1. Neuroscience of
Search
slideshare.net/GiuliaPanozzo1
@SequinsNsearch
Giulia Panozzo
Neuroscientive

2. My Journey
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
BSc in Psychobiology
MSc in Cognitive
Neuroscience & Clinical
Neuropsychology
Research on attentional,
social and motor processes
…and ended up in SEO

3. Today we’ll talk about…
🧠 Capturing the attention
🧠 Cognitive Biases
🧠 Heuristics in Decision Making
🧠 Social Proof
🧠 The role of emotions
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

4. WHAT IS
NEUROSCIENCE?
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

5. The study of the brain and
the nervous system
Cognitive
neuroscience
Behavioral
neuroscience
Neurophysiology
And many more...
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

6. WHY
‘NEUROSCIENCE
OF SEARCH’?
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

7. 1. To put the user back in focus
Optimizing ‘for Google’ VS Optimizing for the user
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

8. 1. To put the user back in focus
Optimizing ‘for Google’ VS Optimizing for the user
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

9. 2. To win the user’s attention over rankings
Ranking better than our competitors ≠ more traffic or
conversions
Image here
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

10. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Especially when
all results look
similar

11. 3. To increase engagement and build brand equity
Your
brand
Our job doesn’t end when the user lands on the site:
we need to keep them there to continue the journey.
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

12. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

13. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

14. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Image by Bhav Patel,
@dodonerd

15. #1 - CAPTURING
THE ATTENTION
VISIT
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

16. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

17. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

18. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

19. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

20. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

21. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

22. Selective attention
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

23. Selective attention
The process of bringing
perceived stimuli further into
processing
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

24. ØInternal factors
(e.g. motivation)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

25. ØCognitive biases
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

26. ØExternal
factors
(e.g.
‘cocktail
party effect’)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

27. Event Related Potentials
(ERPs)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

28. Event Related Potentials
(ERPs)
Common brain activation patterns
observed in relation to certain
stimuli
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

29. N170
Selective to
face
configurations
(M. Eimer, 1998)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

30. N170
…But responds even to face-like objects!
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

31. N170
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

32. N170
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

33. N170
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

34. N170
‘Emojis evoked more negative N170
and N2 brain potentials compared to
human faces both during a mere
presentation and as feedback stimuli.’
(M. Weiß, P. Mussel & J. Hewig, 2020)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

35. N170
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

36. N170
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

37. q aMMN (150-250ms):
auditory
q vMMN (120-350ms):
visual
Mismatch Negativity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

38. Mismatch Negativity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

39. Mismatch Negativity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

40. q aMMN (150-250ms):
auditory
q vMMN (120-350ms):
visual
q N400: semantic
Mismatch Negativity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

41. Kutas, M., & Hillyard, S. A. (1980)
Mismatch Negativity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

42. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

43. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

44. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
?!?🧐

45. #2 – COGNITIVE
BIASES
RESEARCH
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

46. Cognitive Biases
Systematic errors
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Judgement and Decision making
Processing and interpreting information

47. Serial Position Effect
Bread
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Book
Cinema
Computer
Pencil
Periodical
Sum
Heath
Imagination
Drum
Autonomous
Considerable
Mouse
Eggs
Anniversary

48. ØPrimacy
ØRecency
Serial Position Effect
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

49. It’s easier to recall items that
are placed at the beginning or
at the end of a list
Serial Position Effect
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

50. Anchoring Effect
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

51. Compromise Effect
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

52. Numerical Biases
qDistance effect
à9 vs 16 easier than 13 vs 16
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

53. à15 vs 23 easier than 237 vs 245
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
qSize effect
Numerical Biases

54. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Numerical Biases
In both cases, judging
differences becomes
harder as magnitude
increases

55. ‘Save 34% on your sofa’
Regular
Price:
£1700
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Faster

56. ‘Save £581 on your sofa’
Regular
Price:
£1700
Slower
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

57. Negativity Bias
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

58. Source: seoClarity
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

59. Negativity Bias
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

60. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
😤Slow or overwhelming flow
😠Unclear or contradicting information
🤬404 pages

61. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

62. Confirmation Bias
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

63. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Example:
Travelling post-pandemic

64. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

65. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

66. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
If your brand doesn’t rank for queries of this
kind, potential customers will have to
rely on other websites’ info.
The existing beliefs they come to the search
with will determine what content they’ll trust
the most
(confirmation bias).

67. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

68. #3 – HEURISTICS IN
DECISION MAKING
RESEARCH
DECISION
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

69. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

70. Our cognitive resources are
limited and cannot process all
of the information available to
analyse
all of the possible outcomes
of a choice
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

71. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
‘A heuristic is a mental
shortcut that allows
people to solve
problems and make
judgments quickly
and efficiently’

72. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Availability Heuristic

73. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Scarcity Heuristic

74. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Scarcity Heuristic

75. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Risk Aversion Heuristic

76. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Risk Aversion Heuristic

77. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Risk Aversion Heuristic

78. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
£2,00
£1,90
Familiarity Heuristic

79. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
£2,00
£1,90
"
#
$
%
&
Familiarity Heuristic

80. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
£2,00
£1,90
"
#
$
%
&
'
(
)
*
Familiarity Heuristic

81. Elaboration Likelihood Model
High VS Low personal investment
determines if persuasion is going to
be off the quality or quantity of
arguments
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

82. #4 – SOCIAL
PROOF
ORDER
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

83. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

84. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

85. Social Proof
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
The brain is
‘socially wired’

86. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Neuron mirrors and simulation theory

87. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Interaction facilitation induced by social cues
Natural switch from
an imitative to a
complementary
social action in CS
activity
(Sartori et al., 2012)

88. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Interaction facilitation induced by social cues
Natural switch from
an imitative to a
complementary
social action in CS
activity
(Sartori et al., 2012)

89. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

90. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
The Bandwagon effect
Agrillo et al., 2012
à Conformity behaviour
…Even in fish!

91. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

92. Role of reviews
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

93. 🗣 And of
UGC
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

94. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

95. #5 – THE ROLE
OF EMOTIONS
ORDER
VISIT
RESEARCH
DECISION
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

96. People make decisions
emotionally
and then they justify them
rationally
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

97. Six Basic Emotions
(Ekman, 1999)
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

98. That gut feeling…
Emotional processes
guide decision making
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
The Somatic Marker Hypothesis
(Damasio, 1991)

99. Tripadvisor 404 page
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

100. ü Brand Authenticity
ü Safety
ü Trust
Positive emotional experiences correlate
with perceived
@SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

101. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

102. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

103. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO

104. SO, WHAT DO I
NEED TO
REMEMBER?
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

105. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Dare to stand out

106. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Ditch the silos:
make every
part of the
journey count

107. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
People want to
trust and feel
safe:
make that easy
for them

108. @SequinsNsearch
/giulia-panozzo/
Thank you!
neuroscientive.com

109. APPENDIX:
TEST IDEAS AND
TAKEAWAYS
@SequinsNsearch #BrightonSEO

110. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Test emojis in your titles and descriptions to
improve CTRs
Invest in SERP features that your competitors are
not using yet
Include something that stands out in your title or
copy: bold text, capitalization, unexpected wording
Top of the funnel

111. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Place important information and value props
at the top and at the bottom of your copy
Choose fractions or percentages (e.g ‘50% off’,
‘1/2 price’) over numbers when showing savings
Test negative headlines (e.g. ‘10 holiday
destinations not to miss’ VS ‘10 best holiday
destinations’ )
Middle of the funnel

112. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Use messaging that conveys scarcity (but don’t
fool your users)
Highlight messaging on flexible
payment/booking options and returns
Include social proof (UGC, reviews) and leverage
schema mark-up to highlight it
Bottom of the funnel

113. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Make every part of the journey count: focus on
providing a flawless experience to avoid
negativity bias
Work on conveying trustworthiness and expertise
by proactively addressing your user’s
concerns
At every stage

114. @SequinsNsearch Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search #BrightonSEO
Work on increasing the availability of your
brand as a trusted source in your space (leverage
external partners and digital PR)
Optimize for the user, not the search engine:
throughout the user journey, connect on an
emotional level
At every stage