Keywords to Use for Awareness, Consideration, Decision

This article was originally published in 2017 and was last updated on June 11th, 2025.

• Tension: Marketers chase keyword hacks instead of mapping to the customer’s actual mindset.
• Noise: The funnel has been reduced to templates and clickbait, not real decision-making journeys.
• Direct Message: Effective keyword strategy isn’t about ranking—it’s about resonance. When you match language to stage-specific psychology, conversion becomes a byproduct of connection.

Read more about our approach → The Direct Message Methodology

Stop Ranking. Start Resonating: Why Your Keyword Strategy Should Mirror the Customer’s Mind

In digital marketing, few concepts are as over-discussed and under-applied as the customer journey. We all nod along when someone brings up “awareness, consideration, decision.” We nod again when someone mentions SEO. And then, in practice? We throw everything into one content bucket and wonder why conversions are flat.

But here’s the deeper issue: we’re not misusing keywords—we’re misreading intent.

The way people search reveals their psychological state. And if we ignore that state, we miss our chance to connect. A person googling “how to stop back pain” is in a fundamentally different place than someone searching “Theragun vs Hypervolt.” So why serve them the same kind of content?

This article isn’t just about keywords—it’s about empathy at scale. We’ll walk through the three stages of the buyer’s journey not just by listing tactics, but by decoding what each stage tells us about the mind behind the search—and how to meet it with the right message at the right moment.

What It Really Means to Map Keywords to the Customer Journey

Let’s break it down: every potential customer moves (consciously or not) through three broad stages.

1. Awareness: They feel a problem but can’t name it yet.

2. Consideration: They’ve named the problem and are evaluating options.

3. Decision: They’re narrowing in, comparing prices, and prepping to act.

Awareness Stage Keywords: Curiosity Before Clarity

In this stage, people aren’t ready to buy. They’re just trying to understand what’s wrong. That’s where broad, informative content comes in.

• Examples: “Why is my neck always stiff?”, “What causes daily fatigue?”, “Beginner’s guide to posture correction”

• Content fit: Blog posts, YouTube explainers, quizzes, social posts with high-share potential

• Psychology: Low trust, high confusion. They want to feel seen, not sold to.

Consideration Stage Keywords: The Evaluation Mindset

Now they know the issue and are comparing paths forward. This is when differentiation matters most.

• Examples: “Best massage gun 2025”, “Theragun vs Hypervolt reviews”, “Top ergonomic chairs for back pain”

• Content fit: Product comparisons, customer reviews, feature deep dives, case studies

• Psychology: Active analysis. They want to feel empowered, not overwhelmed.

Decision Stage Keywords: Justify the Click

This is the bottom of the funnel. They’re price-checking, looking for final reassurance, and ready to convert.

• Examples: “Theragun Pro pricing”, “Buy Hypervolt online”, “Theragun Black Friday deal”

• Content fit: Landing pages, testimonials, pricing tables, free trials

• Psychology: High intent. They want to feel safe, not rushed.

The Real Tension: Why We Struggle to Match Language to Mindset

Here’s the deeper challenge: most businesses default to what they want to say, not what the customer is ready to hear.

You want to pitch features? They just want answers.
You want to highlight pricing? They’re still figuring out if they even need this category.
You want conversions? They need clarity.

This isn’t just a copywriting problem—it’s a behavioral misalignment. When we mismatch content to customer stage, we inadvertently increase friction instead of reducing it. The result? High bounce rates, poor engagement, and missed opportunities—not because the product is wrong, but because the message is premature.

And just like a premature punchline ruins a joke, premature persuasion ruins trust.

What Gets in the Way: Funnel Fatigue and Keyword Myths

The marketing industry loves to simplify complex human behavior into cookie-cutter frameworks. The result is a landscape full of recycled advice:

• “Just use long-tail keywords and you’ll rank!”

• “Focus on volume!”

• “Every page should convert!”

This noise creates a dangerous illusion: that SEO is about tricking algorithms instead of understanding people. We optimize for metrics before we optimize for mindset. We chase clicks instead of context.

And then there’s the trend cycle—today’s “search intent” is tomorrow’s “semantic AI keyword clusters.” Marketers jump on tools, but forget to ask the deeper question: Why is someone searching this in the first place? Until we re-anchor in that question, we’re stuck generating traffic that doesn’t translate.

Making It Real: Designing Keyword Strategy Around Human Behavior

Let’s shift the frame. Instead of starting with what keywords are trending, start with what your customer is feeling.

Step 1: Rebuild Your Funnel from Real Conversations

Analyze customer support chats, Reddit forums, product reviews, and survey responses. Don’t just skim for features—listen for phrases of frustration or hope. These are your raw awareness-stage keywords.

Step 2: Map Emotions, Not Just Metrics

Use a simple table to align the emotional state to the funnel stage:

This helps your team write content that doesn’t just rank—but resonates.

Step 3: Let Your Content Types Evolve with the Customer

Each keyword stage pairs best with different formats:

• Top Funnel: Social posts, blogs, ebooks → build curiosity

• Mid Funnel: Product comparisons, influencer content → reduce doubt

• Bottom Funnel: Landing pages, testimonials, discounts → increase confidence

You’re not just creating content—you’re creating a guided emotional arc.

Step 4: Use Social Media to Echo, Not Interrupt

Don’t just post ads. Use social to reflect the journey:

• Awareness: “Ever wake up with unexplained pain?” (Relatable hook)

• Consideration: “Here’s how ours stacks up against the rest…” (Trust-building)

• Decision: “Final hours to grab yours—see why 5,000 users made the switch.” (Social proof meets urgency)

This Isn’t Just SEO—It’s Empathic Strategy

At its core, the customer journey is a human journey. And every keyword is a breadcrumb on that path.

When we stop trying to out-game the algorithm and start listening to the psychological story behind the search, we don’t just earn clicks—we earn trust.

Marketing that converts isn’t louder. It’s more attuned.