SEO: How Search Intent Helps Drive Organic Traffic

Not every website visitor is a buyer, and that’s ok. Sometimes people searching on Google or other search engines are looking for something other than a product or service to spend their hard-earned money on.

Knowing what the user is probably looking for when searching using a particular keyword or phrase is an important step in defining the SEO strategy of any website.In the world of SEO, we call this Search Intent.

Why is it important to know a user’s Search Intent?

Knowing the search intent of users helps you to:

Create relevant content

When you understand the search intent of a search engine user, you can plan to create content that directly addresses the user’s query and gives them the information or solution they are looking for.

This makes your content more useful and relevant, which can lead not only to better engagement and higher search engine rankings but also reader loyalty, brand awareness, and, eventually, clients.

Improve user experience

When users find content that matches their search intent, they are more likely to have a positive experience on a website.

In other words, matching user intent makes it possible to improve engagement levels, prolong the duration of visits, and reduce the bounce rate.

Increase conversion rates

Understanding the search intent of users who are looking to actually buy can help you as a website owner to create content that directly addresses your potential client’s needs and preferences.

This can improve the chances of converting those users into customers.

Target keywords and phrases for SEO

When you can guess the search intent, you can identify keywords and phrases most relevant to your target audience.

This can help you optimize your content for keywords and improve search engine rankings.

What Are The Four Types of Search Intent?

These are the four types of search intent that are widely recognized and accepted by the SEO community as a useful way to categorize and understand the reasons behind different types of search queries:

Informational Intent

The user is looking for information on a product or service or the answer to a question. These are often long-tail keyphrases such as “How do I…?”, “What is…,” or “Where can I…?”

Examples include:

• How do I submit my tax return?
• What is Google Search Console?
• Where can I find information on GDPR?

Navigational Intent

The user is more than likely looking for a specific website or webpage. In most cases, this type of search will include a brand name.

Examples include:

• LinkedIn login page
• EarthSurfer Best Golf
• Gmail settings

Transactional Intent

Transactional intent means that the user is most likely looking to make a purchase or perform a specific action.

Examples include:

• Order Mother’s Day flowers
• Hire a senior living copywriter
• Book a hotel room in Paris

Commercial Intent

This is sometimes called ‘commercial investigation intent’ and is usually identified when a user is researching a service or product before making a purchase. Users are generally looking either for information to help them make an informed decision or specifically to buy.

Examples include:

• Best laptop for graphic design
• SEO services for small businesses
• Accounting software for solopreneurs

How Can Understanding Search Intent Boost Your Search Engine Rankings?

Search engines like Google are all about delivering the most relevant results for users.

And to do that, they’ve gotten pretty good at interpreting the intent behind search queries.If you’re serious about doing your own SEO, you should take a look at Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines – it’s 176 pages but makes for interesting reading.

Google has a whole section on user intent and how to identify different intent types.

That’s why it’s important to make sure your web pages match the intent behind the keywords you’re targeting.If a user is searching for “best dog food for min pins,” Google is more likely to send them to a blog post comparing pug-friendly dog food and giving information about why the food is good than to send them to a page selling generic dog food.

As part of your SEO and content strategy, your job is to make sure that the ‘pug-friendly dog food’ page on your blog or website has a strong call to action in order to move the user into buying mode.A good understanding of search intent can help you create content that resonates with your ideal audience and gives them what they’re looking for.

By doing this, you’ll not only have a more effective content strategy, but you’ll also be able to rank higher in search results. And who doesn’t want that?

How Do I Find the Search Intent Behind a Keyword?

Most of the main SEO tools offer search intent analysis as part of their keyword research abilities. I like SEMrush – all of their keyword-related tools detect search intent automatically, so you can easily get a sense of what your audience is looking for. Create a free account and try it for yourself!

It’s also a good idea to take a closer look at the search results for your target keyword. By doing this, you can see which results and SERP features Google has identified as the most relevant for that query. This can help you improve your content strategy by creating more targeted content that aligns with user intent.

So, whether you’re writing an informative blog post or selling a product or service, always keep your users’ search intent in mind. By doing this, you’ll be able to create valuable and relevant content that Google and other search engines will love, website visitors will find helpful, and potential buyers will appreciate.