One of the first orders of business for many of the sites we work on is using keyword research to improve the site’s navigation. Keyword research is just another way to learning your customer’s language. And the purpose of learning that language is to better meet their needs.
When visitors land on your site, having items in the navigation that match their search query gives them a key indicator of your site’s ability to meet their need.
“When visitors land on your site, having items in the navigation that match their search query gives them a key indicator of your site’s ability to meet their need.” — Stoney deGeyterIf you’re using different words from what the searcher typed, they may erroneously believe they landed on the wrong site. Either that or you substantially increase the amount of time it takes for them to determine they have landed in the right place.
The quicker visitors are able to digest what you offer, the more apt you are to turn them into a customer. When visitors have to do too much thinking, you create brain fatigue. Too much of that and visitors leave in search for easier grounds.
Not only should you use keywords to establish your navigation labels, but it’s also helpful to determine what information searchers are looking for. If you don’t currently have content that meets that need, this is a good time to think about building it.
Not all such content will need a link in your primary navigation. But wherever the links to that content resides, you can be sure to use terminology they are familiar with, based on the keyword research you have already performed.