Search Intent In SEO: How to Get It Right?
What is search intent?
Search intent (also known as user intent) is the primary goal a user has when searching a query in a search engine. Many times, users are searching for a specific type of answer or resource as they search.
Take pizza for example. Searching for a pizza recipe has a different intent than searching for a takeout pizza, which is also different from searching for the history of pizza. Though they all revolve around the same overall topic (pizza), these users all have different intents.
Why is search intent important for SEO?
Google cares about search intent
The short answer is: Satisfying search intent is a primary goal for Google, which in turn makes it a primary goal for SEOs. When a user searches for a specific term and finds irrelevant information, that sends a signal back to Google that the intent is likely mismatched.
Broaden your reach across funnel stages
When it comes to running a business and building a successful content marketing strategy, I can’t stress enough the importance of remembering search intent, and letting that be the driving force behind the pieces of content you create and how you create them.
And just why is this so important? The more specific your content is to various search intents, the more users you can reach, and at different stages of the funnel.
You can improve rankings
Since Google’s primary ranking factors are relevance, authority, and user satisfaction, it’s easy to connect the dots and see how improving your keyword targeting to mirror search intent can improve your overall rankings.
The four types of search intent
Informational
The searcher is looking for information. This might be an answer to a simple question like “who is the president of the United States?”. Or something that requires a longer and more in-depth answer like “how does the blockchain work?” However, not all informational searches are formulated as questions.
Examples of informational searches:
- “who is Julian Assange?”
- “Manchester airport directions”
- “Donald Trump”
- “football scores”
- “HTML 5”
Navigational
The searcher is looking for a specific marketing website. They already know where they want to go. It’s probably just quicker and easier for them to Google it than to type the entire URL into the address bar. They may also be unsure of the exact URL.
Examples of navigational searches:
- “Facebook”
- “ahrefs content explorer”
- “beginners guide to SEO moz”
- “Twitter login”
Transactional
The searcher is looking to make a digital purchase. They’re in buying mode. Most likely, they already know what they want to buy. They’re looking for a place to buy it from.
Examples of transactional searches:
- “buy macbook pro”
- “nordvpn coupon”
- “samsung galaxy s10 cheap”
- “lastpass premium price”
Commercial investigation
The searcher is in the market for a specific product or digital service but has yet to make a final decision on which solution is right for them. They’re most likely looking for reviews and comparisons. They’re still weighing up their options.
Examples of commercial investigation searches:
- “best protein powder”
- “mailchimp vs convertkit”
- “ahrefs review”
- “top restaurant in London”
That last example is of particular note. It demonstrates the fact that many local searches have commercial investigation intent. Other examples include: “plumber near me,” “cheapest hotel in Singapore,” etc.
How to optimize for search intent?
Check ‘SERP reliability’
Google rankings aren’t static. They fluctuate and change over time.
Given that you’re relying on the nature of the current top-ranking pages to infer search intent, that can be a problem. Reason being, what you’re actually doing is judging intent based on a single snapshot in time.
If you were to analyze the top-ranking pages next month, or the month after, your understanding of search intent may be different.
Make sure your content aligns with the “3 C’s of search intent”
Now that you know your chosen keyword is sound (i.e., has clear search intent), your next task is to analyze the search results for what we like to call, “the 3 C’s of intent.”
- Content type
- Content format
- Content angle
Take cues from the search results and top-ranking pages
Everything discussed so far works great for getting a rough sense of intent and deciding what type of content you need to create. But if you’re really serious about targeting a keyword, you need to analyze both the SERPs and top-ranking pages in more detail.
That’s the only way to truly understand what people want to see, and what your content should talk about.