051 - What is Search Task Accomplishment?

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In order to get our sites ranked in Google, we should optimize them according to the searcher task accomplishment. People really want results that satisfy the query or be fulfilled when they have learned how to do what they're trying to do. It is important to have this in mind in the content creation process to ensure that the users arriving at your site can accomplish the task they went on to Google for.

Podcast Highlights:

00:00 Prologue

00:43 Introduction of the Topic 

01:27 The Concept of Search Task Accomplishment

02:04 How does the search task relate into the content creation process?

03:37 Examples of what people would want to accomplish in doing a Search Task.

06:29 End

Resources:

The ERICA SEO Framework:

https://seoleverage.com/seo-consulting/

What Does Search Task Accomplishment Mean?

A new digital marketing strategy isn't groundbreaking until it responds to real-world users' needs. It's no longer about deceiving robots, nor it's no longer about keyword stuffing or being a player in the search game. It's all about presenting yourself to the searcher as a viable option.

The searcher task accomplishment comes into the game-changing ranking part. Every content writer should be aware of what this is, how it works, and how to optimize posts for job completion by search engines. And if you succeed, Google will reward you handsomely. 

Read on, as we will go through an overview on how to make sure Google or Bing index your content in an efficient manner so that when someone searches for what you offer, they find you.

Searcher Task Accomplishment Explained

Search task accomplishment is the measure of how well a search engine delivers on its promise to find relevant information. It's also called "search success" or "success rate."

One way or another, it is the search engine result page (SERP) ranking of a search query. It can be said to accomplish a search task when their SERP displays the best answer to the user's question.

Search engines use complex components and algorithms to determine their rankings. But there are some basic search intent optimization techniques that you can apply if you want your website to rank on top of search results pages. It's all about figuring out what your user is attempting to accomplish when they search, rather than just looking at the search keyword they employ.

Understand the Searcher's Task Accomplishment Path

To understand the concepts of searchers accomplishing tasks and how to optimize your web content for it, you must first learn the basic concepts.

While the searcher is going through these stages, Google will be doing everything it can to assist the searcher in utilizing its various algorithms. Let's get it on!

Expression of need: Identifying a searcher's intent

A searcher's query becomes an expression of need when they start entering into a search bar. This is the first search result that the user types into Google, and it implies that there is a need to be met.

When a user uses Google to look for something, he is expressing a demand for information. This expression of need could be transactional or informative; the only information freely offered to Google by the searcher is these phrases, in whichever combination makes the most sense to the searcher.

Achieving high searcher task accomplishment can be accomplished by adding keywords to your content and linking out to other websites with related content. If you're familiar with SEO, you're aware that long-tail keywords are crucial for content marketers because the intent behind the keyword is obvious. Furthermore, Google employs its sophisticated machine-learning algorithm better to understand the context of a user's search query.

Underlying goals: Why they're searching

Any time a user conducts a search, there will be an underlying goal for that query. Most of the goals that require one-liner factual information can be easily met by Google's knowledge algorithm.

The vast majority of searchers are searching for information, completing a task, or doing an activity. The related blog posts will be displayed if the goals are complex, subjective, or require a detailed framework to follow. In this way, Google narrows the user's intent by providing highly relevant content. 

Evaluation of results: When users look at the SERPs

Each searcher will examine the Google results to see which will provide the answers that will help them achieve their underlying goals. Or even choose the one that looks to solve his problem. When a searcher submits a keyword, Google searches its massive index and returns the search results that are most relevant and helpful to the user's search intent. 

Selection: When they click on one result

The user skims through the results, scrolls down, and finally clicks on one. Feedback is also provided when a user does not click on any of the effects and instead conducts a new search. Also, the searcher will select a search result based on the following criteria:

  • The title's effectiveness in terms of aligning with his ideas
  • Trustworthiness of the website
  • Meta Description of the search result.

Assessment of task completion

Google analyzes information about a searcher's activities within a SERP, such as how much time they spent there and what they clicked. It's feedback to determine whether they did a good job of displaying the most useful results.

To assess if a website helped a searcher complete his duties or not, Google looks at a variety of factors. For example, if a person gets on a website, spends a few seconds on it, then returns to the previous search page and clicks on other results, the actual result did not assist him in completing his tasks and goals. Pogo sticking is the act of a searcher clicking back and forth between the search results page and the websites.

Additional needs: When users find new things, they need to know

The searcher will generally discover they need to learn more about a related issue after reading all of the information on the website or post. They'll either click through to a relevant post or go back to Google and start a new search.

By studying the search habits of previous searchers as well as the content hierarchy of the articles, Google may readily estimate a person's extra demands after he conducts an initial search. However, if you want more traffic, then it's important that you have good SEO practices!

