Understanding Search Intent

In the world of digital marketing and SEO optimization, understanding search intent is key to providing a more relevant and satisfying search experience for users.

Search intent describes a user’s goal when they enter a keyword into a search engine.

In this article, we will find out the various types of search intent, how to recognize and determine them and provide a comprehensive guide for those of you who want to increase visibility to users.

What is Search Intent?

Search intent, is a term used to describe the purpose of an online search. This is the reason why someone performs a particular search. Everyone who searches online hopes to find something.

For example, you are looking for an answer to a question, or want to visit a certain site, or even looking for something to buy. This is all part of your journey in cyberspace, but sometimes each search shows a different stage.

Over the years, Google has worked hard to improve its algorithm to determine people’s search intentions.

Google wants to rank pages that best match the search terms a person uses, as well as the search intent behind the query the user types in. That’s why it’s important to ensure that your pages match your audience’s search intent.

The Importance of Search Intent for SEO

Search intent is the reason why users search. Everyone who enters a search engine will have a question or topic they want to explore. The goal is to find answers to their questions or information about a topic.

Previously, the main focus was optimizing keywords. Companies generally only focus on integrating keywords into their campaigns without paying attention to the quality of the information on the page.

However, now Google is getting smarter by moving its focus to user experience and providing the best search results for searchers.

It’s not enough to just integrate keywords into your campaign. Now, you should have valuable information to match and develop those keywords. Content and landing pages should be aimed at your audience and their search intent.

By truly understanding search intent, this can help you to:

Create a more effective content strategy by targeting keywords that suit the needs of your target audience.
Create relevant content By understanding user needs and creating content that meets those needs.
Rank higher in search results

By showing search engines that your content is valuable and relevant to its users.

Types of Search Intent

There are several different types of search intent. We’ll cover the four most commonly used:

1. Informational Intent

Let’s start with an informative search intent. People who have informative intentions usually have specific questions and will type in specific keywords, such as:

how to cure canker sores
learn digital marketing for free
how to optimize website SEO

You should know, that Google’s understanding of search intent is more than just showing results that provide information about certain keywords.

For example, someone searches for the keyword “ best budget DSLR cameras ”.

In this case, Google will understand that the person does not just want general information about DSLR cameras, but more specifically, they are looking for camera recommendations at affordable prices.

So, the most useful search results include

reviews,
price comparison, and;
product recommendations for DSLR cameras, according to a specific budget.

In fact, Google also understands that if you create several keywords, such as “how to make bird food”, it is more practical if there are videos and images in the search results.

2. Commercial Intent

Commercial search is a mix of informational and transactional search. Some people have the intention to buy in the near future and use the web to do research.

These people also have transactional intentions but take more time to make a decision before buying something.

This type of search intent is usually called commercial intent. Here are some examples of keywords with commercial intent:

Best laptops 2024
Latest DSLR camera prices
Comparison of iPhone vs Samsung features
The importance of health insurance

3. Transactional Intent

Transactional search has the most commercial goals.

Often people use phrases like “price” or “buy” because it means they already know exactly what they want to buy and just want to go to that product page.

When users have done their research and are at the purchasing decision stage, they tend to search with transactional intent.

Here are some examples of keywords with transactional intent :

buy original Nike shoes
Antam gold price
buy a second-hand motorbike

4. Navigational Intent

When users perform a navigational search, they are looking for a specific page or website.

These users already know the company or brand they are looking for but may need help finding specific product or service pages.

For example, if someone searches for Accesstrade online, there is a big chance that they will want to go to the Accesstrade website.

So, make sure your website is easy to find when someone searches for your company name online.

Tips for Determining Search Intent

Defining search intent in the context of the marketing funnel is critical to developing a comprehensive content strategy, and often aligns with the user’s position in the marketing funnel.

Marketing funnels generally consist of three main stages, namely awareness, consideration, and conversion.

In general, the steps are as follows:

1. Awareness

Users are looking for informative content, such as the health benefits of exercise.

2. Consideration

Users search for commercial information, such as a comparison of stationary bikes vs treadmills.

3. Conversion

Users are looking for transactional or navigational details, for example, when buying a stationary bike online.

This emphasizes the importance of identifying search intent in any content strategy. Although keyword intent can often be discerned from the keyword itself (e.g., question words indicating informative intent), there are cases where the intent is not so obvious at first glance.

But now, you don’t need to find out yourself anymore because you can use several tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush which can calculate search intent automatically for each keyword.