Method 03 · Psychology
Buyer state
mapping.
The same person searches differently at different points: when they first notice a problem, when they're comparing options, and when they're ready to buy. Buyer State Mapping sorts every search by that state of mind, then gives each state the message, page and offer that fits it.
Written by Dan Picken, founder. Last checked 27 October 2026.Has a problem
'why is my hot water lukewarm'
Calm it down. Explain, then offer help.
Comparing
'heat pump vs gas hot water'
Compare honestly. Help them pick.
Ready to buy
'hot water replacement gosford'
Remove doubt. Price, timing, book.
Example: trades. The words in the search give the state away.
One message,
three different buyers.
Most ads and pages say the same thing to everyone. 'Book now' to someone who has only just noticed the problem. A long explainer to someone who is ready to pay.
Each mismatch costs you: the early buyer leaves because it feels like a sales pitch, and the ready buyer leaves because they can't find the button.
The words people type give their state away. That makes it something you can sort, not guess.
The research
behind it.
Google is clear that there's no trick to it: the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features, with no special files or markup needed. Fan-out Mapping is about covering the questions, not gaming the system.
Sorting searches by intent goes back to Andrei Broder's 2002 paper, which split them into navigational, informational and transactional: looking for a site, looking for an answer, looking to do something.
Most searches are questions. In a study of more than 1.5 million queries, Jansen, Booth and Spink found about 80% were informational, and about 10% each navigational and transactional. Businesses that only build pages for the buying 10% are absent from most of their market's searching.
And people don't move in a straight line. Google's 'messy middle' research describes buyers looping between exploring and evaluating before they decide. Each state needs its own page, because a buyer can arrive at any of them.
How it
works.
- 1
Collect the searches
Search Console, Google Ads search terms, and the questions people ask on calls and in reviews.
- 2
Sort by state
Problem, comparing or ready, based on the words used: 'why', 'vs', 'best', 'near me', 'price', a brand name.
- 3
Match the message
Calm and explain for problems, compare honestly for comparing, remove doubt for ready.
- 4
Match the page and offer
Each state lands on a page built for it, with a next step that suits where they are.
Try it
What state
is each search in?
Paste searches, one per line. Each one is sorted by the state of mind its wording usually signals, with the page or ad that fits. Add your brand name and searches for it get their own group.
Wording is a clue, not proof. The full method checks each group against what Google shows for it and which searches actually convert.
Sorted by state
Paste some searches, or load the example.
A worked
example.
Four searches for one car dealership, in four different states of mind.
| State | Search | What they need |
|---|---|---|
| Working it out | 'safest family cars australia' | A plain guide to safety ratings, with your models where they fit. |
| Comparing | 'kia sorento vs toyota kluger' | A fair comparison, including when the other one is the better pick. |
| Ready to act | 'kia sorento test drive gosford' | A booking page with times, the address and who they will meet. |
| Looking for you | 'smith motors gosford hours' | Correct hours everywhere. A wrong answer here loses someone who had already chosen you. |
Same business, four pages. Send all four searches to the home page and three of them leave.
In my experience
In a lot of the accounts I audit, it's back to front. Someone typing a suburb or 'near me' gets sent to a long explainer, while someone who's only just noticed a problem gets 'Book now'. Swapping those around costs nothing and is usually one of the quickest wins in the account.
When it's
not worth it.
- Wording only hints at a state. The method confirms it against what Google shows and what converts.
- People skip states. Someone with a burst pipe goes straight to ready to act.
- On a small budget, start with the ready-to-act state, where the money is closest, then work backwards.
What you get
- Every important search sorted by buyer state
- The worry behind each state, in the buyer's words
- Ad and page messages for each state
- Which page each state should land on
- Gaps where a state has no page at all
The technical bit
- Search intent
- What someone is trying to get done when they search.
- Modifiers
- The extra words that give the state away: 'vs', 'cost', 'near me'.
- Message match
- The page says what the ad or search promised.
- Friction
- Anything that makes the next step harder than it needs to be.
Where it's used
Questions
people ask.
Is this the same as the marketing funnel?
Similar idea, but built from your actual searches rather than a generic diagram. And people don't move in a straight line: they jump between states, so every state needs a page.
Does it work for Meta ads, where nobody searched?
Yes, with a twist. On Meta you can't read a search, so the creative has to find the state: one ad for people who haven't noticed the problem yet, another for people who nearly bought.
What is search intent?
What the person searching is trying to get done: learn something, compare options, find a particular site or take an action. Research going back to Broder (2002) sorts searches this way.
How many buyer states are there?
I work with four: working it out, comparing, ready to act, and looking for you by name. Some markets need a fifth, like coming back to buy again.
Which state should I spend on first?
Usually ready to act, because those searches are closest to a sale. Then comparing, where buyers decide who makes the shortlist. Working it out pays off more slowly, mostly through SEO.
Can one page serve two states?
Sometimes, if the states sit next to each other, like comparing and ready to act. A page trying to serve all of them usually serves none of them well.
The other methods
Want the whole market mapped, not just the top 3 fixes? See the Market Blueprint.
Want your market
mapped?
Takes a minute. Audits come back within 1 to 2 business days. For anything else, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
What happens next
- 1I'll ask for read-only access, or just your website for a search audit.
- 2I go through it and write up the 3 biggest fixes.
- 3A 20-minute call to walk you through it. No pitch unless you ask.