When this article first appeared on my phone, I thought it was some form of rhetorical question. Surely no one writing for the online and digital section of Adage could possible think this. Sure enough, this “expert” not only believes this, but tries to defend the premise with convoluted pseudo-logic that screams “I don’t know what I’m talking about but need to write something that appeals to the old guard.”

While the writer has a few quasi-legitimate points, the bottom line is this - SEM, specifically organic SEO, doesn't REQUIRE additional persuasion, because the companies at the top of a search gain legitimacy and persuasive perception by virtue of being at the top.

Traditional advertising serves little for a huge percentage of businesses in today's market other than to drive web traffic and create brand awareness. Since 69% of consumers respond to traditional media advertising by Googling the industry category or going directly to the website, then in truth the real persuasion is happening on the WEBSITE in question rather than the medium used to get the potential customer there.

Therefore, the checkout counter analogy would apply to pretty much all advertising, text or otherwise.

An additional point that makes SEM one of the BEST forms of advertisings is the exact opposite of the author's premise. He says that without persuasive display it's not advertising. However, since consumers have little loyalty to most brands outside of major ones, smaller companies that rank for or buy PPC for relevant keywords can take advantage of ad dollars spent by their competitors.