Online Language Pathways lead to new consumer insight and a better way of planning Search and Content strategies (Published in February 2009)
Understanding user language could be the key to improving online brand engagement, according to a study conducted by Amanda Davie, co-Founder and Director of Reform, in partnership with communications consultancy CDA.
The study, called Online Language Pathways, set out to understand how people articulate their intentions and motivations when they start their online search, and how this search behaviour relates to the language of the web pages they choose to engage with.
One of the key findings of the Online Language Pathways project was that the language people used to describe what they wanted to find online before they started their search – language of intent – was not the same as the terms and phrases they used when they actually started to search – search language.
Broadly, the language of intent can be described as natural and human, while search language becomes more mechanical and staccato.
The research also revealed that the language people used to deepen and refine their searches was often influenced by the terms and phrases they saw within the search results listing.
And finally, the study found that the language that people appeared to respond most favourably to when they actually engaged with a website was that that most closely resembled their original language of intent.
According to Amanda Davie, brands can apply these learnings to develop more targeted and effective content and search marketing strategies: “The Online Language Pathways study highlights the need for content producers to work hand in hand with search marketers, so that brands can start to use content more intelligently to attract customers. SEO cannot be a website development afterthought.”
The following diagram shows that there are up to five different language styles that can be used to connect brands and customers.
For brands and online marketers there are five principle take aways from the study:
1. Understand how your customers use the Web, what their information needs are and how they want to engage with you
2. Use the right language – human language, not sales and marketing speak
3. Make your content useful and relevant
4. Develop the right search engine presence and deploy the right language in your content
5. Harness the adaptive power of language
More detail about the study – and the full white paper – can be found on the CDA website: www.webwordsworking.co.uk
If you are interested in talking to Reform about research we have either carried out, or research that you would like to commission, please contact us.