The buyer’s journey in making a purchase typically involves three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Awareness-stage content increases brand visibility and introduces prospects to your products or services. Awareness-stage content is the foundation of your marketing funnel and is often found in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Decision stage content, on the other hand, helps prospects make an informed decision about which product or service best meets their needs. It can also help drive sales and conversions for your brand.
Decision stage content focuses on creating an environment of trust that encourages prospects to make a purchase. It should also help prospects understand the value of your products or services and show them why they should choose you over other competitors.
Awareness Stage Content vs. Decision Stage Content
Awareness-stage content focuses on introducing your products and services to potential customers. In contrast, decision-stage content helps them make an informed purchasing decision. Awareness-stage keywords focus on broad topics related to your product or service, while decision-stage keywords should be more specific and tailored to the particular product or service offered.
Optimizing Decision Stage Content for Search Engines
Using search engines is a great way to attract prospects in the Decision stage of the buyer’s journey. To get found by prospects, you need to create content that answers their specific questions and addresses their pain points.
Optimizing Decision-Stage Content for search engines is essential to ensure that customers can find the right types of content quickly and easily. The best way to do this is to use targeted decision-stage keywords in your content that are related to the topics or products being discussed and optimized for the search engine algorithm.
Decision stage keywords should focus on product-specific search terms and should include descriptive words such as “buy,” “price,” and “reviews.” These keywords will ensure that your decision-stage content appears in the SERPs when prospects are ready to purchase.
These keywords are often highly targeted, such as “best laptop for college students” or “best camera for vlogging.” To maximize the effectiveness of decision stage keywords, targeting them in a way that reflects how customers naturally search is important. For example, suppose you’re selling a laptop. In that case, it may be helpful to focus on keywords like “laptop with 8GB RAM” or “gaming laptop for under $1000.” Doing so will help ensure that your content appears in the results when customers search for these types of products.
It’s important to remember that decision-stage keywords should be highly specific, as generic keywords may not help your brand’s content stand out in search engine rankings. When researching potential decision-stage keywords, consider focusing on long tail keyword phrases (keywords with three or more words) because they tend to be more specific and have less competition than shorter phrases. You can also focus on intent-based search terms (terms that indicate what a customer is looking for) since these provide an even clearer picture of what customers want from their search results.
Additionally, decision-stage content should be published across all channels of your marketing funnel, including search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, social media, and more.
What Channels Are Best for Decision-Stage Content?
Decision-stage content should be published across multiple channels to maximize its reach and effectiveness. Here are some of the most effective channels for decision-stage content:
Organic Search
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective tactics for promoting decision-stage content because it can help ensure that your pages appear in organic search engine results when customers search for relevant keywords. To get the most out of SEO efforts, make sure you are optimizing all relevant decision-stage keywords within your website’s content, as well as its title tags, meta descriptions, and other metadata. Additionally, create links to other websites and directories to build trust with search engines so that your content appears higher in the rankings.
Social Media Platforms
Social media is another great way to promote decision-stage content. Consider sharing engaging visuals or videos on platforms like Instagram or Pinterest that highlight different product features and benefits, or post reviews of popular products on YouTube and Facebook to help customers decide which ones best meet their needs. Additionally, consider using paid ads on social media or even Google Ads to drive more traffic and conversions from decision-makers actively seeking out information about a particular product or service.
Blog Content
Creating blog posts related to decision stage topics can effectively engage customers and position your brand as a thought leader. Additionally, you can use blog content to promote decision-stage products or services by providing detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and FAQs.
Content Aggregators & Directories
Content aggregators and directories like Reddit, Quora, StumbleUpon, Yahoo Answers, etc., can help increase the visibility of decision stage content since they link directly back to the source material on your website. This can drive more organic traffic to your site while providing a platform where customers can ask questions or give feedback on particular products or services.
Influencer Partnerships
Influencers have large following of loyal fans who trust their opinions and recommendations when making purchase decisions. By leveraging influencer partnerships with relevant industry experts or thought leaders who have high engagement rates with their followers, you can get your decision-stage content in front of a larger audience faster than if you were relying solely on SEO efforts alone. Be sure to establish clear goals upfront so that both parties understand what’s expected from the relationship before engaging any influencers.
