In any aspect of digital marketing, understanding user behaviour is crucial and that is no different for SEO. One of the key components of a successful SEO strategy is to understand search intent and in this blog, we will discuss everything you need to know about search intent – what it is, why it is so important for SEO, how you can identify it and how you can optimise your content to match search intent.
What Is Search Intent?
Search intent, also known as user intent, is the purpose behind a userโs search query. It encompasses what a user is trying to achieve when they are searching for a specific query. Whether the user is looking to buy something, looking for a specific website, searching for an answer to a question or they are just looking for more information surrounding a particular topic, understanding the intent behind their search is highly important.
What Are The Four Main Types Of Search Intent?
Generally, search intent can be grouped into four main categories:
Informational Intent
Informational intent is when a user wants to learn more about a particular topic and they are seeking information. Informational intent searches often include questions containing how, what and why.
Examples of informational intent keywords include:
- โก๏ธ What is SEO
- โก๏ธ How do you make pancakesย
- โก๏ธ What are the benefits of drinking green teaย
- โก๏ธ How old is Taylor Swiftย
- โก๏ธ Why is my sunflower not growing
The most common returned pages for informational intent keywords will be blogs and even though informational intent keywords may not lead to conversions, they can be very beneficial for your online business because they can:
- โก๏ธ Increase visibility – creating blog content and ranking for informational keywords that are very relevant to your product or service will massively increase your visibility for your target market.ย
- โก๏ธ Build trust – ranking for relevant keywords will also help to build trust with your target audience as they will see your name as a reputable source who has helped them gather information that they needed.
- โก๏ธ Target the user journey – by creating blog content and targeting informational queries, you can create helpful content that will guide your target audience through the user journey. By creating the awareness and then guiding those users down the user funnel, you will be able to take those users from the awareness stage all the way down through consideration and then to conversion. If users have all of the information they need on your website, they will be more likely to convert on your site as well.ย
Navigational Intent
Navigational intent occurs when the user wants to visit a specific website or page, the user already knows what they are trying to find in the SERPs and they do not want additional information, they just want to see what they are looking for at the top of the SERP.
Examples of navigational intent keywords include:
- โก๏ธ YouTubeย
- โก๏ธ Facebook loginย
- โก๏ธ Prettylittlething returns policy
The majority of navigational intent keywords will be brand focused as the user knows what page they want to land on. For navigational keywords, it is important that your customers/ target audience can easily find the page that they are looking for.
Commercial Intent
Commercial intent includes keywords that users are searching for when they are conducting research before purchasing a product or service. They are in the stage of considering a purchase and they want to research their options.
Examples of commercial intent keywords include:
- โก๏ธ Best hair dryer for curly hairย
- โก๏ธ Iphone 15 pro reviewย
- โก๏ธ Gousto vs Hello Fresh
Commercial intent lies between informational and transactional as the user will likely be looking for information that is very closely related to their future transaction.
Transactional Intent
Transactional intent occurs when users are looking to complete a specific action, this could be to make a purchase, download a software, or sign up to a newsletter for example.
Examples of transactional intent keywords include:
- โก๏ธ Sign up to Netflixย
- โก๏ธ Buy a coffee machineย
- โก๏ธ Purchase a railcard online
When a user is searching with a transactional intent keyword, it is likely that they already know that they want to convert and they are going to do it off the back of this search query. These keywords are targeted at your customers when they are ready to convert.
Why Is Search Intent So Important For SEO?
Understanding the search intent behind different queries and keywords is extremely important for SEO as it allows you to optimise your website specifically for your target audience so that they are satisfied when they land on your website. Below are some of the reasons why understanding search and user intent is so important for organic search:
- Enhances the user experienceย
User experience can be considered one of the most important aspects when it comes to SEO and search engines like Google prioritise user experience. If your website and content aligns with the intent behind certain queries, then it likely means that you are providing users with the information that they are looking for and enhancing their user experience as they are satisfied that their search query has been fulfilled. Satisfied users that are experiencing a good user experience are also more likely to stay on your site for longer periods of time and engage with your content more, they will also be more likely to convert.
- Improves rankings and visibilityย
Googleโs algorithms are extremely sophisticated when it comes to interpreting the search intent behind certain queries so by understanding the search intent and optimising your website accordingly, you can increase the likelihood of better rankings in the SERPs.
- Increases click through rate
Once you have understood the search intent behind your target keywords and queries, you can optimise your content and metadata accordingly. By optimising your metadata specifically for your target audience, they will be able to easily see that your content matches their search intent and they will be more likely to click through to your site. This increased click through rate can lead to increased traffic and conversions but it can also signal to search engines that your content is relevant and valuable for users.
