The Psychology of Search
One of the advantages of online advertising is transparency of data to the advertiser. It is easy to track click-through rates, conversion rates, cost per conversions, total conversions, bounce rates, and more data points than anyone could ever analyze. The numbers can be overwhelming. Between the reports you can run in AdWords, some simple Excel formulas, and your analytics program, you can get buried in meaningless data. It is essential to look beyond the numbers and consider the individuals sitting at their anonymous keyboards conducting the searches. While numbers tell the story of your marketing, it is the actual people who can make your advertising profitable. Since search marketing—and Google AdWords in particular—is based on people using search engines, you must also think about how search engines are used in everyday life. Understanding not only how people use search engines but also how they decide to click on an ad from the search page will help align your marketing efforts with the searchers. Having someone arrive at your site is just one step in the equation. Your website must also be aligned with the searcher’s interest so the searcher does not just browse your website but also becomes a new customer. Search engines are not used to browse the Web. That is the domain of properties such as My Yahoo!, StumbleUpon, and Twitter. There is more information on the Web than anyone could read in dozens of lifetimes, and most of that information is of no interest to the searcher. Therefore, people do not just read search engines attempting to absorb all the information that has been discovered around the Web. Search engines are used when people want to find a specific piece of information. More importantly, people use search engines to find answers to questions. We all think differently. We all ask questions differently. Delving into the various ways that people think and ask questions can assist you in choosing keywords that will make sure your ad appears in front of someone searching with questions your site can answer.
Turning Concepts into Words The majority of people do not think in words. Words are conventions to relay the thoughts that are present in our minds. Although words are how we communicate in daily life, they are just a vehicle to help us express the concept of our thoughts to others. People are not mind readers. You cannot think at a person and have that person understand your thoughts. You have to take the concepts present in your brain and transform them into words so that another person can understand you. The translation that occurs from concept to word is different for each person. This is why you might readily understand one person and not understand another person who is trying to express the exact same idea. This same process of putting our thoughts into words is also how we communicate with a search engine. Google has not yet developed the technology where you can telepathically receive your answer. Therefore, you need to express yourself in the typed word to receive a response.
To further the process of examining how people translate their thoughts into words, we will use the following scenario and examine some of the ways in which this scenario can be typed into a search engine. Chicago is brutally cold in the winter. Imagine sitting in your suburban house watching a movie on a Saturday evening. Suddenly, your spouse tells you that there is water flooding the basement. Upon examination, you discover that a pipe has frozen, causing it to break, and now you need a plumber to come out to your house to fix the problem. This is a common winter scenario in Chicago. However, the ways in which people will attempt to solve this problem are different. Some people are direct in their thinking. They will go to Google and type in the actual question they need to find an answer to, such as Where do I find a Chicago plumber? Many people, instead of typing out the entire question, will shorten the query to just Chicago plumber or maybe more precisely Schaumburg plumber, or emergency plumbing services Schaumburg. Others will have a preconceived notion about what they want to find, and their query will be more aligned with the answer they want to receive. For example, the query might be A site about Chicago plumbers. If you are the do-it-yourself type, you might first want to turn off the water to stop the initial problem before contacting a plumber. A search for How to turn off the water in my basement would be more appropriate. What is the root cause of the problem? If you searched for the root cause, the site that held the answer could also help you fix the broken pipes. Queries such as broken pipes or frozen pipes could lead you to your answer. You could also search for the actual problem, such as flooded basement. It can be a useful exercise to walk into the office tomorrow and describe this scenario to your coworkers. Then ask each of them what they would type in the search box. If you ask them one by one, instead of in a group, you are sure to receive a slightly different answer from almost everyone you ask. There will be some repetition, but concentrate on the different types of answers. In fact, there are thousands of ways that someone could search for the answer to this scenario. In later chapters, we will dive more into keyword research. Most queries usually fall into one of a few categories: For instance, if your computer is slow and is causing you not to be able to create large pivot tables in Excel, these would be search queries that match these categories:
It is essential that you consider all the ways someone can search for your products. Search queries are thought processes. Understanding someone’s query can give you insight into what question they want answered.
Understanding Search Results Once the thought has been translated into words, it is time to find the answer to the question. You go to Google, type in your words, and before you click the Search button, something psychological happens—expectation setting. As a human, every time you conduct any action, you have an expectation of results. When you first looked at the spine or cover of this book, you had a notion of what it contained. Before you bought the book, you had an expectation of what you would learn by reading it. Every event also changes and refines those expectations. As you read this chapter, you have a different expectation of what you will find later in the book than when you first bought it. This series of ongoing expectation settings also affects how you view search engines. When a searcher inputs a query, they expect to see certain ads and websites displayed that will help them find the answer to your question. This same expectation setting happens for every person using a search engine. Everyone expects to find websites that will help them answer their question. Therefore, before they ever click the Search button, they have already built an idea of what the act of typing their query into a search box will bring to their computer screen. Within the search process, your ad has a specific role. Having your ad appear on that search page is not your endgame. Your ad must be relevant to the search result. You do not want everyone who sees your ad to come to your website. You want only those who are going to engage your company to click on your ads and visit your website. Every click costs money, so you don’t want all the clicks possible—you just want the clicks that are more likely to turn into customers.
