What search means now, according to SXSW London

Search surfaced repeatedly at SXSW London. Two sessions in particular stood out.

1️⃣ Vanessa Kingori OBE of Google emphasized how search reflects culture.
2️⃣ Neil Patel challenged how brands measure the success of content in a world where discovery happens before Google is even opened.

Together, the sessions suggested that the way people discover information is shifting—and many marketing strategies haven’t caught up.

Search as a signal of intent and emotion

Vanessa Kingori described Google Search as the most direct view into how people think. It doesn’t just track what people want to buy. It reveals how they process uncertainty, shape opinions, and respond to moments. This framing positions search not as a marketing channel, but as a social and emotional dataset.

Search volume on Google hit 8.5 billion daily queries in early 2025 (StatCounter, April 2025). Vanessa suggested that this activity offers a near real-time look at cultural shifts. For brands, that kind of access is rare—and undervalued when seen only through the lens of click-through rate.

Search doesn’t begin on Google anymore

Neil Patel offered a blunt update to how search works now. He argued that people start discovering through platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and even ChatGPT—before they ever arrive at a search engine.

TikTok now sees over one billion daily search queries (The Information, April 2025). Amazon handles 3.5 billion searches a day, many tied directly to buying intent (Marketplace Pulse, April 2025). These behaviors are layered, not siloed. People learn, ask, compare, and decide across multiple surfaces before they click anything.

Platforms like Fospha are helping brands connect these dots. By unifying data across early discovery platforms—TikTok, Amazon, Instagram, even Reddit—Fospha allows marketers to understand where true interest starts, not just where it converts. This visibility is becoming a must as top-of-funnel influence becomes more important.

This shift has changed how content needs to be structured and promoted. Patel referred to the concept of “search everywhere optimization.” Optimizing for Google alone ignores most of the early discovery path.

Zero-click behavior and shrinking returns

The introduction of AI Overviews in Google results has led to more people getting their answers without clicking. More than 65% of Google desktop searches end without a click (Similarweb, May 2025). This means being ranked isn’t enough. Brands now have to be featured in formats that drive visibility even without direct traffic.

YouTube has gained more prominence inside those AI Overviews. Short-form video is now integrated more deeply into results, especially for queries related to how-tos, product reviews, and creative industries. YouTube Shorts now reaches over 2 billion logged-in users per month (Google internal data, May 2025).

Content fatigue and the failure of volume-based strategies

Patel presented findings from a study across 68 websites and 744 articles. Content written by humans with AI support outperformed AI-only content by 5.4 times in organic traffic over five months. The point wasn’t just about writing quality. It was about how intent and context are often lost when content is produced in bulk without a clear plan for distribution.

He pointed to another breakdown in strategy. Over 4.6 billion pieces of content are published each day (Search Engine Journal, March 2025). Much of it repeats ideas or targets saturated keywords. Patel gave the example of a client publishing a new piece on banana nutrition. The information hadn’t changed in over a decade, and interest was minimal. Publishing without clear differentiation is now more likely to waste resources than build reach.

Tools and nontraditional formats convert better

Patel argued that static blog posts are not the highest-performing content types anymore. Interactive tools, templates, calculators, and guides generate better backlinks, longer time on site, and more conversions. These formats are easier to update, have longer lifespans, and require less maintenance once published.

In B2B campaigns, NP Digital has seen tools consistently outperform traditional content on both traffic and revenue. Tools are also shared more often, and they align more naturally with how people explore topics across social and search environments.

Social behavior now drives search behavior

Vanessa described how YouTube has shaped entire industries, from music to education to wellness. Patel gave an example of an Instagram video about turmeric face masks that went viral. It triggered a spike in Google searches within days. This pattern—where social media drives search interest—is becoming more common.

According to Statista (April 2025), over half of UK Gen Z consumers say they now follow up on social media content by searching on Google. Social is no longer just for awareness. It’s often where the research journey begins.

Marketers need to map discovery differently

Both sessions agreed on a final point. Search is no longer a destination. It is part of a fragmented journey across formats, platforms, and timeframes. Brands that build their content strategies around traditional funnel thinking will miss how people actually discover and decide.

Content needs to appear earlier in the cycle—on Reddit threads, in TikTok search, inside YouTube videos, and across voice or AI interfaces. Search remains essential. But its role has changed. The brands seeing results are those that understand how attention spreads, and build for where intent forms—not just where it ends.

That’s exactly where Fospha’s Halo feature comes in. Tailored for brands selling on Amazon, Halo quantifies the impact of upper-funnel media—like paid social or video—on actual Amazon sales. Instead of relying on guesswork, brands get a clear view of what’s really driving performance across the full customer journey.

*Catch more exclusive insights from SXSW London in our Unofficially SXSW publication.