What Is the Buyer’s Journey and Why Does It Matter for Your Bottom Line?

Copywriting / 11 Apr 2022

You may splurge £200 on new shoes. But would you spontaneously spend thousands on a new laptop?  Not likely. It’s rare that anyone impulse buys high-value products or services. They’re more likely to research, assess and compare, before purchasing. This is where the buyer journey comes in. 

So, what is the buyer’s journey? 

It’s your ideal prospect’s evolution from a potential customer to a paying customer.

Getting a handle on your buyer journey allows you to create content for every stage of it using targeted SEO content writing. And this is what drives conversions. 

What are the stages of the buyer’s journey?

The buyer journey is the path a prospect takes prior to purchase and is broadly defined by three distinct stages:

1. Awareness – when a prospect becomes aware that they have a pain point.
2. Consideration – when a prospect starts to consider and compare services or products that address this pain point.
3. Decision – when a prospect ultimately decides on a service or product that meets their needs (hopefully yours). 

Simple, right? Not quite. Just as with any journey, the path to purchase can be full of diversion. 

Perhaps a prospect knows they need a new laptop or new software, maybe they realise they should invest in some sound financial advice or superior logistics support. But due to the plethora of options, they fail to pick one provider and wind up stuck considering endless options, delaying the decision to buy. 

In today’s digital world, where almost every product or service you can think of is competing against tens of others in the same niche, this frequently leaves consumers frozen with indecision. 

So how can you compel your prospects into action? 

Through conversion-driven SEO content writing. This means website content writing, blog writing, lead magnets, the whole kit and caboodle. Each one of these touchpoints should nudge your prospect one step closer to becoming a customer. 

How can you achieve this? 

It requires a deep understanding of your prospects’ pain points and the nuances of SEO content writing, as well as a killer content strategy and lots of testing. It’s a lot. That’s why so many businesses turn to professional content writing agencies. 

Whether you outsource your content writing or not, there are some universal truths you should be aware of when creating (or judging) content tailored to the buyer journey. Let’s take a look at them now. 

Content writing for the awareness stage

The awareness stage of the buyer journey is all about show and tell without the hard sell.

At this point, your prospect is probably indifferent to your brand and just needs a solution to their problem.

Explainer blogs are a fantastic way to tick this box as they provide objective information about a topic to increase a reader’s understanding. Just what someone who is looking for a solution wants. 

Optimise your blog writing for SEO and you can also up your organic web traffic (the visitors you get to your website who stumble across you via a Google search). 

And organic web traffic really does still matter. It accounts for a third of all web traffic in the finance sector, around 44% on average across all sectors, and even more in healthcare and technology. Your blogs therefore provide a slow-burn but reliable lead generator. 

Why does this work? 

Consider this scenario. 

Your prospect Googles ‘conveyancing services in Birmingham’ and comes across your blog ‘5 things to do before you start the conveyancing process’. 

Then your prospect thinks, this company really knows what’s what when it comes to conveyancing, why don’t I check out their services?

After browsing your website, they begin to consider your firm in detail et voila, you’ve moved your prospect that much closer to conversion.

A word on SEO optimisation

Optimising your blog content isn’t as simple as just using keywords.

If you don’t have an SEO wizard in your team who can dedicate the time to consistently tackle topics with finesse, you’ll want to consider an outsourced SEO content writing service. 

Still, keywords are a good place to start. Use 1–2 long-tail keywords at prime positions throughout your blog and a powerful meta description that provokes action. These simple tips will help optimise your content for search engine rankings. 

Content writing for the consideration stage

Now is the time to showcase your services.

Your prospect understands more about the solutions available for their problem and the different businesses offering them. Now you need to really plug yourself as the obvious choice.  

Your website content writing needs to present your product or service in a way that makes it easy for a prospect to evaluate your offering and see how it ticks all of their boxes. 

But this is about more than your product or service pages. When prospects are in consideration mode they want to know more about you. It’s time to sell through story. 

Your About Us page is a great place to compel your prospect by showcasing the strength of your brand and establishing yourself as an authority in your industry. 

Content writing for the decision stage

Almost there – your prospect now understands your services in detail. They know what makes your business great, they just need that final nudge. 

What type of content will make your prospect take the leap?

Terrific testimonials and compelling case studies. These conversion hard hitters explicitly showcase your value. They offer the final proof needed that purchasing your product or service is a no-brainer.

Case studies are especially helpful when you’re selling a more complex service or product as they allow you to showcase the real-terms impact you made on your customers.

Remember, close every case study with an enticing call to action that makes your prospect take the next step with you. 

Let’s get converting

When it comes to SEO content writing, routine is key. Blogs work well when they’re consistent updates about topical issues, not one-off pieces. Testimonials are most effective when they are recent examples of excellence. The long and short of it is, sloppy copy doesn’t compel anyone. 

If you don’t have the time to craft quality SEO content writing that perfectly captures your buyer journey, let our superlative SEO content writers take the weight off your shoulders. Book a discovery call today.