In the beginning there was SEO.  Then on the seventh day, Google created PPC.  Then, the creators of our acronyms realized that there was an opportunity for a new one called Search Engine Marketing (SEM).  It would combine paid and organic search techniques and the Gods would be pleased with us for being so clever.  So why the snark?  I am tired of the obsession that we seem to have for “driving”  (sounds like something we do with cattle), “traffic” (aren’t these actually people), to our site (a magic land where we ensnare traffic into the inevitable conversion act with our elegant design, crafty copy and inescapable marketing acumen).  This is not how people behave online an we all know because we are (most of us) people and we do not behave that way.  The time has long since come for us to consider more than the one url that our magic land resides at but rather all the ways that users can encounter our brands through distributed content and conversions in what I daresay I have a new acronym for.  How about Search Experience Marketing (that way you don’t have to learn a new three letter abbreviation, SEM)?  Here’s my argument for why this makes more sense and is ultimately better search engine marketing than traditional approaches.

When a user searches they are presented with a SERP that has lots of options on it.  Maybe your website is one of them, but it’s only one of them.  What other things could they encounter:

• review sites
• blogs
• forums
• videos
• maps
• images
• news sites
• vertical industry search directories
• white papers
• press releases
• everything else that the internet is made of

If you are fortunate, this user may visit your website but why should they stop there with so much more information close at hand.  Would you? The reality is that every day people either encounter (or fail to encounter) your brand through all of these areas listed above.  A content marketing strategy that creates valuable, useful stimulating and helpful content in a variety of forms that flows socially into the fabric of the layered search experience that I describe above is the best way to attract and influence your target audience.  Obsessing only about where your site sits on a specific set of SERPs seems so narrow a consideration.

How does this work in action?  I recently shopped for a refrigerator.  This falls into the category of a considered purchase.  I searched for fridges and found that a website with helpful decision-making tools on it.  I narrowed it down to a type that I preferred.  On an ecommerce site I found some options.  On their corporate site I saw some specification and sometimes a helpful product tour.  On blogs I saw discussions and reviews.  My mind changed.  I settled on a brand.  I saw other helpful videos about the product by organizations other than the brand.  I was now romanced into the state of high gadget lust that I needed to be in.  Pennies are now being saved and product will soon be purchased.  What role did traditional SEO play in that?  A very small one.

Search engines are intentionally trying to make the SERPs more about answering questions than just scanning the web for keywords.  Your audience is going create an experience for themselves when they search in your space.  The more deeply woven you become in that experience, the better your brand will perform.  It’s not just about keywords and rank.  It’s about the totality of the search experience.  Is that what you are seeking to influence today?  If not, could it be?  Please?