Users can be divided to two main branches based on how they search information. Link oriented searchers prefer reading articles and following links on pages. Search oriented users on prefer typing search phrase to box and hitting go! button. Tendency to either kind of behaviour is a combination of multiple factors: Lifestyle, hobbies, work and family relationships etc. In general, technically advanced users and experts prefer search oriented approach. If you think this has nothing to with SEO / SEM, prepare for surprise.

About 20 percentage of users are link oriented. Considering SEO / SEM this group may sound somewhat uninteresting, since they don't tend to use search engines to find information and services. However, identifying this group and their interests is important, since they play a major role in entity.

Generally link oriented users and subjects are relatively easy to notice. Or have you not ever wondered why some pages receive loads of free links? Link oriented users like good content: they produce good content and they like to link to good content. And as you know, links are important. And if those links come from quality (authority) sites, that is even better. As an added benefit, most link oriented users are potential ”regulars” (people who come time after time to your site). So getting in touch with link oriented searchers is pretty important.

Search oriented users are totally different case. They like to do a hit and run mission. About 70% of users belong to this group and their level of expertise varies a lot. Their behaviour is pretty much controlled by search engines and results they give. This is both a benefit and a risk. In eyes of SEO / SEM, search oriented users are the easy way to riches.

Most search oriented users are either

1. Relatively young (below age 30) or
2. Experts or
3. Technical minded

• Search phrases contain one or two words. The general thumb rule is ”shorter the better”, which often leads to very wide set of results and not finding what they are after. Users might type search word ringtones, but in most cases they are after something more specific such as anastacia ringtones. Concentrating on longer search terms gives benefit both to searcher, Search engine designer and SEO, because targeting for relevant results is easier.

• Used search terms are generally of basic, speech form. This means that when searching an activity, people use forms of doing, not to do format (painting / to paint, skiing / to ski etc). Also identifying and targeting the right key terms is important. Or what do you think is the most popular search term for possible client to look after SEO services: SEO, search engine optimization, SEM, Search engine marketing or something totally different?

Largest search oriented group are young users. They belong to internet-generation. They use search engines to provide mainly entertainment.

Experts and technical minded users are their own breed within search oriented users. They have extremely good skills of finding right terms with correct nuances, forming complex searches and finding relevant results. Targeting for them requires good knowledge of special expertise / subject related glossary.

How do search engines take user types and their preferences into account? Do a simple test and do various kind of searches. Be a link oriented searcher (search something informative such as ”CSS learning resources”), be a simple search oriented user (search for some entertainment with simple 1-2 word searches like ”usher”) and finally be a technically oriented user (search for ”hp DeskJet 990c cartridge”). Take a look at keyword density, backlinks, related sites, site structure / layout etc. Do a simple analysis on the site and topic you are watching - notice the differences? So do search engines.

When launching a SEO / SEM campaign, it is vital to recognize what user types your sites will attract. This defines what types of keyword combinations and information you should provide in your site. The decisions you make have an extensive affect how you will rank.