Keyword Planning Study Notes: Six Main Ways People Talk To Search Engines

When we are doing keyword planning, it is important to understand the psychology of search. We want to learn about how people express what they are looking for. People search for answers to their questions in different ways. They seek information in different ways and feel differently about the problems they need to be solved.

According to the Google Ads course, Isaac summarized six main ways that people communicate with search engines. 

Answer To The Question

One of the most popular ways that people talk to the search engine is finding an answer to the current question.  It is also called a problem-based search.

For example, if I want to find something that could support my back when I hold my baby, I would search "baby carrier with back support". I know my problem is back pain, and I know a baby carrier could help me relieve my back pain. Therefore, I need to find an answer by searching for my problem.

The Question Itself

A lot of people like to enter a question with a long sentence because they want to get a more specific answer to the problem.  It is a more direct way to talk with the search engine.

Using the above example, I could type a question like "How to relieve my back pain after holding a baby for a long time?" "How to" is a very common way that people communicate with search engines. It is clear that they want to get some informative content.

Description of Problem

Description of the problem is a symptom-based search type. People like to describe their problem when they don't have any idea to solve the problem. Using the same example, if I don't know anything that could solve my back pain, I will enter "my back is hurt" in the search engine and see what comes out. 

Description of Cause

Some people like to give more information. They are not only describing their problems but also expressing why they have those problems. Using the same example again, I could type "my back is painful because I have been holding my baby for almost one hour." I know my problem, and I also know what causes my problem, so I hope to get some helpful information.

Brand Name/Product Name

This type of search is expressing the most amount of buyer intent because people know what product they are looking for and which brand they are looking for. When people search for a specific brand or product,  it means they are highly educated. 

For example, I know a baby carrier could solve my problem, and I also know what kind of carriers is best for me. I will search "BabyBojorn black baby carrier" and find the best deal.

If we see people search product model name in the search report, Isaac highly encourages us to add those keywords into the account. 

Informational Queries

This is the last primary way of how people interact with the search engine. It is a more awareness stage or uninformed type of search. They are not really expressing any buying intent, and they are just looking for a specific type of product or service. 

Using the previous example, I know a baby carrier could solve my problem, but I don't know which brand I will purchase. I will simply search "baby carriers"  on Google.

Overall, understand different ways that how people seek the solution will give you more ideas for search terms and keywords. It also gives you the ability to begin predicting which keywords with search terms are ultimately lead conversions. Therefore, we need to learn to break down how a person is searching, how to connect to a buyer psyche, and then think of example search terms.