I spent some time this week on a conference call explaining the concept of Human Search Optimization. The crowd was great, and very supportive of the idea. Human Search Optimization isn’t really that new of a concept, but defining it as a phrase is. After all marketers have been trying to appear where humans are searching for years. And search has been going on long before there were ever search engines, we just used to call it research (I wonder if that’s because we had to search, and search again to get the information we were seeking).

20 years ago when you wanted to find out something you had to do research. You would look at the paper, open a phone book, ask a friend, go to a library, ask your parents. Most of these things required human interaction - human research. And great marketers were where you could find them. Particularly in the form of Yellow Pages and Print Ads — it was so much easier to find customers then.

The Yellow Pages (which I now use for a monitor riser) have been neatly divided into distinct categories - Humans cannot get lost in there - as long that human knows the major category of the item they are searching for. Back to the 3 ft pool cue example from a prior post - if you know you need a pool stick, you just go to the yellow pages and look up pool. Oops that’s only swimming pool stuff, but there is a nice little note that says, Pool Tables - See Billiards. Easy enough, I would just flip over to the billiards section, and then if NONE of the ads say 3 foot pool cue, I would find the one closest to me by address, and pick up the phone and start calling different pool — ah Billiards Stores. And the Billiard Store that can answer the phone and answer my questions and is the closest to me, may just win my business. Not that hard right, but the Billiard Store that had the ad showing they were closest to me got my attention first, and that is Human Search Optimization. On my website Human Search Optimization.com I have defined it as

Human Search Optimization is understanding the independent thought processes of humans and implementing marketing methods to maximize the likelihood of being found when they search for what you offer.

Makes sense right? But now that Search Engines are a part of the RESEARCH methods, it is being sure that you are thinking like your customers you have to really get inside their head. Someone searching for a short pool cue may start with any of a number of searches.

Pool stick for small space
Home size pool cue
short pool stick
shooting pool in small spaces
3 foot pool stick
36″ pool stick

Some folks have called this idea Long Tail search, in some instances it is, in other instances it really is about cross-sectioning the brain of the human and understanding their needs and being there when they search. Developing your website to match the minds of the searcher. It would seem to be hard, but really it’s not that difficult.

Being where they can find you. Period. And still as of this writing, I have a top position for 3 foot pool cue in google.

So does that mean you have to write LOTS more copy for your website? Well maybe, or maybe not. It just means you have to think harder, work harder and be smarter than your competition. All 1,000,000 of them if you want a top placement.

You don’t think there’s a disconnect between what you offer and what folks are searching for? Then read this …

Case in point, a friend of mine recently called a deli to order some potato salad, the person answering the phone asked her - “how much do you want” … my friend replied “2 pounds” … and the reply from the deli was “we don’t sell it by the pound, we have a 8 ounce and 16 ounce containers. ” to which my friend replied, “I’ll take 2 - 16 ounce containers”, and was promptly reminded that would be 32 ounces. Sound funny right, to read that and think there was that much of a disconnect? But really look at your marketing material, your website, are you designing it for the masses, or to satisfy your own cravings?

Human Search Optimization is about them, it’s not about you. After all, aren’t you the one selling what they want?