Designing a Psychology-Based SEO Strategy

Search Engine Optimization is not just about keywords or ranking, it’s about why people search for things in the first place.

It’s about psychology.

Think about it, why did you share that piece of content?

It’s probably because that was something you cared about.

For a successful digital marketing strategy, psychology plays a decisive role. This is why it is important to understand the why behind a user’s behavior.

In this blog post, we will talk about the 9 things that every digital marketing professional should know about the psychology of SEO:

#1 Understand your target audience

As a digital marketer, you have to know what makes your customers tick. Any marketing strategy that you deploy without knowing your prospects is sure to fail. Identifying prospective customers is easy when you get in touch with your existing customers and carry out proper market research. For this, you have to develop a detailed persona of your ideal customers.

#2 Spot customer intention

After identifying your ideal customers, the next step is understand where they are in their buyer’s journey. Any search query they make will reflect the stage they are in–awareness, research, decision, or purchase. Once, you know what your customers are looking for, you can provide them with engaging and informative content.

#3 Target specific pain points

Relevant content addresses the pain points of your customers, which may differ from one to another. When conducting a market research and while communicating with your existing customers, you can identify the problems they might be facing. The next step is to utilize this research to improve your content and SEO strategy, and stay ahead of the curve.

#4 Employ search engine queries

As search engines evolve, so do search queries. It’s important to understand how users phrase their queries, in order to develop an effective SEO strategy. For instance, rather than searching for “watches for sale New York,” users now search, “Where can I find watches for sale in New York?” Try to create your content in a way that you answer these questions, by incorporating long-tail keywords or key phrases.

#5 Add images & videos

In order to connect with your customer, your SEO strategy must include images and videos whenever and wherever it makes sense. For instance, sharing your posts without photos won’t be as impactful as posts with pictures. Therefore, your content becomes more interactive if you incorporate images and videos.

#6 Ensure seamless user experience

From an SEO perspective, using suitable title tags and organizing content in a logical flow helps improve user experience. According to the psychology of your personas, design the layout of your site so as to convert them into real customers. Your site must be interactive enough so that your prospects stay on the site. The ultimate goal here is to ascertain that accurate content is reaching out to the targeted audience at the right time.

#7 Share and spread

Whatever content you provide to your users must not just be read but should also be shared. When your users share the content, they are actually promoting your brand. The act of sharing content defines that users are actively engaged. Well-distributed and widely shared content allows customers to better express themselves and their relationships to others around.

#8 Convert with Psychology

A robust SEO strategy considers how and why conversions take place. A conversion means that prospects opt in for an email newsletter or partake in quick surveys. Understanding the conversion psychology is of utmost relevance. For that, one must have a clear understanding of the sales funnel.Your content must compliment every stage of the funnel. So, become cognizant about the psychology of conversion so as to scale up SEO efficiency.

#9 Use call-to-action

Your website visitors need guidance to be able to do what you need them to do. You cannot simply expect them to take action on their own. Include a call to action, which acts as the best guide for them on what to do next. Every step of the way, use action words to guide users along.

Conclusion

Walt Disney said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends too.”
For an effective SEO strategy, your content should focus towards your customers and prospects. It should help them find answers to their questions.

Want to know make your SEO strategy more user-centric?