EP: 003 Buyer Psychology - Special Guest Amanda Carraway SEM - COO

🎙️ In this episode, Bridget is joined by Amanda Carraway, COO and Chief Momentum Officer at Search Everywhere Marketing, for a deep dive into modern buyer psychology in 2026 — and why the old “one-ad, one-funnel” mindset is officially dead.

Buyers today don’t see one ad and buy.
 They research. They scroll. They Google you.
 They watch videos, read reviews, stalk your socials, and quietly decide if you’re legit before they ever click “book a call.”

Inside this episode, Amanda breaks down:

• How buyers actually move across platforms in 2026 (hint: it’s messy and non-linear)
• Why Google builds credibility, social builds familiarity, and YouTube builds belief
• The real role of your website (spoiler: it’s validation, not the starting line)
• Why modern buyers need 20–40 touchpoints before converting
• How omnichannel ecosystems outperform single-platform campaigns every time
• The biggest mistakes brands make that quietly kill conversions
• How intent-layered, psychology-driven retargeting actually works

No fluff.
 No recycled guru nonsense.
 Just real strategy, real data, and real results.

If you’re still imagining a clean, linear funnel — it’s time to let that go.
 In 2026, you’re not running ads.
 You’re running an ecosystem.

If you’re ready to stop chasing leads and start scaling with intention, welcome.
 It’s time to stop guessing and start growing.

This is Balancing the Scales.

🔗 Connect with Bridget & Search Everywhere Marketing

🌐 Website
https://www.searcheverywheremarketing.com

📸 Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/search_everywhere_1/

📘 Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584129814599

🚨 FREE Lead Recovery Resource
👉 Stop Losing Leads Now
https://www.searcheverywheremarketing.com/stop-losing-leads/

 (Because losing leads in 2026 is a choice — and we don’t make those here.)

Scale smarter.And keep balancing the scales. 💥

Chapters

• 0:00 00:00 — Introduction to Balancing the Scales An overview of why declining conversions are a buyer psychology issue, not a traffic problem.
• 1:20 Bridget Introduces Amanda Caraway, COO & Chief Momentum Officer Amanda Caraway joins the episode to discuss why buyer psychology is central to paid media performance.
• 2:18 Amanda discusses- The End of the Linear Funnel A breakdown of why traditional funnel models no longer reflect how modern buyers behave
• 2:33 Amanda explains how Buyers Actually Move in 2026 An explanation of the non-linear, multi-platform journey buyers take before converting.
• 2:39 Amanda explains why Google as the First Trust Signal Why search visibility and credibility validation happen before engagement or conversion.
• 3:07 Amnda explains YouTube and Video as Trust Builders Why video content accelerates belief and authority in the buyer decision process.
• 3:32 Amanda talks about The Website’s Role in Modern Validation How websites function as confirmation layers rather than the starting point of the journey.
• 3:56 Amnda shares The 20–40 Touchpoint Reality An overview of why modern buyers require significantly more interactions before taking action.
• 4:40 Amanda share how you go From Campaigns to Ecosystems Why paid media performance depends on platform interaction, and each stage
• 6:09 Amamda Shares — Common Buyer Psychology Mistakes A review of the most frequent errors that cause brands to misinterpret buyer intent.
• 6:48 Amanda shares Why Traditional Retargeting Underperforms An explanation of why repetition without sequencing fails to convert.
• 7:06 Amanda explains SEM’s Intent-Layered Omnichannel Framework How Search Everywhere Marketing aligns messaging with buyer mindset at every stage.
• 7:56 Amanda's Conclusion Final insights on reducing lead leakage and scaling with clarity and intention.

Transcript

 You ever wonder why your ads are getting clicks, but your sales still feel ghosted? Yeah, that's not a traffic problem. That's buyer psychology. Welcome to the show. 

Welcome to Balancing the Scales, the podcast for entrepreneurs, agency owners, and brands who are done guessing and ready to scale with precision. This is where data meets dominance, strategy meets visibility and paid media finally starts pulling its weight, hosted by Bridget Brooks, co-founder of Search Everywhere, marketing a high performance paid media agency for brands that refuse to be invisible with 20 plus years in advertising and digital strategy.

Bridget has scaled countless businesses to seven figures using Google ads, meta YouTube, omnichannel marketing, and conversion driven funnels that generate revenue. Each episode pulls back the curtain on what's actually working in paid media, search engine marketing, omnipresence and performance marketing.

Today, no fluff, no guru reruns, just real strategy, real data, and real results. It's time to stop guessing and start scaling. Welcome to balancing the.

 You guys, we have such a special episode today. This is the first time, but definitely will not the last time that you're hearing from our COO, also known as our Chief Momentum Officer, Amanda Caraway. Today she's talking about buyer psychology, which is such a huge part of the paid media game.

