Using SEO To Optimize For Your Customers’ Online Shopping Habits
From the user’s perspective, finding something from a search engine is easy. All the user really need to do is search for something and filter the results according to your needs. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you go back to the search engine and refine your search with modifiers until you find exactly what you’re looking for.
For businesses that want to be found online, the over-arching goal should be to make the customer’s life a little bit easier.
A user’s search can be broken down into 3 basic categories:
1: Awareness
The user knows they need something, they could be looking for a re-usable diaper service in Raleigh or they could be looking to buy some flowers to congratulate someone on their very first blog post for VisionPoint Marketing (that’s not a hint by the way).
These people are looking to find someone, anyone to deliver on what they’re looking for. They have yet to decide who to purchase from and they’re open to your value statement.
Some keywords they could be using are: reusable diapers, cloth diapers, cloth vs. disposable diapers or biodegradable diapers.
You can tell that the customer knows what they want, but they’re not aware of a company that can provide that service.
2: Consideration:
The good news is that through good SEO and good keyword research on your part, you now have a potential customer. The bad news is that they have yet to select you.
When the customer types in “cloth diapers”, they get a selection of websites, some of them will sell cloth diapers, other results are more informational. The user will look for through the sites to compare prices, features and overall value to make a determination.
At this point, when the customer is about to make a decision, they switch to:
3: Acquisition:
This is where your value and service need to shine. You’ve excelled at your keyword research, you’ve done SEO right, you’ve cultivated good links from relevant sources and your website is intuitive.
If the customer doesn’t make a purchase here, they’ll go back into the consideration phase. They’ll look for reviews of your company, they’ll refine their keyword search and they’ll ask questions like “how hard is it to change a cloth diaper?” Have you optimized for that question? Have you considered that your customers may be teetering on the edge of a decision? This would be a good time to re-engage them again.
When they ask the question online, they’ll find message boards and social networks. Have you participated in those conversations?
If you’re perceived to have the answers, if you’ve optimized your site based off of strong keyword research, not just for the primary keywords, but for the follow-up questions, the chances of them using your business to solve their problems increases significantly.
So, What’s the Point?
Search Engine Optimization is not just about getting the right keyword density, the right keywords at the right places. It’s about leveraging your knowledge of your customers, knowing what they want, what they’re looking for and how they look for it. You have the data, it’s now time to use it.