Understand
and deliver
approx 3 minute read
Is that your final answer?
Well, no, actually. I’m going to take a few guesses.
Imagine you’re on the tv quiz show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’.
There’s a question. You have 4 choices. You’d read each one, right? Probably twice. You might even phone a friend.
We don’t browse websites this way. Faced with multiple choices, we’ll click on the first thing that seems remotely plausible. And we’ll just try again if we get it wrong.
You’ve been there before, only to think “Oh snafflegoof! That’s not what I was expecticating at all” and you’ll hit back, and try another.
Scan and go
We all want to believe that potential clients read every word of our carefully crafted content but it’s not the case. Instead, humans browse the web recklessly. We scan pages for words and promises that stand out.
It’s the same with the results page that Google gives us.
Lots of options and nothing to lose other than time spent on a frustrating browsing experience.
But now there’s more at stake. Because someone has begun paying attention.
Google has begun experimenting with tests that react to how a user interacts with a SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
Those things include how quickly you might click a link on the results page (where quick is good) and how quickly you might jump back to the results (where quick is bad).
This is different from and in addition to bounce rate, which is where visitors only view one page on your site before leaving quietly.
How did we do?
To a large extent, SEO has always been about relevance. Relevance and authority.
It’s the search engine’s job to show you the most relevant information to your query of course.
- How relevant is your website to the search phrase?
- What chance does your website have of answering the query?
Real people are having a say. Casting a vote. Not just with their visitor numbers, but now with how they feel about a website.
Humans, not just Googlebots, are judging how useful, helpful and relevant your page, website and business is. And then Google is using those metrics as feedback which, combined with hundreds of other factors, determine your position on the page.
You get me?
So how does this affect you? Well, now more than ever, it’s crucial to understand your user. By having a conscious awareness of the intent of your user, you can dramatically improve user engagement, user experience and ultimately conversions.
- Why do people visit your website?
- What do they want to do?
- What information are they looking for?
- What questions do they have?
By putting those questions at the heart of your website content, you’ll be able to design the topics, layout, and flow of your site. Tackle subjects that your potential customers are really interested in, rather than just a load of ‘about us’ company-centric projectile vomit. Blurgh.
- Create unique content focused on being of service.
- Answer the most popular questions
- Help your users do what they came to do
- Offer guides, reviews and FAQs
- Use personalisation wherever possible
What users actually want vs what we think they want
Here is a perfect tongue-in-cheek Venn diagram from Steve Krug’s book ‘Don’t make me think’.
On the left we have
What the university thinks users visit their website for
vs
What the users are really looking for
Businesses often make exactly the same mistake.
How may I be of service?
- Be like Bogdan at the hotel, who’s brimming with local knowledge.
- Be like Niamh at the airport who breezily rebooks you onto the next available flight.
- Be like Emily in the DIY store who walks you 20 aisles to the right section, then helps you choose the best tool for the job.
Adopt a customer-centric approach to your website content and over time you’ll be rewarded with more visitors, more leads and more conversions. The search engines will pay attention too.
Uppitybang your search visibility by talking to your local Nettl SEO experts.