Neuroscience of search: how the brain shapes customer behaviour

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Neuroscience of Search slideshare.net/GiuliaPanozzo1 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo Neuroscientive

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My Journey @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO BSc in Psychobiology MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience & Clinical Neuropsychology Research on attentional, social and motor processes …and ended up in SEO

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Today we’ll talk about… 🧠 Capturing the attention 🧠 Cognitive Biases 🧠 Heuristics in Decision Making 🧠 Social Proof 🧠 The role of emotions @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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WHAT IS NEUROSCIENCE? @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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The study of the brain and the nervous system Cognitive neuroscience Behavioral neuroscience Neurophysiology And many more... @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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WHY ‘NEUROSCIENCE OF SEARCH’? @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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1. To put the user back in focus Optimizing ‘for Google’ VS Optimizing for the user @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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1. To put the user back in focus Optimizing ‘for Google’ VS Optimizing for the user @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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2. To win the user’s attention over rankings Ranking better than our competitors ≠ more traffic or conversions Image here @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Especially when all results look similar

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3. To increase engagement and build brand equity Your brand Our job doesn’t end when the user lands on the site: we need to keep them there to continue the journey. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Image by Bhav Patel, @dodonerd

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#1 - CAPTURING THE ATTENTION VISIT @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Selective attention @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Selective attention The process of bringing perceived stimuli further into processing @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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ØInternal factors (e.g. motivation) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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ØCognitive biases @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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ØExternal factors (e.g. ‘cocktail party effect’) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) Common brain activation patterns observed in relation to certain stimuli @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 Selective to face configurations (M. Eimer, 1998) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 …But responds even to face-like objects! @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 ‘Emojis evoked more negative N170 and N2 brain potentials compared to human faces both during a mere presentation and as feedback stimuli.’ (M. Weiß, P. Mussel & J. Hewig, 2020) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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N170 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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q aMMN (150-250ms): auditory q vMMN (120-350ms): visual Mismatch Negativity @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Mismatch Negativity @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

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q aMMN (150-250ms): auditory q vMMN (120-350ms): visual q N400: semantic Mismatch Negativity @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Kutas, M., & Hillyard, S. A. (1980) Mismatch Negativity @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO ?!?🧐

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#2 – COGNITIVE BIASES RESEARCH @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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Cognitive Biases Systematic errors @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Judgement and Decision making Processing and interpreting information

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Serial Position Effect Bread @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Book Cinema Computer Pencil Periodical Sum Heath Imagination Drum Autonomous Considerable Mouse Eggs Anniversary

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ØPrimacy ØRecency Serial Position Effect @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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It’s easier to recall items that are placed at the beginning or at the end of a list Serial Position Effect @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Anchoring Effect @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Compromise Effect @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Numerical Biases qDistance effect à9 vs 16 easier than 13 vs 16 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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à15 vs 23 easier than 237 vs 245 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO qSize effect Numerical Biases

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Numerical Biases In both cases, judging differences becomes harder as magnitude increases

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‘Save 34% on your sofa’ Regular Price: £1700 @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Faster

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‘Save £581 on your sofa’ Regular Price: £1700 Slower @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Negativity Bias @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Source: seoClarity @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Negativity Bias @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO 😤Slow or overwhelming flow 😠Unclear or contradicting information 🤬404 pages

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Confirmation Bias @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Example: Travelling post-pandemic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO If your brand doesn’t rank for queries of this kind, potential customers will have to rely on other websites’ info. The existing beliefs they come to the search with will determine what content they’ll trust the most (confirmation bias).

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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#3 – HEURISTICS IN DECISION MAKING RESEARCH DECISION @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Our cognitive resources are limited and cannot process all of the information available to analyse all of the possible outcomes of a choice @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO ‘A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently’

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Availability Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Scarcity Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Scarcity Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Risk Aversion Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Risk Aversion Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Risk Aversion Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO £2,00 £1,90 Familiarity Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO £2,00 £1,90 " # $ % & Familiarity Heuristic

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO £2,00 £1,90 " # $ % & ' ( ) * Familiarity Heuristic

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Elaboration Likelihood Model High VS Low personal investment determines if persuasion is going to be off the quality or quantity of arguments @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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#4 – SOCIAL PROOF ORDER @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Social Proof @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO The brain is ‘socially wired’

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Neuron mirrors and simulation theory

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Interaction facilitation induced by social cues Natural switch from an imitative to a complementary social action in CS activity (Sartori et al., 2012)

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO The Bandwagon effect Agrillo et al., 2012 à Conformity behaviour …Even in fish!

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Role of reviews @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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🗣 And of UGC @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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#5 – THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS ORDER VISIT RESEARCH DECISION @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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People make decisions emotionally and then they justify them rationally @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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Six Basic Emotions (Ekman, 1999) @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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That gut feeling… Emotional processes guide decision making @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO The Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio, 1991)

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Tripadvisor 404 page @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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ü Brand Authenticity ü Safety ü Trust Positive emotional experiences correlate with perceived @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

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SO, WHAT DO I NEED TO REMEMBER? @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Dare to stand out

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Ditch the silos: make every part of the journey count

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO People want to trust and feel safe: make that easy for them

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@SequinsNsearch /giulia-panozzo/ Thank you! neuroscientive.com

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APPENDIX: TEST IDEAS AND TAKEAWAYS @SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Test emojis in your titles and descriptions to improve CTRs Invest in SERP features that your competitors are not using yet Include something that stands out in your title or copy: bold text, capitalization, unexpected wording Top of the funnel

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Place important information and value props at the top and at the bottom of your copy Choose fractions or percentages (e.g ‘50% off’, ‘1/2 price’) over numbers when showing savings Test negative headlines (e.g. ‘10 holiday destinations not to miss’ VS ‘10 best holiday destinations’ ) Middle of the funnel

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Use messaging that conveys scarcity (but don’t fool your users) Highlight messaging on flexible payment/booking options and returns Include social proof (UGC, reviews) and leverage schema mark-up to highlight it Bottom of the funnel

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Make every part of the journey count: focus on providing a flawless experience to avoid negativity bias Work on conveying trustworthiness and expertise by proactively addressing your user’s concerns At every stage

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@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO Work on increasing the availability of your brand as a trusted source in your space (leverage external partners and digital PR) Optimize for the user, not the search engine: throughout the user journey, connect on an emotional level At every stage