How Should You Choose Where to Appear and Which Keywords to Target Along the Buyer’s Journey?

First, identify whether buyers are clarifying a problem, comparing solutions, or deciding whether to buy. Then choose keywords, content, and places to appear that match those needs. At the awareness stage, answer questions; at the consideration stage, get your brand into solution overviews and comparisons; at the decision stage, address product concerns and help buyers make their choice. Visibility is not just about getting your own website to rank. It also means appearing in reviews, media outlets, and directories that buyers trust. Priorities should reflect buyers’ actual research habits, not just search volume.

Awareness: Answer questions before introducing products

A 2022 Semrush article organizes the buyer’s journey into awareness, consideration, and decision stages. Buyers at the awareness stage are still clarifying their needs. Use question-based and informational keywords to provide reliable explanations rather than immediately asking them to buy.

At Procrustes, we turn the questions customers genuinely care about into articles, with ongoing content planning, writing, and updates.

• Keyword focus: Address pain points, basic concepts, and ways to improve, with questions such as “how to increase assembly line output.”
• Where to appear: Answer questions through blog tutorials, social posts, explainer videos, or podcasts, choosing formats based on audience preferences.

If there are opportunities to get your brand mentioned on relevant, popular pages, they may also be worth pursuing. However, these queries are usually far from a purchase decision, so visibility should not be treated as purchase intent.

Consideration: Make your brand an option buyers compare

As buyers begin researching solutions, keywords can cover different terms for the product category, reviews, recommendation lists, alternatives, and specific feature requirements. Pair these with comparison guides, in-depth analyses, or product demonstrations to help buyers assess whether a solution fits their needs.

Visibility should also extend beyond your own website to external sources that discuss solutions. The Semrush article mentioned above suggests that if your website struggles to rank for a keyword, you can pursue brand mentions on pages that already rank rather than simply abandoning that keyword.

Comparison terms alone do not tell you a buyer’s stage. A 2026 Seer article suggests that broad comparison questions asked of AI may also come from people who are not yet familiar with the industry. Read the full question rather than assuming that the word “comparison” means a buyer is close to placing an order.

Decision: Appear where buyers resolve their final concerns

Once buyers have narrowed their options, they need to confirm whether a product meets their needs. Consider navigational keywords used to find specific brand pages and transactional keywords that indicate readiness to buy or take other actions. Supporting content can include product demonstrations, case studies, FAQs, and customer testimonials.

When listing your brand in B2B review directories, prioritize those buyers actually use to shortlist suppliers and complete your profiles there, rather than choosing only the best-known directories. Clearly specify features, integrations, and pricing, and use the product category terms prospects use in their questions.

Before committing a budget, find out where buyers research

Ask existing customers directly where they first learned about your brand. If they cannot remember, ask which sources they consulted when researching solutions and confirming their choice. A 2026 Search Engine Journal analysis also notes that the mix of review and social media citations varies by industry, so it should not simply be copied from another category.

Paid search should likewise be planned around intent. Screaming Frog recommends using discovery, comparison, and decision queries from organic search to identify where PPC (pay-per-click advertising) is more likely to create business value, rather than assuming it is useful only for closing the sale.