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Psychology and SEO – Its role and importance in 2020
Table of Contents
In my career since 2004, I have read many books. My favourite is the “The Art of SEO” all editions. Directly or indirectly, all articles and books have some similarity i.e. they talk about role of human mind and behaviour in the list of SEO activities.
Recently, I also started reading “A textbook on General Phycology” to explore more on the topic of psychology and get an in-depth knowledge.
However, I would lay my emphasis on below 4 pointers that relates to the importance of SEO and Psychology in 2020:
- Keyword Research and Searcher Psychology
- Creation of content and human Psychology
- Link Building and Psychology
- Website architecture and audience behaviour
Keyword Research – Understanding the searcher psychology:
In 2020, we are in a world, where voice searches and AI have started gaining their share and importance. The record sales of Alexa and Google assistant proves the same.
Considering that, the short term phrases which were used by human has been replaced by long term queries.
Example: A person looking for a pizza shop in 2004 in Manhattan, New York – Would have simply typed on Google.com “Pizza Manhattan” whereas in 2020 the human mind with the growth of technology and AI would have searched or spoken to Siri “Best pizza restaurants near me with 5 star rating”.
This clearly shows how human psychology and searcher intent has evolved over the time with the growth of technology in terms of keyword interpretation and research.
What is the best strategy for keyword research in 2020?
We have one of the best tools like SEM Rush and Answer the Public for researching or spying on competitors.
However, if I have to talk about psychology and list one particular strategy that stands out for me then it will be using “Google Auto Complete” feature to get best maximum number of keywords based on searchers intent.
The process is simple: For example, if I have to search for possible search phrases that have been searched for my targeted term or niche i.e. “Plumbers in Manhattan”
- I would simple type in Google search “Plumbers in Manhattan” as below:The screenshot showcases the auto complete listing of keywords:
2. You can further elaborate by using “A-Z” combinations in front, middle and Back of the keywords to get a possible list of best keywords for the niche.
Crafting a story that is rich in keyword topics and covers your targeted audience sentiments:
In order, to make your website content stand out:
- You need something that can touch the right sentiment of the audience. In our in-house experiments at KVR Web Tech, we are using Google AI and sentiment analysis tool. The tool help us to get good insights VS competitors content and thus improvise.2. You need perfect amalgamation of selecting the right keywords and topics.
Example: Business selling insurance to Sole traders in Australia.
In order, to have a perfect list of topics that should be covered in the content, simply again used “Google auto complete” feature and make a list. Review, what type of topics are being covered. See below snapshot:
It clearly shows that I have to incorporate topic about cost, cover, comparisons and talk about sole trader cleaners, contractor and consultants.
Again, you can run different set of combinations to get a list of topics.
3. Researching on top competitors – Yes, what is their winning formula. Try to get an idea of how the top 3 competitors on search are drafting their content and how you can be unique in your own story and idea.
Important tip: For uniqueness, Gather stats and conduct surveys on relevant forums, groups on FB which covers your targeted audience to get high level data and convert that into statistical data.
4. Trending Data – Incorporating the trends in your story will surely help to stand out and gain exposure. We use “Buzz Sumo” to find relevant trending stories, sort them out and make a list of what will entice a reaction among our targeted audience.
Understanding the psychology, developing relations and garnering links
In 2004, when I started my link building career, we use to send emails for outreach, have conversations and then after developing a bond exchange links.
It was a clear process that had emotions and one loved to follow the process and get success that could last long from SEO prospective.
However, in later stages link building was bombarded by commercialization and paid schemes, which resulted in link farms and slowly Google and reliable website owners changed their outlook towards the same.
So let’s talk about 2020, the things have changed so have the strategies. We are somehow getting back to where we had once started.
Influencer Outreaching is not that simple now days. If you want to outreach a strong influencer in your field, you need to study them, understand them and then win your race towards getting a brand mention for your website. Below are some point that can help:
- Follower Wonk, is a tool that you can use to get a list of top influencers.
- Study them by reviewing their social profiles. Create a list of their like and dislikes.
- Prepare an outreach pitch on an email that can get a reaction on the first go!
- Generate a conversation by using your pitch elements i.e. “list of likes” and make sure you stay away from the “dislike list”
- Provide a free giveaway if your business supports the model
Understanding the visitor behaviour and changing the website architecture:
I like Neil and had a great interview session with him. I believe he has contributed a lot towards our field of SEO. One of his contributions that I have been using since so many years is “Crazy Egg”. The tool we use to understand how the audience react to the various elements on our website.
The basic purpose is to:
- View and analyse, if we have the placed all the elements correctly i.e. Call to action, images content and videos
- View and analyse, A/B testing of which colour suits my audience in the best particular way.
Understanding your audience behaviour and improvising on the design is a must, if you have to win the race of getting quality conversion from your qualified organic traffic.
In a short summary, the above all topics can have their own articles. I have tried my level best to give you an overview and will keep posting more extensive information on the same.