 Thank you so much, Bridgette. Happy to be here always. So let's just jump in. Your customers aren't seeing a single ad and buying anymore. They're researching, they're comparing, they're watching reviews. They're checking your website and others, they're scrolling your socials, Googling your name and asking people in their circle if you're even legit.

And then maybe then they're considering reaching out. That's the reality of buyer psychology in 2026. And today I want to break down how modern buyers behave, what actually triggers trust, and why your brand needs to meet people across multiple platforms. If you wanna win in 2026 and not just survive it, if you're still imagining a clean linear funnel, forget it.

That was so 2020. And in 2026, the buyer journey has become messy, non-linear, multi-platform and emotionally driven. Here's how people actually move. There's Google first. Researchers, people search before they buy, before they dm, before they click 2026. Buyers want credibility, and if Google doesn't affirm you, trust doesn't build you.

There's social first warmup. Once they find you or hear about you, they scroll through your social presence. They want to see you, your voice, your authority, your personality, your consistency. Social builds familiarity and familiarity creates emotional safety. There's YouTube and video for trust building.

Nothing builds belief faster than video 2026. Buyers watch. They watch reviews, demos, FAQs, how to. Behind the scenes authority clips. YouTube is the trust platform. It's where people decide, okay, okay, this person actually knows what they're doing. And then there's websites for validation. Your website is where people confirm, are you real?

Are you credible? Do you have proof? Do you offer a clear clean pathway and can they trust you with their money? Your website is no longer the beginning. It's the validation layer. So let's talk numbers. In 2020, people needed around five to seven touchpoints before converting by 2023 that doubled. And in 2026, the average buyer needs about 20, maybe even 40 touch points before they actually take action.

Three, not five, and definitely not one. This is why single platform attribution is dead. Your Google Ads influences your meta conversions, your YouTube influences your search behavior, your so social content influences your retargeting CTR, and your website influences your warm traffic costs. Everything impacts everything.

You are no longer running a campaign. You're running an ecosystem. Let's break down the psychology of each stage and how your marketing should talk to buyers. There's number one, the awareness stage, and that's where they know the problem. They just don't know you. You need to educate with curiosity hooks, empathy.

Here's what's going on. Messaging and value first content. Your job here is not to close, it's just to earn attention and relevance in the industry. And then there's the number two, the consideration stage. They know who you are, but they're unsure. This is where trust compounds. You need that proof comparison, content, FAQs, case studies, video authority, content.

Retargeting that answers objections. Your job here is simply to make them believe. Then we get to the decision. Number three, the decision stage. So now they're getting close. They're weighing you versus somebody else, and you need to offer clarity, urgency, a simple, clean, clear, CT, a transparent pricing or value explanation, some testimonials and social proof.

Those trust triggering visuals. Your job here is to remove friction. Make it easy. So let me quickly walk you through the mistakes we see constantly in audits. Mistake number one is assuming a click is an interest. No, a click is curiosity, not intent. Mistake two. Treating views as buyers. Views are not validation.

They're passive. They do not equal belief. Mistake three, not nurturing. So key. You can't go silent between the click and the conversion. That's where 90% of our leads die. Mistake four, not cross retargeting. Retar retargeting isn't one ad, it's a sequenced system in omnipresence. When brands skip that sequence, intent evaporates.

Here's where EM'S approach comes in. We don't run ads. We build that omnipresent system with intent layering, where we layer creative messaging and ads across intent levels. So every buyer sees the message that matches where they are psych, where they are psychologically. We have full funnel retargeting.

We don't follow people around. We educate them, then we nurture them, and then we deepen trust with every impression. And then we have data led sequencing. We track what buyers are doing across platforms and build retargeting loops that guide them step by step through awareness, consideration, and then.

Decision. It's not one platform. It's not one channel, and it's not one hook. It's a sequence engineered around human behavior, and that's why our systems work simple. If you're listening to this and thinking, I would like to understand my buyer and build a marketing system that follows the psychology, not just the platform, I've got something for you.

Go to Search Everywhere, marketing.com, click book your strategy, call and fill out the short form. Our team will walk you through the buyer psychology readiness assessment, including the exact 2026 buyer psychology sheets we use internally to map how real customers move through omnipresent systems. This will change how you market forever.

Let's make your brand impossible to ignore emotionally and strategically.

 That's a wrap on this episode of Balancing the Scales. If today's insights spark something for you, don't just let it sit, put it into motion, and if you want to know exactly where your paid ads are, leaking money or leaving revenue on the table, head over to Search Everywhere marketing.com and grab our paid ads Audit five minute checklist.

It's quick, it's powerful, and it'll show you the exact gaps to fix so your ads can finally perform the way you're paying for it. If you're ready to scale with clarity instead of chaos. That's. Checklist is your first step. Thanks for listening. And as always, keep balancing the scales 

 ​