In my ideal world, reaching out to a top customer for feedback on a piece of content would be a breeze. However, the reality is often different—conducting audience interviews can be both challenging and time-consuming, especially when I’m crafting a new topic or refining an existing one.
A few years back, content marketing was a simpler game—just focus on keyword intent and excellent content to capture clicks from Google’s top search results. Now, in the AI-driven era, the stakes and expectations have evolved significantly.
Audience research has now become a non-negotiable aspect of my strategy. Sadly, not every company has the resources to carry it out effectively.
To bridge this gap, I’ve learned to create custom GPTs in ChatGPT that draw on my persona research. While these don’t entirely replace traditional audience research methods, they certainly help me pinpoint gaps or discrepancies in my content quickly.
Let me share how GPTs work, so you, too, can employ them for audience research.
Perform Audience Research
With the SEO scene constantly shifting, audience research is my strongest ally in understanding the motivations behind search intent.
Here’s a rundown of some intuitive methods and tools I’ve found useful for getting started with research:
- SparkToro: By exploring websites, interests, or specific URLs, I can segment audience types, whether I’m looking for an overview or diving deeper.
- Review Mining: I use various tools to automate the scraping of reviews about my company or competitors, which I then analyze to understand customer likes, dislikes, and their reasons.
- Listening to Calls/Review Leads: An invaluable resource, listening to customer interactions with my sales team gives me real-time insight into their questions and what prompted their calls.
Dig deeper: How to do audience research for SEO
Create a Customer Persona
After completing my research, I build a persona to represent my target audience. Tools like Figma and FigJam are invaluable for this task.
The personas I create include:
- Names, biographies, and trait sliders.
- Their interests, influences, goals, and pain points.
- User stories and emotional journeys.
- Content focus, trigger words, and calls to action (CTAs).
- Complete customer journey steps.
- Supporting data from reviews.
Create a Custom GPT of Your Persona
With my persona research complete, I proceed to create a GPT. Here’s how I do it step-by-step:
I start by logging into ChatGPT and heading to Explore GPTs from the sidebar. In the corner, I click on Create.
There, I prompt ChatGPT using the data from my audience research, sometimes embedding screenshots for clarity.
Once the GPT is set up, I can engage with it under the Configure tab, using conversation starters to explore changes and updates.
Although these GPTs aren’t perfect substitutes for real-life audience surveys, they provide swift feedback on content alignment and gaps.
For instance, GPT “Hank” assisted in refining an above-the-fold section to ensure it met its intended goal.
While I don’t always take “Hank’s” advice word for word, his feedback is invaluable when time is of the essence.
Dig deeper: 7 custom GPT ideas to automate SEO workflows
Ensure Data from Your GPT is Accurate
AI-generated analysis isn’t definitive. If you’re skeptical of GPT’s accuracy, confirm its claims by checking the evidence drawn from the data you provided.
The GPT can revise itself when errors are found; just ask for corroboration from the persona data.
Update Your Persona-Based GPT
My GPT is never static. I enhance it with more data for greater effectiveness.
Returning to ChatGPT’s Explore GPTs, I access My GPTs to update my persona.
By clicking on Configure, I can add, adjust, or remove persona details. This constant updating ensures relevance as I learn more about my audience.
A persona is always evolving, so the more I learn, the better my GPT becomes.
Leverage Persona GPTs for SEO Content
Though not foolproof, GPTs and AI-generated personas are helpful allies in optimizing content.
Once comfortable, I begin creating personas for wider audiences, niche segments, or particular campaigns.
In the ever-shifting landscape of SEO and marketing, I can’t afford to be complacent. As audience insights and intentions evolve, I ensure my GPT remains relevant by updating and pruning irrelevant details.
When used correctly, these tools are powerful companions to SEO efforts, channeling traffic and boosting conversions.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
