Why SEO Settings Need to Be Reorganized from the Customer's Perspective
Many businesses approach SEO by starting from their own products, focusing on company names, business names, and industry jargon when planning keywords. However, actual search users don't always search using the terms businesses expect. Users are more concerned with their own problems, needs, or pain points, rather than how a company labels itself. Therefore, the first step in reorganizing SEO settings is to put yourself in the customer's shoes, understanding their search habits and decision-making journey.
Step 1: Map Out Customer Search Scenarios
To reorganize SEO, start by collecting what customers actually search for. Use channels like customer service chat logs, search term reports, industry forums, and Q&A platforms to identify three to five typical search scenarios:
- Problem-based searches: e.g., "Why isn't my website ranking higher?" or "How to optimize slow website speed."
- Solution-based searches: e.g., "SEO strategy for business websites" or "Website redesign considerations."
- Comparison searches: e.g., "Which is better: custom-built or template websites?" or "How much do SEO services cost?"
- Localized searches: e.g., "Website design company in Beijing" or "SEO optimization recommendations in Shanghai."
Record the keywords associated with these scenarios as the foundation for adjusting your SEO strategy.
Step 2: Reorganize Content Around the Customer Decision Journey
Customers typically go through stages from initial need to final decision: awareness, comparison, trust, and action. SEO settings should cover content for each stage:
- Awareness stage: Provide industry knowledge, FAQs, and basic concept explanations to attract early-stage users.
- Comparison stage: Offer solution comparisons, case studies (ensure compliance, no promises on results), and selection guides.
- Trust stage: Showcase company credentials, service processes, team introductions, and customer testimonials (real and compliant).
- Action stage: Include clear contact information, service pages, and pricing references (no promises of lowest prices).
Note that each page's title and description should match the search intent for that page, rather than using the same keywords across all pages.
Step 3: Optimize Website Structure for Better User Experience
Reorganizing SEO from the customer's perspective also involves checking whether the website structure helps users quickly find the information they need. For example:
- Is the navigation bar organized by business categories, rather than internal department names?
- Is there a clear search box and site search functionality?
- Are important pages (e.g., service introductions, success stories, contact info) accessible from the homepage or main navigation?
- Is the mobile browsing experience smooth, with buttons sized for easy tapping?
These details, while not traditionally part of SEO, affect user dwell time and conversion rates, indirectly influencing search rankings.
Step 4: Adjust Keyword Placement Strategy
Traditional SEO often stuffs keywords into titles, descriptions, and body text. From the customer's perspective, you should:
- Focus each page on a single core search intent, rather than covering multiple unrelated terms.
- Naturally include words users might search for in the title, but avoid over-repetition.
- Write descriptions that highlight value points for users, e.g., "This article helps you understand SEO issues to consider during a website redesign," rather than "Website redesign SEO optimization methods summary."
- Use synonyms and long-tail keywords in the body to avoid repeating the same keyword too often.
Step 5: Continuously Monitor and Adjust
SEO settings are not a one-time task. Customer search habits change, and competitors adjust too. It's recommended to regularly (e.g., monthly or quarterly) analyze search term reports to see which keywords bring traffic and which have high rankings but low click-through rates. Then, adjust page content and keyword strategies based on actual data. Also, monitor user behavior metrics like bounce rate, dwell time, and conversion paths. If a page has a high bounce rate, it may indicate content or relevance issues that need optimization.
Conclusion
Reorganizing SEO settings from the customer's perspective essentially means aligning website content with user needs. When users can easily find the answers they're looking for, they're more likely to stay, browse, and convert. This approach doesn't require complex technical tools; the key is to continuously listen to customers, understand their search intent, and optimize the website accordingly. This not only improves SEO performance but also helps the corporate website truly serve as a marketing tool.