The Purpose of Ad Copy
Figure 1.3 Google search result for ultraportable computer
As an advertiser, this brief moment is your chance to connect with the searcher. These few seconds can determine whether the searcher will visit your site, visit your competitor’s site, or just search again for the answer and completely ignore your ad. At this moment, your ad needs to stand up, jump around, wave its arms, grab the searcher’s attention, and shout, “I have the answer to your question! Come click me and I’ll show you the answer.” Attempting to create ads that both stand out from the crowd to gain initial attention and are compelling enough to entice someone to click is a difficult proposition. As a marketer, you need to write ads that meet the expectations of the searcher and yet can communicate to that same person that your website can deliver the answer to their question. AdWords basic text ads are only 130 characters in length, and they have a tremendous amount to accomplish in just a few scant words. An ad needs to have a headline that draws attention. It needs to stand out from other ads on a page that are clamoring for attention. The ad copy needs to tell a visitor why you have the answer to their question. And yet, the ad also needs to be faithful to your products or services. You can never lose sight of what makes your company money; otherwise, you will be paying for clicks that do not help you reach your goals. Ads should not be written to please the advertiser. They should not be written to make the CEO smile. Ads should be written to convey to the searcher that you hold the key to their question, and they must first walk through your ad copy to your website before they can find out the answer. We will spend time in later chapters discussing how to create these ads and even how to test them against each other. Ideally your ad has caught the searcher’s eye. The searcher thinks your ad can lead them to information that will help them complete their quest. And just before the searcher clicks on your ad, something else happens—another expectation is being set. When a person does a search on Google, they have a preconceived notion of what they will see on a search results page based on what words they choose to search. Your ad copy is the only thing a user knows about your website; therefore, those few characters are also setting the user’s expectations about what they will find on the first page on your site they encounter, which is your “landing page.” Your landing page needs to meet those expectations.
Landing Pages Lead to New Customers When someone clicks your ad, they are taken to your website. Usually this is the first brand interaction someone has with your company. It’s your first chance to showcase your offer to that searcher. Landing page is industry jargon for the first page a searcher views after clicking on your ad. It should rarely be the home page of your site. It should be a page within your website that is most logically connected to the search query. For instance, if someone conducted a search for Sony digital cameras, that person would not want to be taken to Amazon.com’s home page. The home page does not have information about Sony digital cameras. At best, the searcher will search again at Amazon’s site. At worst, they will go back to the search results. A much better search experience would have the searcher taken to a page about Sony digital cameras within Amazon’s website. Remember, most searchers do not know your website. The searcher does not have prior knowledge about your company. They arrived at your site after clicking a very short ad, and that small amount of text is all the information they have about your site before first visiting it. Therefore, that ad copy is crucial in setting the proper expectation for what the searcher will find after clicking your ad. To continue meeting the searcher’s expectations, your landing page must logically follow from your ad copy. Since your ad copy informed the searcher about what they would find, the landing page should continue the conversation by assisting them to find their answer (see Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.4 This JustCloud landing page showcases a service and allows a searcher to either create an account or get more information.
If your landing page does not meet the searcher’s expectation, they will use the most common navigational element on the entire Web—the dreaded Back button. You paid for the click; this is something you definitely want to avoid. The landing page should show someone the answer to their question or instructions on how to get the answer to their question. For an e-commerce site, the answer is contained in the product someone will receive once they’ve checked out through your shopping cart. When they’re looking for a plumber, the answer comes after they make a phone call. At other sites, the answer will come after the searcher fills out a form for more information. For most businesses, when the consumer receives the answer to their question, the business has a new customer. The landing page is critical to your AdWords success. A bad landing page leads to wasted advertising dollars due to the searcher leaving your site without conducting any business with your company. A good landing page will turn shoppers into buyers. The process of someone searching and buying on the Web is much different from other forms of advertising. While many other types of advertising campaigns are structured to create emotional need within a consumer, the search advertising process is driven by giving someone the correct information at the correct time. This concept extends from choosing the correct keyword to creating your ad copy and ultimately answering the searcher’s question on your website.
Advertising Is Not Advertising When It Is Information
Often people are resistant to advertising. Ads are something you are bombarded with on a daily basis. You hear ads on the radio when you are driving to work. You see ads on TV when you are trying to relax in the evening. You see ads in the daily paper as you are trying to read the local weather forecast. You see ads in search results as you are trying to find information. But ads do not have to be annoying or intrusive. Ads can be very helpful if they are created properly, because advertising is not actually advertising when it is information. By aligning your ad copywriting, landing pages, and Google AdWords account with this concept, you are much more likely to see success in your search marketing efforts. This is a concept much better visualized than explained. Imagine this weekend will be nice and sunny and you would like to spend it with your family at the beach. The drive will take several hours, but you manage to pack the kids and the spouse into the car and begin your journey. You start driving down the interstate while the kids are glued to a DVD player in the backseat. Billboards whiz past on the side of the road, which you do not have to try to ignore; you have had the skill to tune out advertising for many years.
After a few hours, you start to get hungry and the kids start to get restless. It is time to find a restaurant for lunch. You have made the decision that you do not want to eat in the car as it is too messy with the kids, and you would like to get out of the car to stretch your legs. Where do you start looking? Those ignored billboards. They are no longer advertisements cluttering up the roadside; they are now valuable pieces of information that will show you available lunch options. You stop ignoring them and start reading them. Why? Because the advertisements are your source of information for finding the answer to your question. Your question is along the lines of “What are my lunch options?” Your answer will be found in the billboards alongside the interstate. When ads become part of the information-gathering process, they cease to be ads. At this point in time, they are pieces of information that consumers are seeking. Wouldn’t you like your ads to be sought after, not ignored? By aligning yourself with the search process, the quest for answers, not only will your ads help consumers find the answer to their questions, but they will also help your business make sales. Stop thinking of ads as advertisements. Start thinking of ads as pieces of information.
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