The End of Search
Well, no, Google isn’t going anywhere. But something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is how the primacy of Google search as a way of interacting with the web is changing. As the social web matures, we’re discovering and engaging with content that’s brought to us through friends on Facebook, or newsletters from ecommerce sites, or business colleagues on Twitter.
Talks I’ve heard in the past week have shared this spirit. Last week Fred Wilson spoke to the Publishing Point, a book industry group I co-organize, and I was blown away by how much of his web engagement was with crowd- or friend-curated content—boxee, WeAreHunted, etc. These “filters,” which give value and power to certain shares on the web and are absolutely central to what Fred discovers, shares—and buys. (Read my post on Fred’s talk here.)
Similarly, when Susan Lyne, CEO of sample sale site Gilt Group, spoke at MediaBistro Circus, she did so from a somewhat unique perspective: Gilt is by invitation only, so its entire site is hidden from Google. The business, however, is taking off, and one of the ways it’s doing so is by functioning as a filter. The sales are tightly curated by trusted Gilt staff, offering a narrow selection of designer goods. Gilt also takes the time—and expense—to take their own photographs of all the merchandise they sell, which unifies the look of the site and improves the shopping experience immeasurably. And they’ll soon let users select designers, styles, and sizes so Gilt can serve up customized emails to individual users. Putting this kind of curated, personalized content in front of users—who are never more than two clicks away from buying something—is incredibly powerful as a way of giving your brand real value in the eyes of your users: you become a trusted source of recommendations, which is an invaluable thing to be. (I loved hearing Susan speak and think Gilt is doing lots of things brilliantly—I’m working on another post to delve into it more deeply!)
These are just a few of endless examples—Tumblr, Polyvore, and MySpace (yes, there are still millions of users on MySpace—more than Twitter) are just a few more. Millions of users are spending the vast majority of their time online at places like these, not searching on Google. And even when the time comes to make a purchase, it’s often unnecessary to go through Google. It’s worth thinking about that when you evaluate how much time and money you should invest in SEO and SEM.
