To succeed in digital marketing today, businesses must be highly visible in online search results, including mobile. The ability to rise to the top of the ever-growing pile of information customers sift through on a daily basis has a direct effect on the bottom line. To position themselves optimally, businesses have undertaken SEO strategies and launched PPC campaigns; some have even hired search managers. 

This is all good, responsible marketing effort. So what’s the problem?

This straightforward approach may not be taking into account Google’s end game, that’s what.

Simply stated, Google’s algorithms are designed to locate and deliver not just any answer, but the best answer – the most CREDIBLE answer – in response to user search queries.

You understand the importance of telling your company’s story, and you have built your web site with that in mind. However, despite pouring SEO dollars into content optimization efforts, you are still probably missing a considerable slice of your potential customer base. 

Here’s why:

If your SEO efforts have only focused on delivering content that is search relevant, you may not have considered whether your site itself is built to effectively guide the user to the answer they’re looking for.  And that is a big miss. 

Everyone searches in a way that is unique to them. Search behavior, or behavioral intent, describes how people search for what they need, where they want to go, or what they want to know. Behavioral Intent is not scripted; it is not formulaic. It is a source of unfiltered information about what customers really want. 

Google delivers search results based on what the user has searched, what the best answer is to their query, how authoritative (how many quality links) the websites are compared to other relevant websites, and how users interact with the content once they get to the website. 

What does all this have to do with your website’s site architecture and search data? The answer: behavioral intent uncovered in the analysis of search data can be used to build the web experience that best meets your current and potential customers’ needs. Google will find that experience more credible than optimized content alone. And that puts your site ahead of the pack.

“Google algorithms are constantly changing” says Chris Everett, Macquarium partner and President at Captivate Search Marketing. “We want to build solutions that will drive revenue for our clients. Like Google, Macquarium believes that success begins with a user-centric model. They understand that search data reveals key consumer insights and should inform the design and development of any website. Integrating UX and Search strategy from the very beginning impacts the way we prioritize and organize the experience so that a company’s entire site experience is more credible to Google. It’s a unique and effective way for our combined teams to drive results. From every angle, it’s a win.”

You are always looking for a marketing advantage. Why not use what is available – search data that reveals behavioral intent – to build what you need: a website that shows up early in the search results and delivers on your customers’ expectations?

Study search behavior to optimize not only your content, but your sitemap. Organize your entire business to be search friendly, from the foundation up. By doing so, you can maximize the value of your digital spend and make the Google search box your ‘home’ – or at least your front porch, where customers are always welcome.

To learn more about how you can find and use search behavior insights, please contact us.