In the world of a buyer’s journey, people travel through three phases as they work their way down the sales funnel: awareness, evaluation, and conversion. In days gone by, marketers could skate by using general advertising tactics for anyone who could see their content. Those days are no more, and if you’re truly trying to take someone from the evaluation phase to the conversion phase, you have to meet them where they are. That means you must give them content that offers solutions to use-case challenges.
What is a Conversion Funnel?
A conversion funnel offers you a visualization of the stages people go through before they become paying customers. It’s called a funnel because you’ll gather more people at the top, then whittle them down as they get closer to converting at the bottom. This inverted shape depicts the way prospects drop off along the journey.
Your largest set of prospects will arrive to you at the awareness stage. From there, the numbers will decrease as people move toward the “action” (conversion) phase.
When you rethink how you use search engine optimization (SEO) to support each stage of the funnel, you’ll be more likely to captivate visitors where they are in the journey, thereby ushering the change to conversion.
SEO for Middle-of-the-Funnel Prospects: Evaluation
When you’re targeting the evaluation stage, your customers must be educated about your products or services. At this point, potential customers have typically begun to associate your company and your solutions with their desires. Now, it’s time to start sharing content that will help them decide whether your company and its products or services are a good fit for the things they need.
Generally speaking, the content you create and share usually speaks directly to the audience you think your brand can help and ensures they know how you can provide them with what they need. Evaluation content is the perfect way to help in the discovery process so visitors can glean all the information necessary to distinguish your company from your competitors.
In the evaluation phase, people are usually on the hunt for the following:
- Case studies
- How-to content that showcases your specific solution strategy or products
- Product descriptions and data sheets
- Testimonials
- Reviews
- Comprehensive guides
- Comparison content
- FAQs
- Statistics
- Webinars
- Infographics
- Checklists
People in the evaluation stage benefit from use cases that illustrate how your brand solves people’s problems. This type of content will help you connect with prospects who are in the middle of the funnel. Well-thought-out content will reinforce your brand’s trustworthiness and put you top-of-mind as prospects evaluate their different options.
Be mindful, however, that middle-of-the-funnel content shouldn’t be explicitly focused on what you sell. Instead, your content should be designed to facilitate learning around a specific area relevant to your company and your prospect’s needs. Largely, your audience is already aware of what your brand is offering when they get to the evaluation stage, so you need to present content that’s aimed at being educational and fostering a better connection between your potential customers and your brand. The goal should be to show prospects how you can alleviate their struggles with your products or services.
Getting Attention to Your Content
As is always the case, keyword usage is important. Remember, people at this stage are comparing alternatives, so you want to highlight the key product or service benefits you’re bringing to the table. When you create content, focus on the following words:
- Solution
- Provider
- Supplier
- Vendor
- Comparisons
- Software
- Features
Additionally, consider stepping outside of your comfort zone and go beyond posting content to your own site. Don’t wait for customers to come to you; instead, meet them where they already are. In doing so, you can create guest posts on popular sites to get your brand in front of your target audience right away. The trick here is targeting the right audience without overtly promoting your business. You need to inform and educate readers, giving people enough information to make their own decisions. Again, keywords are still important, particularly if the publications you’re contributing have the domain authority to rank highly for specific keywords relevant to your brand. Use that authority to your advantage!
Work with ZGM
Zero Gravity Marketing is here to help you market to all funnel stages. Whether you’re talking to folks at the awareness stage, trying to attract people who are making decisions, or ready to convert those people into paying customers, we’ve got your back. Talk to our team today to learn how we can help you!
