The 4 Types of Search You Should Actually Be Thinking About
The way people find information, products, and brands has moved. "Search" is no longer just a channel, it's a collection of behaviours happening across platforms, devices, and formats, each with its own algorithm, audience, and rules of engagement, which is how we approach search at GOOD.
Why this matters
Search behaviour is fracturing along generational and contextual lines. A 24-year-old looking for a restaurant recommendation isn't opening Google, they're opening TikTok. A B2B buyer comparing software isn't reading a blog first, they're (possibly) asking ChatGPT. A shopper looking for a new coffee machine isn't visiting a brand's website they're typing straight into Amazon.
Different people, different platforms, different intent. The brands getting found are the ones who've understood that.
1. Traditional search
Google still handles over 8.5 billion searches every single day. For most businesses, it remains the biggest source of organic traffic and the biggest long-term opportunity lies in SEO. Traditional search isn't going anywhere. What has changed is what showing up actually means. AI Overviews now appear in around 25% of all Google searches, which means a growing chunk of queries are being answered directly on the results page (before the user ever clicks through to your site).
Google has confirmed that the fundamentals are the same: strong content, solid technical foundations, and relevance signals. But in 2026, ranking first isn't enough on its own. You need your content to be cited, in AI answers, in featured snippets, in the places that get seen before anyone scrolls.
2. Video search
YouTube is the world's second largest search engine. 2.53 billion monthly active users. Over 4.8 billion monthly visits. People aren't just going there to watch things, they're going there to research, compare, and make decisions.
Brands that use video generate 41% more web traffic from search. YouTube videos regularly rank in Google's organic results for commercial queries. A well-optimised YouTube video keeps working for you long after you've published it.
If your brand isn't on YouTube, you're invisible to a huge slice of the search landscape.
3. AI search (GEO, AEO, EIEIO…)
This is the one that's moving the fastest and the one most brands are still underestimating…and some overestimating
ChatGPT has over 883 million monthly users. Processing 2 billion queries a day. Perplexity is growing. Google's AI Mode is reshaping how traditional search results look. The shift is accelerating.
Users arriving from AI platforms have typically done more research, asked more considered questions, and are closer to making a decision. They're potentially better leads.
Being cited in AI answers is becoming as important as ranking in traditional search. The content that gets cited most tends to be structured, data-rich, regularly updated, and written by someone with a credible point of view ie not a million miles from what good SEO has always rewarded.
4. Social search
Social platforms are no longer just places people scroll for entertainment. They're active discovery engines. TikTok is basically used as a search and news engine in 2026, Instagram is the same.
Pinterest is a great example that doesn't get talked about enough. It's one of the most intent-driven social platforms out there. People go to Pinterest actively looking for ideas, interiors, fashion, food, weddings, fitness routines, business inspiration, and they're doing it through search. Keyword-optimised pins, boards structured around real search terms, consistent content in a niche, all of it compounds over time in a way that's closer to SEO than it is to social media in the traditional sense. For the right brand, it's a seriously underused channel.
What makes social search different across all these platforms is the type of trust it generates. People aren't looking for the most authoritative source, they're looking for the most relatable one. A creator who's actually tried the product carries more weight than a well-ranked webpage ever will for certain audiences.
Optimising captions with real keywords, building content that answers genuine questions, showing up consistently, these aren't just good social habits…They're a search strategy.
So…
