Keyword Search Intent Definition to Help Find What You Are Looking For

Posted in   Customer   on  October 8, 2022 by  Glasco Taylor0

Searches...

Before we start, remember searches have another facet in mind, and that is intent. You realize that some people are better at finding what they are looking for and finding answers or finding other innocuous things. That is because of intent. Intention is the main factor when it comes to a keyword search. It involves assessing what someone wants from their search and understanding why they are searching for something. For example, if you type in ‘shoes’ into a search engine, what do you want? Do you want to buy shoes or learn more about them? Are you looking for basic information or details on specific types of shoes? Are you trying to find out about trends in fashion? All of these questions can help determine the intent behind your keyword search. Knowing this intent helps narrow down the results and make it easier to find what you’re looking for. It also means that companies can tailor their content so that they appear in searches with specific intent. This can help them better target their audience and bring more potential customers to their website. All in all, understanding the intent of a keyword search is essential for optimizing content and providing users with what they are looking for. Knowing the keyword search intent can help you create better content and make sure it resonates with your audience. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to tailor your content so it appears in searches with an appropriate amount of intent, thus giving you a better chance at success. By doing this, you’re making sure you’re getting the most out of your efforts and ensuring that potential customers are finding exactly what they need through a keyword search.

Keywords are important to determine search intent

Revolutionizing the search engine industry, context interpretation completely altered the way we use and view search. By understanding user searches more in-depth, Google and other major browsers can comprehend their intent behind it. To maximize conversions your webpage makes as well as its profit margin, accurately recognizing keyword purpose is vital to success. By doing so, you can tap into a larger base of potential customers and drive greater sales for your company.

Here is our keyword search intent definition.

When it comes to keyword searches, there are predominantly three distinct categories of search intent. Broadly speaking, these may be classified as:

  1. INFORMATIONAL INTENT: Consumers are consistently striving to discover more knowledge about a product, service, or subject they wish to learn more about.
    1. Further Information will help to surfer align their problem with the solution defined. Customers must establish a product solves their problem.
    2. TRANSACTIONAL INTENT: Customers have already identified the product they desire and are just moments away from making their purchase or taking action.
  2. NAVIGATIONAL INTENT: Users know where they want to go but they're using a search engine to find the URL. (An example is searching for "Facebook login")
  3. COMMERCIAL SEARCH INTENT: Customers are searching with the intent to purchase a product or service.

To publish content that ranks on the first page of Google, this is where your first indication of keyword search intent begins. You can identify keyword intent by analyzing the search engine result page (SERP) for clues to what Google is displaying as the best answer to intent.

determine search intent

If there are a lot of Google Ads, and product pages on the first page of results, it's safe to conclude your keyword has transactional search intent. If there are no Google Ads and every search listing is an ultimate guide, you're obviously looking at a keyword with informational intent. Content that performs the best and lasts at the top of the search results the longest is usually the best solution to search intent.

The importance of establishing keyword search intent

A common mistake website owners make when optimizing their website is to optimize for keywords with content that does not satisfy the user's intent for initiating the search. This can happen from either choosing the wrong keywords or failing to identify the true keyword search intent.

Rankbrain uses a series of engagement statistics to determine the rank

Google uses Rankbrain to make decisions on which websites to rank in the top 10 search results. Rankbrain is an artificially intelligent program that takes into account hundreds of ranking factors. One of the top-ranking factors for every website is having strong relevance to the search query, which in part, is measured by the level of engagement users demonstrate when they land on a web page.

Bad engagement statistics will lead to reduced search visibility

Google bases most of its ranking factors on what is best for the user. Rankbrain will use engagement statistics to contribute to the decision-making process for how high a web page should rank. If every user who lands on a web page immediately backs off the page, there is an obvious disconnect between the search term and the content on the page if every user doesn't like what they see when they get there which will be reflected in a decline in rank and search visibility.

Keywords with a narrowly focused intent will convert better

When your content can provide exactly what the user wants, it keeps them on your website longer. This provides more opportunity to guide them to more interior pages on your site which leads to more opportunities for completing a goal conversion you've assigned for your website. Each page on your site should play a role in your sales funnel with a specific conversions goal in mind for visitors who land on that page.

What are sales funnels?

A sales funnel, or marketing funnel represents the various stages your client experiences as they go through the buyer's journey. People don't just wake up and decide they need to buy something they've never heard about before. There are a series of phases that are common that take a person from awareness to making a purchase.

