Search used to be a platform (Google). Now it’s a behaviour that happens across multiple platforms.

This means search is democratising. It’s no longer confined to rankings, blue links, or whether you’ve ticked every box on your technical checklist. If you’re still thinking about search as a siloed discipline (Google only, website only) then this is your harsh (sorry 😬) wake-up call - smell the coffee! 

Search has evolved, user behaviour has evolved, and you need to evolve too.

Today, search is a journey. It’s an experience that unfolds across multiple touchpoints and in multiple formats. It starts with demand generation, and ends in demand capitalisation - but not in a straight line.

In this article, we have shared our 6-stage demand model, showing how people move through discovery, brand introduction, education, visualisation, exploration and finally, conversion - all encapsulated by demand generation and demand capitalisation. You’ll find out why a Search Everywhere mindset is the key to unlocking revenue, efficiency and long-term brand preference. 

TL;DR

Search is no longer linear or platform-bound.
It’s emotional + informational + multi-platform.
Your job is to show up where demand forms (specifically for your audience) - not just where it converts.

The Search Everywhere® Demand Staircase

Before we jump into each stage, you need to understand one thing:

This is not a funnel with linear progression, it’s more like a staircase where people can move up, down, sideways, or enter and drop off at any stage (but they usually start at the bottom). Their journey depends on:

• Algorithmic behaviour
  
  
• Creators
  
  
• Social search
  
  
• AI/LLM recommendations
  
  
• Culture / cultural relevance
  
  
• Community influence
  
  
• Intent signals
  
  
• Life context
  
  

But here’s the important bit: each step up increases emotional closeness or informational clarity, pushing someone closer to choosing your brand.This is what we qualify as ‘preference’ at Deviation.

1. Discovery

Passive exposure. Zero intent. High potential.

This is where someone meets your brand for the first time, but not because they were looking for you. Discovery is created passively. Exposure comes from conversation, culture, algorithms and creators, not explicit search behaviour.

Think of:

• Algorithmic content served based on interests (TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Pinterest)
  
  
• Creator content like GRWMs, vlogs, hauls, reviews, shown on the FYP.
  
  
• Seeing your brand naturally inside someone else’s organic story/content
  
  
• LLM/AI surfacing your brand as part of a solution
  
  

Imagine:
Melanie loves running, the algorithm knows this well because she regularly engages with running content, follows runners, and posts her own running journey.

In the evening, she scrolls through her FYP on TikTok and sees a piece of content from her favourite running creator - showing how she beat her 5k PB. 

While this isn’t the case for the video linked above, imagine that within this are 3 tips, and one of them is investing in the right running shoes, this is where she calls out your running shoe brand. Melanie likes the content and saves it for later so she can use it to help her beat her own 5k PB.

Melanie wasn’t searching for running shoes, she simply discovered you, because your brand was part of a conversation she already cared about.

2. Brand Introduction

Recognition without intent.

The brand becomes familiar. The user now knows who you are, even if they aren’t ready to act.

Think of:

• Your brand’s own content showing up in a feed
  
  
• Light Reddit browsing
  
  
• A second or third algorithmic touch
  
  
• Saved videos resurfacing
  
  
• Returning to LLMs/AI with follow-up questions
  
  

Imagine:
Because Melanie engaged with the content that featured your running brand through her favourite creator, when she scrolled through her FYP the next day, the algorithm presented her with content from your running shoe brands ‘owned’ channel.

This content explores the highlighted running shoes in more detail - highlighting the USPs and how they can help improve performance. It’s informative but still entertaining and human. Melanie recognises your brand’s name from the last piece of content she saw.

She’s really starting to consider how investing in the right road running shoes might improve her performance, so she takes to ChatGPT to find out more, asking detailed prompts about her previous performance, terrain and struggles that are holding her back from achieving her best speed.

3. Education

Low-intent moves to active curiosity.

This is where the user becomes intentional. They’re gathering options. They’re comparing and evaluating. They’re dipping one foot into research mode.