- Drives targeted trafficย
Optimising your website to match the user intent of your target audience will ensure you are driving the right traffic for your specific product or service. When optimising your website for organic traffic, it will always be more valuable to bring in targeted traffic at lower levels than traffic that is not relevant to your niche and that will likely not convert. By targeting the search intent of your target keywords, you can ensure that high intent users are going to be landing on your site.
- Reduces bounce rate
If your content doesnโt match the user intent, then the likelihood is that your bounce rate will be high as users will leave your site quickly. By matching the specific user intent, you can keep users engaged on your website for a longer period of time.
Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO so that you are able to satisfy the userโs needs. Googleโs primary goal is to provide users with the most relevant, valuable and helpful information, so if you are accurately targeting the search intent, then it is likely that you will be providing the user with whatever it is they are looking for and you will be able to rank higher in the SERPs, increase your visibility and ultimately increase conversions and revenue for your business.
So, if you want to be ranking in the top 10 positions of the SERPs, you need to thoroughly understand the intent behind your target keywords and optimise your content and web page accordingly. Overall, understanding the user intent and aligning your content with that intent can help you attract more relevant traffic and increase engagement levels, which in turn can lead to having more conversions and leads.
How Can You Identify Search Intent For Different Queries?
Because identifying search intent is so important for SEO, youโre probably wondering how you can identify the intent of different search queries. Well, this is where Ahrefs comes in. Ahrefs has an Identify Intents tool which is designed to help understand the intent behind different queries.
The tool uses AI to analyse each result in the SERP and describes what people are looking for when they are typing in that particular keyword. It will give you a percentage for each intent and this is the estimated traffic share for each of the results associated with each intent.
For example, when we look into the search term โwhat is seoโ, which has a search volume of 6,800 in the UK, 61% of the traffic share is attributed to โDefinition and Explanation of SEO – Users are looking for a clear definition and a thorough explanation of what SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is.โ This is then followed by a 26% traffic share of โSEO Best Practices and Guidelinesโ, 13% traffic share of โSEO Fundamentals for Beginnersโ, and a 2% traffic share for โNeed for SEO Servicesโ.
As you can see above, the tool gives you a clear understanding of what the search intent is. By searching for your desired query/ keywords and clicking the โIdentify Intentsโ button, the tool will give you clear information about the exact intent users are looking for when they are using those specific keywords.
This information is extremely valuable and it can be used to form the strategy when optimising your website for SEO. By knowing exactly what your users are searching for and what search intent Google is returning, you will be able to know what content you need to include on your landing page in order to rank for relevant keywords. By using the Identify Intents tool and incorporating this into your SEO strategy, you can ensure that your content will satisfy the user intent which can ultimately lead to better rankings, more traffic and increased conversions.
How To Optimise Your Content To Match Search Intent
In order to match user intent, it is important to optimise your web page accordingly.
To optimise your content to match search intent, you should:
- โก๏ธ Conduct keyword research – use tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush and Google Keyword planner to identify keywords that are related to your site and what users could potentially be searching for.ย
- โก๏ธ Identify the search intent – once you have compiled a list of target keywords, you need to identify the search intent behind all queries to see what your users are looking for when they are typing in relevant keywords.ย
- โก๏ธ Analyse the SERPs – conduct a thorough analysis of the SERPs to see what type of content is appearing in the top results. This can give you insight into what type of content is ranking well and what you need to do in order to reach the top positions of the SERPs for your target keywords.
- โก๏ธ Create content that matches the search intent – once you have fully understood the search intent and what the user is looking for, you need to create unique and helpful content that will match their needs. If the search intent is informational then you will need to provide comprehensive content that will fully answer the userโs query. If the intent is transactional, you need to ensure your product pages contain detailed information and product descriptions and CTAs.ย
- โก๏ธ Optimise metadata – title tags and meta descriptions should always match and be relevant to the search intent so that users can see that your content meets their needs.ย
- โก๏ธ Use structured data – implementing structured data to your web pages can help search engines to understand the intent behind that specific page. This can help enhance visibility in the SERPs and will also allow you to target featured snippets.
- โก๏ธ Regularly monitor and update content – SEO is an ongoing process and user intent may change. It is therefore imperative to constantly monitor the search intent for different queries and adjust your content accordingly. It is not enough to look at the user intent once and then forget about it, you should always keep up to date with changes in user behaviour in order to match the needs of your target audience.ย
Summary
Understanding search intent is absolutely essential for SEO. If you are not giving users what they are looking for then your visibility will be extremely low. If you want your site to rank organically in the SERPs, understanding search intent is crucial. Make sure that you are providing users with exactly what they are looking for and you will build a solid SEO strategy.
If you are looking for help with understanding search intent for organic queries, get in touch with our SEO experts who will be able to help you identify exactly what it is your target audience are looking for when they want to purchase your product or service.
