| Mentioned.

To be mentioned is to enter the decision. To be absent is to risk disappearing before the buyer has even started their formal research.

What has changed is not the importance of search. What has changed is the context around it. Consumers no longer move in a straight line from search result to website to contact form.

For years, companies treated the website as the beginning of the buyer journey. A prospect saw an ad, clicked through, landed on a homepage, read a few sections and decided whether to contact the company. That journey still exists. But it is no longer the only one. And in many markets, it is no longer the dominant one. Today, buyers often form an opinion before they ever visit your website. They search your name on Google. They compare you with competitors. They look at Linke