Although search engines are rooted in technology, their central purpose is inherently human. By connecting users to the most relevant websites, documents, and resources, search engines create connections and share information between people all over the world. Because search engines are becoming increasingly personalized, user needs and behavior should be an integral part of SEO strategy, especially since a user-centered SEO strategy can increase ROI, conversions, and user satisfaction. While user-centered SEO has many facets, its foundation is built on these two key components:
A strong understanding of audience and target market forms the foundation of any marketing strategy, as it provides valuable information about the best content and voice to include in messaging. Similarly, you should use your knowledge of your brand’s audience to guide search engine optimization, as their specific interests and preferences indicate the best keywords and content to include on the site. To improve your general understanding of your audience, check out the demographics and interests data within Google Analytics. These areas provide information on the age, gender, lifestyle, and product-purchase interests of your site’s visitors. For example, the demographics area can tell you if your site is visited most often by 35-44 male sports fans or 25-34 female tech enthusiasts. This data can help you tweak the messaging on your site to ensure it’s catered to the right people.
You can also use Google Analytics to better understand your audience’s search behavior. Head to the acquisition section of the Google Analytics dashboard, and then look under search console and queries to see which Google search queries led to the most impressions of your site through organic search. Once you’ve identified the most common search terms that bring people to your website, ensure that related keywords are included in each page’s headings, metadata, and content.
As we discussed last week, Google no longer emphasizes keyword matching in search results but instead focuses on searcher intent. Searchers often use phrases and sentences as queries, treating search engines more like another person instead of a computer. For this reason, emphasizing “long-tail keywords,” those based on queries of three words or more, in your site can significantly boost its SEO. Because they’re so specific, long-tail keywords tend to attract highly qualified traffic that’s more likely to turn into leads and customers.
For example, a business specializing in high-end precision agriculture equipment would likely benefit from including long-tail keywords in their site’s content. Although an amateur searching for “farming apps” might miss your site buried in the search results, an experienced, established farm owner using a more specific, long-tail keyword, such as “precision agriculture tractor” would likely see your site at the top of the page. It’s the person searching with this long-tail keyword who is most likely to be a potential client for your products.
Although keywords and queries are an integral part of SEO, users are most likely to find and click on your site when it contains unique, engaging content. To learn how to create the best content for your organization, check out our white paper, “The 5 new laws of content.”
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