards 2025 – with results announced later this week.

We’ve also shared our thinking at esteemed universities like King’s College London, where we’ve spoken on how social SEO and AI are reshaping search – and why brands can’t afford to ignore it.

Curious about how to bring Social SEO, AI and smarter PPC–SEO efficiencies into your 2025 search strategy? Get in touch by emailing Danielle on [email protected].

Author’s Note: This article was written by Hannah Lowe, Senior SEO Executive and Danielle Ward, SEO Director in May 2025.