Once upon a time, marketing and broadcasting were essentially one and the same – in the mid-20th century, long before the need for SEO content, radio and TV could capably sell many products and services of the era to large audiences. But things have since changed, with broadcasting now taking a backseat to digital marketing techniques that are necessary to attract customers in this day and age.

Moreover, we’ve learned much about psychology and the sociological forces that subtly drive us, making consumers more conscientious about how ads affect them, thus impacting their spending.

As such, we now rely on “narrowcasting” methods that, while fundamentally similar to broadcasting, serve a more focused marketing style and also present a specific set of challenges.

Here, we’ll discuss some of the most important aspects of making effective content, from determining user intent to applying neurolinguistic tuning to gain optimal results in content marketing.

Understanding User Intent Is the Key to Everything

Before diving into NLP techniques, let’s talk about the cornerstone of all successful marketing efforts: finding and leveraging user intent.

Most products or services aren’t universally appealing – we checked, and the only things left with global appeal are jet packs and skin treatments that make you look like a teenager again.

We all want one.

Messaging built around SEO user intent is used in digital marketing to find the eyes and ears of the correct audience, as marketing to broad swathes rarely produces results for the vast majority of businesses today.

Search engines like Google are increasingly sophisticated at interpreting user intent and ranking content that best satisfies it. And well-optimized SEO content that ranks well in SERPs often goes hand in hand with good sales.

There are several ways to uncover the hidden intent behind user searches:

  • Think about what users are trying to accomplish with every keyword. Go beyond just identifying relevant keywords and analyze search terms and query patterns related to your niche. Look for trends, common phrases, and questions users are asking, as this often provides a clear picture of what information they’re seeking or problems they’re trying to solve.
  • Use website analytics to analyze traffic as thoroughly as possible. Use website analytics tools like Google Analytics and other platforms to gain a comprehensive understanding of your traffic. By tracking user journeys and analyzing which content leads to conversions, you can gain valuable insights into user intent at different stages of the buying funnel.
  • Learn and adopt new strategies from competitor analysis. Take a peek at how successful competitors are executing their content strategy by analyzing their top-ranking content, the language they use, how real people discuss the brand on social media, and anything else connected to the brand.  This can provide valuable inspiration and reveal user intent trends within your niche.

Knowing use intent allows you to tailor your messaging to resonate as strongly as possible with your audience. It’s also a significant component of understanding and applying neurolinguistic SEO.

Neuro-Linguistic SEO: Creating Compelling Content for Subconscious User Intent

Traditional SEO excels at optimizing content for search engines through strategic keyword placement – neurolinguistic SEO (or NL-SEO) is much the same, but it targets words deeply connected to low-level emotions, which include happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, and anger.

Though the focus of this film is entertainment, Inside Out 2 does a great job of anthropomorphizing these emotions into charming characters, which are core components in NL-SEO.

This is where neurolinguistic programming (NLP, not to be confused with Natural Language Processing) comes in: by crafting SEO content that resonates with users on a deeper level, you’re better able to foster trust, stir emotions, and ultimately drive conversions.

Some specifics on how we accomplish this are as follows:

Use language that speaks to a core emotion

Knowledgeable consumers often have valid fears about certain pain points with purchases, which can benefit marketing and sales teams.

For example, we see how Nectar uses the knowledge of consumer frustration after purchasing a mattress that isn’t a great fit. Notice how they use the fear of committing to a bad mattress experience by embellishing their generous trial period while reminding you how seasonal changes impact sleep. NL-SEO encourages mirroring this language and incorporating phrases that reference some emotion while also building trust through simpatico.

Triggering emotional responses with the power of storytelling

People are emotional creatures, and stories that lean on emotion or sentiment also shared by the reader can tap into subtle feelings that heavily influence buying decisions.

The example above comes from a Buzzfeed affiliate article with several user reviews (meaning UGC or User Generated Content) on “life-changing” products. Here, the neurolinguistic connection is with the problem embedded in the reviewer’s story, discussing the disarray they perceived from having multiple remotes to keep track of, which is a common problem for many.

Using a narrative that acknowledges common difficulties, coupled with evocative imagery leading to positive outcomes, creates a powerful connection with the reader.

Presuppositions and embedded commands with a gentle nudge

NLP suggests that certain phrases can subtly influence user behavior and instill a sense of urgency, which can play on a sense of fear, or more specifically, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), ideally driving a user to action.

Presuppositions, like “Order within X amount of time” and counters depicting the number of a product sold, are familiar items baked into most product listings on Amazon. Embedded commands (or timers and counters) gently nudge users toward a specific action.

Just note, however, that there’s a fine line between deceptive patterns and smart marketing when using NLP, so it’s important for businesses to avoid “forceful pushes” that can happen when you’re not careful.

See How Great SEO Content and Neurolinguistic Programming Can Benefit Your Brand

By incorporating NL-SEO principles into your content and messaging strategies, you can craft content that speaks not just to a user’s conscious search query, but also to their subconscious desires and aspirations.

This deeper connection fosters trust, ignites emotions, and ultimately leads to a higher chance of conversion. To learn more about how Taktical can supercharge your SEO content, get in touch!