How to Work on New Content That Satisfies Searcher Task Accomplishment Path

You're probably already on the right track. It would be best if you create new adjustments based on what's going on. You must understand the larger context of a search in order to adapt your content to match this new reality.

To see the goodness and reap of the benefits of the Searcher Task Accomplishment path, follow these steps: 

Use long-form content to provide solutions

The key to portraying yourself as the solution here is to go in-depth on a topic in a way that's easy for the visitor to filter through. Organize your information into hubs of themes with links to related topics.

Of course, your content should include all of the standard SEO elements:

  • Target Keywords
  • Sections that are simple to read on a mobile device
  • Backlinks and the ability to obtain relevant links

In a systematic manner, go deeply into content that answers a "how-to" inquiry. And better embedded YouTube videos on your new blog post.

There's a reason this search engine is the second most popular after Google. According to Google, "how-to" searches on YouTube have increased by 70% year over year. Traditional "how-to" content search results are also on the rise.

Add visuals to your content

Not only is a picture a better match for some search queries, but incorporating them will also lower your bounce rate. Consider our tire-changing scenario.

Text-only material isn't the best option. A video that demonstrates the topic is immensely more useful. Visitors will stay on your website longer if you answer their inquiries with videos, photos, and infographics or pdfs.

The third and last method for dealing with the searcher task accomplishment element is to write a series of posts that meet the searcher's primary and secondary demands. Google is constantly on the lookout for content that is more relevant to a given search query. This is especially true if a person can't find what they're looking for the first time around.

So, if you're going to write an article about a single topic, make sure you have numerous follow-ups in mind. Let's use the search "how to start a blog" as an example. With a series of 6 blog entries, you may meet both primary and secondary demands.

  1. How to find a Blog Topic
  2. Choosing the Right Domain for Your blogs
  3. What is the Most Content Management System for Blogs
  4. How to Always Write Great Blog Posts
  5. How to Create Blog Post Titles That Make People Want to Click
  6. Blog Post Optimization 

Begin to provide value to the searcher

Your goal isn't simply to have content "rank well." It's not about putting keywords into your content or going over your basic SEO checklist before hitting "Publish."

Finally, you'll want to apply SEO technologies to help you achieve your ultimate goal: to answer a query. The three main features of Google search are web crawlers, filters, and indexes. Achieving searcher task accomplishment means understanding how these features work together in order to get better results with less effort.

Web crawlers crawl through websites in order to find information that matches the user's query Filters remove irrelevant results from the index based on keywords or other criteria set by the user Indexes keep track of all pages found by web crawls so that they can be easily searched for relevant content when needed.

Optimizing Old Content for a Searchers Task Accomplishment Sequence

Every time Google introduces substantial new ranking criteria, you'll need to revisit your previous postings and make some necessary changes.

Here's a three-step action plan for making timely changes to your last posts so they don't get lost in Google's search results. 

Determine which blog posts rank in search results

Because bringing old posts up to date can take some time, you'll want to be sure you're investing your time on posts that will pay off. If the blog post does not rank in the top 30s, it is unlikely ever to reach a level where it will generate considerable traffic.

Take advantage of using a keyword research tool in your searcher task accomplishment path. Or even SEO tools to be used when conducting research and being able to crawl your site.

Find out what else each task needs

Start by typing the main keyword phrase into Google and scrolling down to the bottom of the first page of results to look for related searches. This will show you the additional requirements that Google wants you to meet.

You can expand on this by clicking each of the related searches and going through the evaluation process again. At that point, you should have a clear notion of the searcher's additional requirements.

Make your call-to-action in the headline of each blog post. I advocate using solely text for your call-to-action. Begin with a strong opening line and a numbered list of the complete series. Note that images can also diminish the effectiveness of a succession of call-to-actions because more than half of your visitors will be utilizing mobile devices.

Conclusion

Searcher task accomplishment is an important SEO and new Google ranking factor. The number of search tasks completed by your pages is divided by the total number of search tasks attempted.

While it might seem like a simple metric, there are many factors that can affect this measurement and make it more difficult to track. In order to ensure you have accurate data for the searcher task accomplishment, you will need to work on three things:

  • Optimizing your website blog post for search terms.
  • Using analytics software with search functionality.
  • Tweaking your site so that it can index its pages efficiently.

Ensure that you continue to produce tangible value and expand your business's bottom line by keeping a focus on what searchers want as well as what you're aiming to achieve by keeping your focus on what searchers want and what you're seeking to achieve. 

Connect with Gert Mellak:

Email: [email protected]

about gert

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