Email Marketing & Newsletters
Email marketing is also an effective way to reach potential buyers directly with decision-stage content. Consider sending personalized emails featuring detailed product descriptions or FAQ pages that address specific questions people may have before they make a purchase. You could also include customer ratings and reviews in your emails so customers can better understand what others think about the product before making their own decisions.
Paid Ads
Finally, paid advertising can be used to reach potential customers with decision-stage content quickly and effectively. Paid ads allow you to target specific audiences using demographic or geographic criteria, interests, purchase behavior, and other data points. Additionally, paid search and display ads offer a variety of tracking tools that allow you to measure the success of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed.
Types of Decision Stage Content
1. Vendor Comparisons
Vendor comparisons are key pieces of decision stage content that allows potential customers to compare different suppliers, products, or services in terms of price, features, quality, customer service ratings, and more. This type of content is especially helpful for customers who want to research their options before making a purchase but need more time or resources to make their own comprehensive comparisons.
2. Product Reviews on Your Cart Page
Product reviews can be used to instantly provide customers with feedback from real-life users of a particular product or service that’s available on your website. This type of decision stage content is especially helpful for customers who are already in the process of making a purchase but want to read more about the product before committing to buying it.
3. Detailed Product FAQ Pages
FAQ pages are one of the most important pieces of decision stage content as they provide potential customers with detailed answers to common questions that may arise when researching products or services. This type of content should not only address common queries but should also provide specific information that customers need to make an informed decision.
4. Live Demos & Tutorials
Live demos and tutorials provide potential customers with a hands-on approach to understanding a particular product or service. This type of decision stage content offers an interactive way for customers to explore features, test the functionality, and get more familiar with the product before making a purchase.
5. Customer Ratings & Reviews
Customer ratings and reviews give potential customers a better understanding of what other people think about a particular product or service. This type of content often provides the most helpful information for potential buyers as it is based on real-life experiences with the product, so they can get an accurate picture of its performance before making a purchase.
6. Third-Party Reviews & Comparisons
Third-party reviews and comparisons provide customers with an unbiased look at different products and services. This type of content is often more trustworthy than vendor comparisons or customer reviews as it does not come from a brand directly but from a neutral source. It also provides customers with more comprehensive information about the product or service in question so they can make an informed
7. Interactive Calculators & Charts
Interactive calculators and charts are also great pieces of decision stage content as they allow customers to explore the different features and benefits of a particular product or service. This type of content makes it easy for potential buyers to compare different options, adjust variables, and better understand how the product or service works before committing to buying it.
8. User-Generated content, such as Testimonials or Video Reviews
User-generated Content (UGC) is a type of decision stage content that provides customers with insights about a particular product or service and allows them to connect with the brand on a more personal level. This type of content often takes the form of reviews, testimonials, video reviews, and other forms of customer feedback.
9. Expert Reviews & Opinions
Expert reviews and opinions are also great pieces of decision stage content as they provide potential customers with an in-depth look at a particular product or service. This type of content is especially helpful for customers who are looking to make a more informed purchase decision but need more time or resources to research it themselves.
10. Case Studies Featuring Successful Use Cases
Case studies featuring successful use cases are a great way to help potential customers understand the impact of a particular product or service on real-world scenarios. This type of decision-stage content offers an inside look at how the product or service has been used successfully, detailing key elements like project goals, implementation strategies, and performance metrics.
11. Promotional Offers That Encourage People to Buy Now
Finally, promotional offers are a great way to get people to take action and buy now. These types of decision stage content provide customers with incentives that encourage them to make an immediate purchase, such as discounts, free shipping, or exclusive access to certain products or services.
12. How-To Guides
How-to guides are another type of decision stage content that can help customers better understand a particular product or service and make an informed purchase. These types of content usually provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the product or service and advice and tips from experts in the field. Potential customers can make more informed decisions by understanding how to get the most out of their purchases.
Learn More at Romain Berg
Decision stage content is essential to any brand’s marketing funnel as it helps to drive sales and conversions. It should be focused on providing potential customers with detailed information about the product or service and promoting the benefits of making a purchase.
Romain Berg offers various online marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, and website design. Our team of experts can help you develop decision-stage content to engage potential customers and move them further down the sales funnel. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business succeed.
