Every once in a while, something shifts in our industry so quickly that you can feel the tension building in real time.
Over the last few months, I’ve had more and more private conversations about the evolution of search. In fact, I’ve had more in the past five months than I’ve had in the past five years.
Whether it’s been with CMOs, VPs of Marketing, heads of enrollment, or presidents themselves, everyone seems to be asking a similar version of the same question:
And the concern underneath that question is real:
We’re watching the rise of zero-click behavior, where more and more searches end without a visit to a website.
We’re watching the rapid adoption of LLMs like ChatGPT, where prospective students are no longer “searching” in the traditional sense - they’re asking questions - and getting answers - instantly, inside an interface that may never send them to an institution’s website at all.
And we’re watching the search experience itself evolve, as platforms introduce new layouts, new answer surfaces, and new ad units that fundamentally change how visibility works.
All of this has created a growing concern that the Google playbook of the past - rank well and earn the click, or cough up cash and pay for it - may not support us as effectively in the future.
And that’s the part I want higher ed leaders to take seriously.
Not because search is broken. And not because everything is changing overnight.
But because student discovery has already changed, and many institutions are still structured, staffed, and budgeted as if it hasn’t.
This isn’t just an SEO conversation. And it isn’t a technical debate about meta tags or minor algorithm updates.
This is a leadership-level conversation about visibility, enrollment, and brand presence in a world where the journey is becoming less linear, less click-dependent, and far more influenced by what platforms choose to surface.
That’s why next week, I’m excited to host a live webinar: State of the State: The Future of Search.
I’ll be breaking down, from my perspective, what’s actually changing, what’s staying the same, and what I truly think higher ed marketing leaders should be doing right now to stay ahead of the curve.
And I’ll be sharing the exact advice I’ve been sharing privately with our partners at Kanahoma with anyone who wants to tune in and be a part of the conversation.
If this is a topic you’re passionate about - or at a minimum, concerned about - I’d encourage you to RSVP and join us.
Hope to see you next week.
- Seth
About The Author
Seth is the founder and CEO of Kanahoma, a San Diego-based performance marketing agency on a mission to build a better agency for organizations building a better world.
You can learn more about who we are and what we do at www.Kanahoma.com.
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