Know your users: how SEO and user behaviour are inseparably linked

We are continuing our series of guest blog posts by collaborating with some of the most relevant opinion-makers in the industry of SEO content. This week, the blog's guest contributor is Berna Möhrke, SEO Consultant at dreifive DACH: one of the leading SEO auditing service agencies in Germany and the DACH region. We are excited to have dreifive among our partners and are happy to announce that we will soon start offering SEO auditing services to our clients in collaboration with this renowned agency.

Search engine optimisation is concerned with improving the visibility of a website on the organic search engine result pages. Thinking about how exactly this visibility can be improved, or which factors play the most important role for Google, often leads to question marks in people's minds.

What we already know

Recently, it has become common knowledge that search engines like Google use a complicated algorithm to determine how visible a site is on the so-called Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) ? it is this algorithm which determines the order in which the relevant pages are listed, with those being listed higher up being more visible. We also know that there are now over 200 ranking factors that are included in this evaluation of the pages. Of these 200+ factors, Google has only exposed a very small number to the public. However, keeping in mind that the mission statement of the search engine giant is famously to "Organize the world's information and make it accessible and usable for everyone at any time", it seems clear that in addition to content needing a technically flawless structures and fast loading times, it must also be prepared in a way which means that it meets the needs of the searcher, i.e. the user intention.

The right user intention, on the other hand, can only be served by those who really know the behaviour and needs of their users, and gaining this knowledge should be the top priority when organising, planning and creating content.

Handling user behaviour correctly: tips and tricks

1. Chose right keywords for your target group

Keywords are a fundamental building block of good SEO, and a well-researched set of key phrases can lead to a site ranking highly on the SERPs for relevant search terms.

It should always be borne in mind that good rankings cannot be achieved if the keywords are not well-chosen for the site's target audience. SEO content marketers often focus on terms with the highest search volumes without considering whether their target demographic typically uses these terms while searching ? and this puts them at a disadvantage. It is better to use keywords with lower search volumes but that are more relevant to the habits and behaviour of your potential customers, buyers and readers.

2. Produce high-quality content

The keywords identified using the tips in point 1. should be used in a second step to create high-quality content that makes potential customers or subscribers want to read, use and perhaps even share your content. Aspects such as appealing and animating metadata and a headline structure that contains both the main keyword and relevant secondary keywords should always be considered; these factors have a particularly positive effect on the time people spend on the page and the click-through rate, and both are important metrics for the Google robots, who are judging your site-users? behaviour when evaluating its relevance.

In conclusion

It can certainly be said that successful search engine optimisation is only possible if it is prepared according to the wants, needs and behaviour of the target customer group. As a website operator, you have to know your users well in order to be able to serve their user behaviour and expectations accordingly.

Being an expert in your field, you are sure to know what your target group is. This alone is 50 per cent of the battle. Let our experienced team take care of the remaining 50 per cent -- we will produce high-quality content with the right keywords to ensure that your site has the best chances on the search engine result pages!

Image: semrush.com