An effective website should address each stage of the buyer journey to move a visitor deeper into the sales funnel. The following represents four main stages of a sales funnel:

Informational search intent: Awareness

This is where a person is experiencing a problem. In many cases, they're not sure how to solve it, because they aren't even sure what it is. Publishing content at the awareness stage that explains the basics of the problems is considered to be _top-of-the-funnel_ content. TOFU content builds awareness by targeting keywords that users are typing to find out more about what they're facing.

For example, if you're selling dead sea skincare products on your website, you might publish an article about eczema. This introduces someone to the skin condition and moves them through to the research phase.

Interest

Now that your prospect is aware of their problem, they are likely to do more research on the available potential solutions. Publishing content that answers commonly asked questions or provides your visitors with more information for making a better purchase decision leads them to the next phase of your sales funnel.

Consideration

At this stage of the funnel is (middle of the funnel) it's important to highlight the advantages your product has over your competitors. Publishing comparison articles to show how your product is superior to other options is an example of MOFU content that moves visitors to the bottom of the funnel. Case studies can be used at this stage to show real-life examples of how your business has helped others. When users can relate to having similar problems another client experienced solved by your company, you build trust and move your prospect closer to making a purchase.

Decision

The decision phase is where you move your visitors to purchase with your company. Landing pages are known to generate the highest rate of conversions because they focus on one specific goal that repeats a call to action throughout the body of content. At this stage of the buyer journey, it's important to make your prospective buyer feel comfortable with your brand. Offering money-back guarantees or warranties is an example of how to make consumers feel that their risk is reduced if they choose your company.

Map keywords to content that moves more prospects through your marketing funnel

Each stage of the buyer journey requires a specific type of content that can address the problems, concerns, pain points, and solutions for solving these issues. By mapping the most appropriate keywords to the content that people are searching for can provide your business with more prospects entering your sales funnel and converting them into clients.

Establish the true intent of a keyword before choosing it as a target for your page. Exhaustive keyword research leads to the most accurate understanding of user intent. Use this understanding to publish top-notch content to drive more traffic that matches your description of the most ideal client.

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Keyword search intent refers to the reason or purpose behind a user's search query. Understanding the intent behind a keyword can help businesses and marketers optimize their content and improve their search engine rankings.

There are four main types of keyword search intent: navigational, informational, transactional, and commercial investigation.

Navigational intent refers to when a user is searching for a specific website or webpage. For example, if a user types "Facebook" into a search engine, they likely have the intent of navigating to the Facebook homepage. Businesses can optimize for navigational intent by including their brand name in their keywords and making sure their website is easily navigable.

Informational intent refers to when a user is searching for information on a specific topic. For example, if a user types "symptoms of the flu" into a search engine, they likely have the intent of finding information on the flu and its symptoms. Businesses can optimize for informational intent by creating informative content that answers the user's query and using keywords related to the topic.

Transactional intent refers to when a user is searching for a product or service with the intent of making a purchase. For example, if a user types "buy running shoes" into a search engine, they likely have the intent of purchasing running shoes. Businesses can optimize for transactional intent by including product or service keywords in their content and making it easy for users to make a purchase on their website.

Commercial investigation intent refers to when a user is researching a product or service before making a purchase. For example, if a user types "running shoes comparison" into a search engine, they likely have the intent of researching different types of running shoes before making a purchase. Businesses can optimize for commercial investigation intent by creating comparison content, including product or service keywords, and making it easy for users to make a purchase on their website.

It is important to note that a user's search intent may not always be clear, and a single query can have multiple intent behind it. For example, a user searching for "best running shoes" may have both informational and commercial investigation intent.

To determine the intent behind a keyword, businesses and marketers can use a variety of tools, such as Google's Keyword Planner and SEMrush, which provide data on search volume, competition, and related keywords. They can also analyze the search results for a specific keyword to see what types of websites and content are ranking.

Once the intent behind a keyword has been determined, businesses and marketers can optimize their content and website to align with that intent. This can include:

  • Creating informative content that answers the user's query
  • Including product or service keywords in their content
  • Making it easy for users to make a purchase on their website
  • Making sure their website is easily navigable

By understanding and optimizing for keyword search intent, businesses and marketers can improve their search engine rankings and drive more relevant traffic to their website.

In conclusion, keyword search intent is a crucial aspect of search engine optimization. Understanding the intent behind a keyword can help businesses and marketers optimize their content and improve their search engine rankings. There are four main types of keyword search intent: navigational, informational, transactional, and commercial investigation. Businesses can use a variety of tools to determine the intent behind a keyword and optimize their content and website to align with that intent. By understanding and optimizing for keyword search intent, businesses and marketers can drive more relevant traffic to their website and improve their search engine rankings.

Remember the keyword search intent definition differs slightly from person to person, but it still basically the same.

keyword search intent definition
About the Author Glasco Taylor