There are tons of people every day searching for information online. You gotta think like a duck if you want to hang with a duck. In order to reach your perfect customer, it’s important to know what they’re typing into search engines and how.
1. Media
What is going on in the world around us is highly motivating as to what people search. Trends spike and move up or down concerning coverage about worldly topics. The more hype or buzz a person or event gets, the more it is searched. (This is why a great e-news release initiative in your marketing plan is an effective way to drive traffic to your website.)
2. Region
Depending on what region a person is from can be a deciding factor in what language they use to search. Whether or not they use plurals or singulars in searching or what order they’re using to type words for the search engine can depend on where the consumer is located geographically. For instance, let’s look at a Google trends search for Psychologists vs. Psychologist:
Psychologists (plural) trends search came up with these states as the top 10 that were searching this word:
Psychologist (singular) trends search came up with these states as the top 10 that were searching this word:
Can you see the difference?
Another search option would be a word that is commonly compounded vs. separated: Food Bank vs. Foodbank for instance.
Food Bank as a separated word search highlighted this group of top 10 states:
While Foodbank as a compounded word search highlighted this group of top 10 states. Note that some are the same states (like Washington and Colorado), but now they rank at a different number, meaning how they searched changed in quantity:
3. Anything that defines a demographic
Culture, house hold income, religion, hobbies and interests, education, age, aspirations, how important family is, or how independent they are, do they have children—all of these things and more determine how someone speaks, and in turn, how they search.
Your Perfect Searcher
When considering what keywords to use for your site, it’s important to know your consumer inside and out. Getting that initial great brainstorm filled with words that your client would use to search you—if they didn’t know your name or the name of your business—is key.
Search tools like Google tools, Twitter search, and blog searches make it easier to chart— that knowledge will help determine and define who is searching for what you offer and how they are searching for you. This helps you determine what key words to use and how to incorporate them into your site pages. Make it as easy as you can for them to find you!
Happy Keyword Researching!
Luck in your prose,
Meggin O’Morrow
