Use AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) to write a single message, the marketing funnel to plan stages and budget, AARRR to measure a product-led business, and See-Think-Do-Care to group audiences by intent. They answer different questions, so most teams use two together: one to plan and one to measure.
Key takeaways
- AIDA is a copywriting model: it shapes one ad, email or page.
- The marketing funnel is a planning model: it sorts audiences and budget by stage.
- AARRR (Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue) is a product-growth model built around what users do.
- See-Think-Do-Care groups people by intent, not by demographics, and treats the journey as non-linear.
- No model is a law of nature. Pick the one that matches the decision you need to make.
What does each model actually do?
Each model is built for a different decision. The table puts them side by side.
| Model | Stages | Best for | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIDA | Attention, Interest, Desire, Action | Writing and reviewing one message | Life after the first purchase |
| Marketing funnel | Awareness, consideration, conversion (names vary) | Planning content and budget by stage | Loops, repeat buying, referrals |
| AARRR | Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue | Measuring product-led growth | Crafting the message itself |
| See-Think-Do-Care | See, Think, Do, Care | Segmenting audiences by intent | Per-message copy structure |
What is the AIDA model?
AIDA describes the mental steps a message should guide a person through: notice, get curious, want, act. It is a checklist for copy, not a map of the customer's life.
The model is usually credited to E. St. Elmo Lewis. According to the Wikipedia article on Lewis, Edward K. Strong Jr.'s 1925 book The Psychology of Selling and Advertising says Lewis formulated "attract attention, maintain interest, create desire" in 1898 and added "get action" later. His own published wording varied between versions. For a worked walk-through, read our beginner's guide to AIDA.
What is the marketing funnel?
The marketing funnel is a general picture in which many people become aware of you, fewer consider you and fewer still buy. Teams use it to match content and spend to the stage an audience is in.
The names differ from team to team (awareness, consideration, conversion is a common set), and there is no single official version. Its strength is planning: top-of-funnel content builds reach, bottom-of-funnel content closes. Its weakness is that the shape implies a one-way trip.
What is AARRR?
AARRR, also called pirate metrics, tracks five behaviours: how people discover a product, whether they take the first useful step, whether they keep using it, whether they recommend it and whether they pay.
ProductPlan's glossary names Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, as its creator, and describes it as a way for young companies to focus on metrics that affect their health, not vanity measures. The page does not give a creation date, so we do not give one either. AARRR suits apps, SaaS and marketplaces, where activation and retention are measurable inside the product. It says little about how to write an ad.
What is See-Think-Do-Care?
See-Think-Do-Care is a framework that sorts people by what they want right now. See is the broad group with exploratory interest, Think is evaluating, Do is ready to buy and Care covers existing customers.
Search Engine Journal's overview credits Avinash Kaushik, and Kaushik's own site lists it among his frameworks. The overview says he offered it as an alternative to models such as AIDA, that intent is defined by behaviour rather than demographics, and that people can move between stages. Its main use is deciding which content and keywords belong to which audience. In that sense it is closer to the funnel than to AIDA.
Which model should you use?
Choose by the decision in front of you. If you cannot name the decision, the model will not help.
- Writing an ad, email or landing page: AIDA. Check that each stage has a line that does its job.
- Planning a quarter of content and spend: the funnel or See-Think-Do-Care. Use See-Think-Do-Care if you work from search and intent data.
- Running an app or subscription: AARRR, to see where users drop off after sign-up.
- Keeping customers: the "Care" stage of See-Think-Do-Care, or Retention and Referral in AARRR. AIDA stops at Action.
Can you combine them?
Yes, and it is common. A practical stack looks like this.
- Use See-Think-Do-Care to decide who you are talking to and what they want.
- Use AIDA to write the message for each group.
- Use the funnel view or AARRR to measure whether those groups move on.
Competitor research helps at step one. Seeing which stages and intents rivals target, and which they ignore, shows where you can stand out. Our post on marketing whitespace explains the method, and AIDA model examples shows the message layer. For AI-driven buyers, where the stages change, read what happens to AIDA when the buyer is an AI agent.
What do these models miss?
All four are simplifications. Real buyers skip steps, loop back, ask a friend or ask an AI assistant. None of the models tells you what your market already says, so they work best when paired with evidence about your category: which hooks are overused, which audiences are under-served and which proof points rivals lean on.
FAQ
Is AIDA the same as the marketing funnel?
No. AIDA shapes one message, while the funnel plans many messages and audiences by stage. They overlap because both run from awareness to action, but they are used for different jobs.
Is AARRR a marketing funnel?
It looks like one, but it measures what users do inside a product (activation, retention, referral), not how a message persuades. It fits product-led businesses best.
Who created See-Think-Do-Care?
Avinash Kaushik, a digital marketing writer who worked at Google, according to Search Engine Journal. His own site lists it among his frameworks.
Which model is best for SEO?
See-Think-Do-Care is the most natural fit, because search queries show intent: broad topics for See, comparisons for Think, buying terms for Do. AIDA then helps you write each page.
Do I need to pick only one?
No. Pick one for each decision: audience, message and measurement. Using one model for all three usually stretches it too far.
