Total Search: Thinking Beyond Google

This talk delves into the history of how humans have searched for information, and how we must adapt with the accelerating revolution of Organic Search.

Transcript

1. Thinking Beyond Google. Total Search Dan McCartney Head of Organic Search, Hallam
2. 1990 Search Engines are Invented 20112012 Panda & Penguin Updates 2015 RankBrain Rolls Out 2018 Medic/EEAT Update 2023 > The Meteoric Rise of AI 1440 The Printing Press is invented 1768 Encyclopedias & Libraries Pre-Internet
3. Weʼve done this before , and weʼll do it again
4. Context is Key Source: Statista
5. Googleʼs Market Share is the lowest since 2014 Source: Statista
6. Chrome might be sold off
7. 40% of Gen Z use TikTok as a Search Engine 45% of Gen Z use Instagram as a Search Engine
8. The Monopoly is cracking
9. “Dan, you should always assume your user is stupid…ˮ “...and blind!ˮ
10. Life is getting easier for users, so it should be harder for marketers.
11. The Rise of the Answer Engine
12. Itʼs not just SEO thatʼs evolving, itʼs humans too.
13. Search engine optimisation Total search optimisation
14. Tracking down a childhood football match
15. Detail in prompts is everything ➔ The match was roughly 20 years ago ➔ A player was booked for removing his shirt ➔ There was a “[name]ʼs Blue and White Army!ˮ chant
16. Carlton Palmerʼs Blue & White Army
17. Monday 25th August 2003  300pm Stockport County 1  1 Tranmere Rovers Me!
19. Great story, mullet boy. What can I do right now?
20. Donʼt sit still or youʼll fall behind …but still take it one step at a time .
21. Search evolution is a marathon , not a sprint 2 3 1 Unified Search Combine efforts with Paid Media in order to take strategic learnings and identify efficiencies between the channels Organic Search Grow presence in search engines by optimising Technical SEO, Content & Authority through backlinks Total Search Holistically optimise to appear organically wherever your customers are searching
22. SEOs + Literally Any Data Continue to be led by data
23. ClickStream data helps guide us 23 Source: SparkToro
24. 05 04 03 02 01 Get Cited in LLMs Become a trusted source AI tools reference to support accurate, helpful answers. Earn External Mentions Gain mentions and links from credible websites, media, and communities. Publish Clear, Expert Content Publish content that clearly answers questions and demonstrates subject-matter expertise. Share Original Insights Share original research, data, or perspectives LLMs are more likely to surface and reference. Add Structured Data Add schema markup to help AI tools understand your contentʼs structure and purpose. The LLM Ladder
25. Measure the impact properly
26. Hang on, I thought this was TechSEO North ?
27. Get found . Manage bots. Respect the User Journey .
28. Get found: Donʼt pull a Thorntons
29. Manage bots: Avoid overcrowding Monitor Crawl Stats regularly GSC  Settings → Crawl Stats Technical changes went live
30. Respect the User Journey: Be human Source: NP Digital Source: Think With Google
31. The Effort vs Impact Matrix Effort Low High Impact High Major Projects Thankless Tasks Fill-in Jobs Quick Wins
32. Thank you. Dan McCartney Head of Organic Search, Hallam linkedin.com/in/mccartneydaniel/