Within any brand’s marketing mix, you’ll likely find a focus on ranking in Google. This has been a cornerstone of digital strategy for years — and with good reason.
Organic search remains a key touchpoint in many customer journeys. Google’s commanding market share of mobile (82%) and desktop search (95%), speaks to its influence.
However, the digital landscape and consumer behavior are evolving. People are looking for answers beyond Google, turning to platforms like Amazon, TikTok and even generative AI tools.
Along with this shift, customers have raised their expectations. They now expect personalized messaging and want brands to understand their preferences, interests and behaviors.
Brands must meet these expectations if they want to stay relevant and drive meaningful engagement. Search analytics are still a powerful tool for that — just not in the traditional sense.
revealing-nature-of-search">The revealing nature of search
Traditional search strategies analyze data to find the most searched queries relevant to a brand or product. Marketers identify high-volume keywords and craft content to rank for those terms, driving website traffic.
This is a tried-and-true tactic, but stopping there overlooks the wealth of insights to be found in consumer search behavior. There, you can find out consumers’ honest concerns, questions and thoughts. This data uncovers patterns in people’s queries — not just what they want, but how and why they’re looking for it.
Search data can show you:
- The specific problems your customers are trying to solve.
- Their level of knowledge about a product.
- Their decision-making stage in the buying journey.
Dig deeper: What is search marketing: Why marketers should care
The unique insights in search analytics
Consumer search data offers brands a window into their audience’s intentions, preferences and behaviors. Beyond surface-level insights, you can identify commonalities among groups of searchers and create audience profiles.
This lets you segment audiences more effectively to deliver personalized, relevant messaging that resonates with distinct customer needs. You can even understand whether consumers prefer video content, how often they search on mobile devices or if they’re influenced by reviews.
This lets you build a more nuanced understanding of your audience and tailor your SEO strategy and overall messaging, content and marketing approach.
Deploying the data beyond organic search
The insights from search behavior can benefit your brand’s entire asset ecosystem. They can shape your content strategy across media channels like blogs, social media and email newsletters.
Knowing what your audience is searching for allows you to create content that meets their needs in the right place at the right time — whether it’s educational articles, how-to guides or videos and infographics. This positions your brand as a trusted resource that understands and anticipates consumer needs.
From search insights to business insights
Search insights can also guide broader business decisions, such as product development and customer service improvements. For example, if a large volume of searches centers around troubleshooting or product limitations, this may signal an opportunity to improve your product.
Brands using these insights across channels can enhance customer experiences, boosting both immediate sales and long-term loyalty.
Dig deeper: How to use Microsoft Clarity for deeper website analytics
Overcoming challenges in data-driven marketing
When implementing data-driven strategies at scale, brands may find it difficult to maintain consumer trust while delivering personalized experiences. Consumers expect personalized content relevant to their needs but are also concerned about how their data is being used.
Balancing personalization with privacy requires being transparent about their practices and communicating what is being collected and how it will be used.
The razor’s edge of artificial intelligence
When you have the data, the next challenge is figuring out how to use these large data sets. Artificial intelligence is critical for managing and analyzing this information effectively.
AI tools automate the processing of large data sets, uncover insights and predict trends impossible to identify manually. However, with the power of AI comes the responsibility to implement proper data governance.
Brands must remember their customers are people, not just data points. Striking the right balance between automation and human insight is key to forging genuine connections.
Governance frameworks should be in place to ensure AI systems are transparent, explainable and accountable and that human oversight is never a second priority.
Dig deeper: 3 ways to use predictive analytics to make better decisions
Building a data-driven culture
For brands to fully realize the potential of search analytics and data-driven strategies, they need to foster a culture characterized by curiosity and innovation.
This involves encouraging cross-functional teams — spanning marketing, sales, product development and customer delivery — to embrace data in their decision-making processes.
Executives and team leaders must:
- Champion the use of data as a strategic asset and demonstrate how it can lead to better business outcomes.
- Provide access to the right tools and technologies.
- Encourage employees to use their creativity and humanity to devise next-level solutions.
To connect with consumers today, brands must understand their audience’s true needs. Search insights reveal valuable data about customers’ real interests and concerns. Using this data can help you increase conversions, reduce acquisition costs and build stronger relationships.
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