{"id":39712,"date":"2016-03-02T16:40:25","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T00:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/?p=39712"},"modified":"2019-07-22T10:19:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T17:19:10","slug":"consumer-journey-keyword-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/consumer-journey-keyword-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Your Consumer’s Journey Using Search Science for Keyword Research"},"content":{"rendered":"
Our speaker for this SMX West mini-session titled “Understanding Your Consumer’s Journey \u2013 Using Search Science for Keyword Research” is\u00a0Tony Verre<\/strong>, founder of DreamFire Digital Marketing (@TonyVerre<\/a>).<\/p>\n He opens with a question: Does anyone here use consumer surveys as a major data point when creating your strategies?\u00a0You can only believe half of what you hear and read. Accept that consumer surveys\u00a0don’t always tell the truth.<\/p>\n Here are examples:<\/p>\n From 50 to 84 percent of consumers don’t provide honest responses about their behaviors in marketing surveys. Why? Three reasons:<\/p>\n So if we can’t trust consumers, who can we trust? SEARCH ENGINES! No one is going to lie to a search engine. You don’t type “jeans” into the search box if you’re looking for running shorts.<\/p>\n Amazon and Google are two powerhouses of consumer search behavior data. We can unlock this data. Get inside consumers’ heads using observable and quantifiable data to figure out the consumers’ needs and wants.<\/p>\n Phases of the consumer search journey:<\/p>\n This tool tells us where something has been and where it’s going. Use a three- to five-year window to see a full business cycle to examine consumer search trends. Top-level trends can be misleading; compare terms to the category for a true sense of what search terms are driving the category.<\/p>\n For example, if we turn on the Compare to category option for terms “shampoo” and “conditioner,” we see that conditioner drives the category, and not shampoo, which appeared to be the trend driver before we accounted for category.<\/p>\n Get to know the category. Look at topics, queries and geographical centers that are driving the product category. Catalog, screenshot, and save for later.<\/p>\n For more of what Google Trends has to offer, see our 5 Enlightened Ways To Use Google Trends for Keyword Research<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Using the predictive search suggestions (aka Google instant results) is like using Google’s crystal ball, and it tells us what consumers are looking for around a term. Start typing a head term keyword in to a search box and see what other related searches and predictive searches are suggested. Screen shot, catalog, rinse, and repeat.<\/p>\n This is where we get into the meat and potatoes. He calls it “boiling the ocean of keywords.”<\/p>\n Tip:<\/em> Concentrate on just one product or service at a time.<\/p>\n Next, you start sifting through and refining the salt. You start bucketing how consumers are searching. This takes a long time, like 25 hours the first time Verre did it. Now he can do a similar category in four to six hours because he can recognize patterns.<\/p>\n For details on how to start using Keyword Planner, visit our How to Use Google’s Keyword Planner Tool<\/a> resource.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n If 44 percent start their searches on Amazon, you’re talking about a buy-now platform. You don’t have to do informational searches. You can use the same terms on Google. Amazon’s predictive search tool is a doorway to understanding what unbranded terms trigger purchase.<\/em> You find that consumers search Google and Amazon in a similar fashion, and so you should get confirmation that you’re on the same track. Catalog and screen shot away.<\/p>\n Don’t walk into your boss’s office with data and Excel spreadsheets. The next step is making the data understandable. He puts up the slide below that shows taking all the spreadsheets, graphs, and screenshots and turning them into something presentable, with colorful pie charts, pictures of faces, colored labels, etc.<\/p>\n Make a deck that fills out the consumer journey based on search science and tools, not unreliable consumer surveys. Take data and paint a picture.<\/p>\n It’s more than on-page strategy that you’re shaping; it’s digital marketing.<\/p>\n The speaker for this SMX West mini-session titled “Understanding Your Consumer’s Journey \u2013 Using Search Science for Keyword Research” is Tony Verre, founder of DreamFire Digital Marketing.<\/p>\n He opens with a question: Does anyone here use consumer surveys as a major data point when creating your strategies? You can only believe half of what you hear and read. Accept that consumer surveys don’t always tell the truth.<\/p>\n Find out how to use 4 “search science” keyword research tools to find reliable data points for understanding the consumer’s search journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":40056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[39,1232,1313],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n
4 Tools of the Search Scientist Trade<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>
Using Google Trends<\/h3>\n
<\/a>
Using Google Predictive Search<\/h3>\n
Using Google Keyword Planner<\/h3>\n
\n
Using Amazon Predictive Search<\/h3>\n
Synthesizing Consumer Needs & Behaviors<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"