Signals & Behaviours:

• TikTok/social search (“best running shoes for road running”)
  
  
• Watching long-form YouTube reviews
  
  
• Browsing your brand profile
  
  
• Reading Reddit threads
  
  
• Asking AI for comparisons
  
  
• Early signs of preference formation
  
  

Imagine:
It’s been a week since Melanie was exposed to your brand, since then she’s taken to AI to further understand how running shoes could help her improve her 5k PB time through AI. She’s about to get paid and has decided she wants to purchase a new pair of running shoes when payday arrives.

She’s super excited, but they’re a big investment and she wants to make sure she finds the right pair for her. She trusts fellow runners in her running community most, she wants to know what real runners think.

So, she takes to Reddit, looking within running communities to find out which shoes are the most popular and what people think of different products, she also searches on TikTok ‘the best running shoes for road running’ where she can see creators wearing and comparing different shoes.

She whittles her list down to 3 options, your brand is one of them.

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4. Visualisation

“I can see myself using this.”
Emotional → contextual → personal.

This is where the product becomes part of their identity or future behaviour.

Signals & Behaviours:

• Pinterest for outfit/gear boards
  
  
• TikTok searches like “which size?”, “fit check”, “styling ideas”
  
  
• LLM prompts like “Would these suit my running style?”
  
  
• Imagining benefits, lifestyle changes, performances
  
  

Imagine:
Today Melanie went for her usual run and was imagining how her running outfit would look with new shoes! So she took a search on Pinterest for ‘running outfits’ to get inspiration on how she might style them. She was presented with a ‘running outfit inspo’ board from your brand which made it really easy for her to imagine them on herself. 

After she came back from her run, she analysed the results of her run, looking at where she could have cut off time for a PB, and she felt excited as she thought about how her new shoes may help her cut her time down - she’s visualising your brand as part of her journey.

5. Exploration (High-Intent Information Seeking)

Deep research mode. Validating. Reducing risk. Final comparisons.

This is where they’re really taking a deep dive, they’re comparing, validating and closing in on intent.

Signals & Behaviours:

• Google searches (“best running shoes 2025”, “top rated road running shoes”)
  
  
• PLP comparisons
  
  
• Reddit deep dives
  
  
• YouTube reviews
  
  
• LLMs for “is this legit?”
  
  
• Evaluating retailers, prices, features
  
  

Imagine:
Melanie now definitely wants to buy running shoes, and she has a few strong contenders, she’s whittled her choices down to 3, with your brand being one of them. 

She takes to YouTube for a deep dive into each running shoe, watching long form content while she eats her dinner that night.

Then she asks AI which one’s best for her, and explores further with prompts such as ’does this suit my running style’.

Because you’ve adopted a search everywhere strategy, AI favours your brand and shows you as a top contender.

Confidence is building. Risk is dropping.

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6. Conversion

Action and Revenue

They’re now in the mindset for purchasing, and ready to convert!

Signals & Behaviours:

• Google PLPs aligned exactly to her intent
  
  
• TikTok Shop checkout
  
  
• TikTok Live deals
  
  
• Affiliate codes from trusted creators
  
  
• Shopify/LLM purchase flows
  
  
• Agentic search (“Buy the [brand] Road Runner Series 6”)
  
  

Imagine:
Payday hits.
Melanie Googles your brand.
She sees a PLP perfectly matched to “road running shoes.”
She clicks. She buys.

If she didn’t buy there, she still had multiple pathways:
Creator affiliate links, TikTok Shop, Lives, AI-assisted checkout… the choice is hers - and you’re ready where she is.

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Remember…

You now have a multi-directional model that mirrors how people actually behave. Brands win when they stop thinking in funnels and start thinking in search behaviours that span social, creators, LLMs, communities, and commerce.

But it’s important to remember that this is not a linear model, people aren’t that predictable sadly! Your audience might go from exploration back to education, they might jump from brand introduction straight to conversion - the journey is messy but connected. 

They might even fall off the stairs at any point, and this is why it’s important for you to give them as many opportunities as possible to re-join the staircase - the more exposure they face with your brand, the more likely they are to get back on those stairs and climb up to conversion. But to do this - your brand needs to be present  where they spend time with valuable, authoritative, trustworthy content. 
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This is the Search Everywhere mindset.
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It’s no longer about being present, but becoming the preference.

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