A large share of under 25s start product and place searches inside social apps. Those searches never reach Google, and they never show up in your analytics.
Social search is people using social platforms as search engines. Someone wants a decent brunch place in Leeds, so they type it into TikTok instead of Google. Someone researching a mattress searches Reddit because they want opinions from people who bought one. The query behaves exactly like a search query. It just never touches a search engine.
How big it actually is
In 2022, a Google senior vice president said in a public talk that around 40% of people aged 18-24 use TikTok or Instagram rather than Google Maps or Search when looking for somewhere to eat. Google has been careful with its numbers since, but the trend hasn’t reversed. Meanwhile, Reddit threads now appear on a very large share of product and review queries in Google itself, which tells you where Google thinks the useful opinions live.
The awkward part for marketers is that none of this shows up in Google Search Console. A buyer can research a category for a week inside TikTok, arrive at your site by typing your name into the address bar, and be recorded as direct traffic.
What each platform is used for
TikTok handles discovery and place-based queries: where to eat, what to buy, how to do something quickly. Instagram is closer to a visual directory, strong for venues, interiors, clothing and anything people want to see before committing. Reddit is where people go when they distrust marketing and want a real answer, which is why it dominates “best X” and “is X worth it” searches. YouTube remains the biggest for anything instructional.
Optimising for it
The mechanics are less sophisticated than Google and more literal. Put the search phrase in the spoken words of the video, because TikTok and Instagram both transcribe audio and index it. Put it in the on-screen text and the caption too. Use a few specific hashtags rather than twenty broad ones.
Then make the content answer the query in the first three seconds, because retention drives distribution and nothing ranks that nobody watches. Comments matter more than they do anywhere else: a question answered well in the replies keeps a video circulating for months.
On Reddit, you cannot game it, and you shouldn’t try. Participate honestly in the subreddits where your category gets discussed, be useful, and mention your product only where it genuinely answers the question. A single helpful comment on a thread that ranks in Google can send steady traffic for years. We plan this alongside organic search in our social search work.
Measuring something that hides from analytics
You will not get clean attribution, so stop trying to build it. Use the platform’s own search analytics where it exists; TikTok shows search terms that led to your videos. Track branded search volume in Search Console, because social discovery usually shows up there a few weeks later as more people search your name. And ask new customers where they heard about you on the enquiry form. The self-reported answer is imperfect, but it’s more honest than a last click model.
Common questions
Is social search replacing Google?
No, but it is taking specific query types. Local recommendations, product opinions and visual research increasingly start in an app. Transactional, navigational and detailed research queries still go to Google. Plan for both rather than moving budget wholesale.
Do hashtags still matter for social search?
Less than the spoken and written text. Both TikTok and Instagram index audio transcripts, captions and on-screen text. Hashtags help categorise a post, but they’re no longer the main way people find it.
Does posting on social media help my Google rankings?
Not directly. Social links are nofollowed and are not a ranking factor. Indirectly, it helps a lot: content that circulates gets seen by people who link to it, cite it and search for your brand.
Which platform should a B2B business start with?
LinkedIn and YouTube, usually, plus Reddit if your category gets debated there. B2B buyers research the same way everyone else does; they just do it in different rooms.
See our glossary entry for social search for the short definition.
