Yahoo survey offers data to tweak your web content strategy
Earlier this year Yahoo! launched a research project called "Life Series." The goal of the series of studies is to identify ways consumers use search during various life events — and ways advertisers can benefit from that knowledge.
Those of us who prefer to use a content strategy to raise organic search engine visibility and attract visitors can learn a lot from this data.
Yahoo! identified a dozen life events to explore, including going to college, having a baby, moving to a new city and retiring.
What they found was most enlightening – people in these groups share a desire for trusted information sources, heavy reliance on research prior to making decisions and increased time spent on research.
86 percent of parents-to-be and 81 percent of college students turn to search first, before friends and family or offline media.
More than half of expectant parents said that search simplified their lives more than magazines, though magazines helped 17 percent of them.
Lessons learned:
- If your search engine visibility is poor you will miss qualified searchers
- Find out what search terms your target audience is using
- Make sure your site shows up when they are searching
- Give them content they can use
- Become a trusted source of information
