The “Search Story” Exercise

Today I’m going to give you a simple formula for validating whether or not SEO will work for you.

I’m calling this the “Search Story” exercise.

It’s so simple that anyone who uses a search engine can do it. It’s kind of fun, too (if you’re an SEO nerd like me).

This exercise is something I do regularly, but until recently didn’t think about sharing it. One of our SEO interns, Stephanie, asked a question about search intent and whether or not she should include a keyword in a list for her client.

I asked, “Can you tell a story where someone searches for that keyword, finds your client’s website on the search engine results page, and then eventually becomes a customer?”

If so, it’s probably relevant.

If not, or the story you tell seems farfetched, it might not be.

Search Story Example

I’m going to use Stephanie’s example because I like it. It was a challenging one, but a fun one.

Her client sells its product at Whole Foods and direct-to-consumers on their website.

The keyword she asked about was “whole foods green juice.”

• It gets searched 480 times per month on average.
• It’s a branded keyword (not the client’s brand).
• The search results are all links to Whole Foods pages.

Yet, there might be a viable search story here. I review it in this video.