With the internet becoming the prime selling channel, a robust online presence is essential for all businesses. It takes more than having an appealing and fully functional website. You must also ensure the visibility of your website on top of search rankings so that potential buyers can spot it in the crowd. After all, customers will access a website only if they can see it. Moreover, it is natural to trust a brand that features at the top of search rankings.
The link between SEO and psychology is evident because marketers need to understand and use psychological principles to get the best results. Search engines prioritise human-centric SEO with websites following the needs and want of human users to create the content and UX they deliver. As per SEO speaker and specialist Stewart Vickers, “The major mistake we’ve all made is in assuming that anyone is actually searching for what we’ve written about. You have to flip it around. Find out what they are searching for and write that. Do it 100 times and you have a big asset.” So it becomes vital to stay ahead of human psychology to create a winning SEO strategy. Let us explain how you can do it.
Understand that users have limited mental resources
The internet is an endless source of information, which is both good and bad for users. The good part is they can get whatever content they seek, but the downside is that too much information can cause decision fatigue. Remember that users have limited mental resources, so they look for simplicity and accessibility. You cannot expect them to search, open web pages, or scroll for content endlessly as it can drain their patience. Look for actionable ways to make your brand and content easily accessible. Simplify your website’s navigation, rank high on search engines, and be available where the users are. Experts at OutreachMonks highlight the value of featuring on top guest post sites in your niche. It creates trust inherently as potential buyers see your brand beyond your website.
Ensure content readability
Quality content that caters to valuable information and matches the user intent is the cornerstone of SEO. But you need to think beyond to bring the element of human-centricity to it. A typical user wishes to read a content piece only if it is easy on their eyes. Consider breaking the write-ups into paragraphs and adding headlines to your blog posts to ensure readability. Keep the language simple and avoid technical jargon so that the readers can understand it and connect with it. A little effort with readability is enough to retain users as they get what they need and feel less frustrated.
Follow UX design principles
Besides quality content, a great user experience is vital for human-centric SEO. You must implement UX design principles to create a user-friendly site. It is better to work with a design expert who understands human psychology and picks design elements to match user intent. They are more likely to stay on a website and convert if it has intuitive navigation that takes them down the purchase funnel effortlessly. Ensure that the site discloses only as much information as your visitors need. It reduces the strain on their mental resources and aligns with UX design principles.
Enable fast loading time and responsiveness
A good UX design gives you a start with a user-friendly website, but a lot more goes into it. Visitors expect websites to load fast and render seamlessly across all devices. Failing on these fronts is not a choice because they will bounce off immediately if the site is slow or non-responsive. Remember that online shoppers are short on time and patience, and poor experiences are enough to send them away for good. Optimizing your website by enabling caching, trimming extra elements, and compressing images resolve the speed issues. You can go the extra mile by choosing a responsive theme. Your users will get the best experience, and the site will win on the SEO front.
Build trust and credibility
Online buyers tend to stick with the brands they trust because they purchase without seeing products and people physically. A winning SEO plan focuses on building trust and credibility for the brand. Making your website visible on top of search rankings is a good start. Social trust is another way to boost brand credibility. You can do it by seeking reviews and testimonials from your customers and displaying them on your website. Likewise, blogger outreach links can do wonders because they work like subtle endorsements by niche leaders. Moreover, these links ace on the quality front and strengthen your backlink profile. Everything boils down to finding the right opportunities and reaching out to them to publish content and get quality backlinks.
SEO is more than a digital marketing technique backed by processes and principles. It also requires a good understanding of human psychology. You must follow the user intent and implement it into the content, design, and overall marketing strategy of your business. The benefits of human-centric SEO go beyond winning the attention and trust of your customers. It also keeps your brand ahead of search engine algorithms and ensures top rankings for your website.
Donald Tobin, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
