User Journey Map Pt 2: How to Plan Your End to End User Journey
September 16th 2022 | By Emma Grant
When you’re setting up a website, it’s vital to create a user journey map. Why? Because it helps you plan how you’re going to get your website visitors from your home or landing pages to where you want them to be.
A user journey map is a map of the path users take through your site, from where they land, via links and menus, to their ultimate destination or goal. Why you need a user journey map is something we’ve covered in a previous post. But how to create one… that’s what we’re back to look at.
How to do a user journey map
Let’s break this down into steps.
Step 1: Know your audience, know your business
It’s important not to start your user journey map planning unless you are clear on what your goals are, what you have to offer, and the problems your product or service solves.
It’s also vital at this stage to make sure you know your audience. Create personas for specific types of customer, or customers with particular needs.
Who are they? How old are they, what do they do for a living and what’s their location? How do they use the internet? What devices do they use? What are their problems? How can your product or service help them specifically?
Step 2: Get into the minds of your users
The place to start in plotting your end to end user journey is to get into the minds of your potential customers. These are the people on the journey, and they know what they want and how they’ll get to it.
The importance of working out a website user journey by talking to real people cannot be over-emphasised. Guesswork just can’t come into it.
So, talk to people. Find out what they want to see, learn, discover or know before they get to their final destination, and importantly, before they feel confident and reassured enough to take action. You can also take a look at what people are saying on forums and social media.
Analytics reviews and keyword research are crucial. Looking at user behaviour on an existing site, analysing the keywords people are using at each stage of their journey towards taking an action.
Take a bit of time to do your homework before you start the user journey mapping process. You’ll not regret it.
Step 3: Map touchpoints
The typical buyer journey will involve awareness, research, purchase and use. Your job is to work out what people want and need at each of those stages in order to move forward.
For example, if you offer hair loss treatments, you may wish to map out a journey for people who are unaware of how treatments work.
The journey may include learning about what causes hair loss, discovering the potential treatment options available, choosing the option that’s right for the individual, and then making an enquiry to find out more about that chosen option, book a consultation or request a quote/see prices.
These are your user touchpoints. Each will need to include their own goals and actions, and will need relevant content mapped to it so that you fulfil the user’s need at that stage in their journey.
Consider how people will feel at each stage. Their emotions and thoughts. You’ll want to include actions, motivations and emotions that crop up at each touchpoint, whether they’re highs or lows.
Step 4: Visualise the results
Do this YOUR way. Whether it’s a spreadsheet or something more graphic, this is your chance to set down everything you’ve learnt, so you can clearly see the journey from landing to action.
It’s a great idea to try the journey for yourself, or call in some help from a real customer. Get feedback. Never assume you’ve nailed it until you’ve run it by the people who matter.
The user journey map… turning visitors into customers
Making sure users get the information they need at the right point in their journey is a crucial part of a well-planned SEO strategy.
Looking for an SEO partner with a proven track record of success that can help your business achieve its growth goals? Please get in touch with Figment, and let’s get you started on your own journey to success.