The old era is ending.

SEO as you know it is leaving us.

Organic search optimisation is here.

SEO: Vertical search rankings.
OSO: Horizontal and Vertical search rankings.

Think width not height.

With perspectives, discover, videos and SGE, you’ll be able to reach more people through content designed to rank.

SEO: Keywords and queries.
OSO: Content based on emotional need states.

Research shows that people go to the internet in emmotional need states. Impress me, educate me, reassure me etc.

Brands can reach more people by creating and ranking content that matches those needs.

Reach as many people that aren’t in the market at the least cost.

SEO: Brands want ROI and short term sales.
OSO: Brands want to increase their share of search.

SEO always struggles to justify itself, because of an obssesion with Google analytics and ROI.

OSO is all about increasing a brands share of search. And other channels assist with this.

If share of search is down, a PR or TV ad campaign might be needed.

If the competition are reaching more people with content, a content gap reduction strategy might be needed.

Share of search is the key measurement as that dictates better long term sales potential.

SEO: Your website is the obssesion.
OSO: Mental and Physical Availability are the obssesion.

More people will start to check out on other platforms. Tiktok shop, Amazon, Instagram, indeed how long before you can book consultations directly through LinkedIn?

Yes, your website is still hugely important (more on that in a sec) but reaching as many people as possible is key.

This will require brands to think differently and invest accordingly.

Build a search world.

SEO: Traffic and Rankings.
OSO: Be your own search engine.

Aim for topical authority. When they land on your site, be so useful that they’ll want to stay.

This is how you counter SGE…by being a high quality information source.

SEO: Traffic focused
OSO: Performance focused

OSO is alligned with both performance marketing and brand.

It’s PR, brand advertising, purchase intent rankings, the messy middle, reaching buyers not in the market…and yes PPC.

Expect seasoned search professionals to examine budgets, optimise for sales and reach. The days of channel segregation are over.

OSO brutally examines performance and optimises for this.

SEO: Requires SEO practitioner.
OSO: Requires commercially savvy marketers who understand SEO, strategy, organic search, network science, content, social media, UX, marketing science, PR/DPR, brand marketing, PPC and sales activation.

This doesn’t mean to say they need to be experts in everything, but an understanding is required.

SEO: Campaign dependent
OSO: Infinite game.

You don’t stop organic search optimisation.

It never ends. The brand that gets this wins.

This is the future of search.