Search intent is the reason behind your search query. When you type your search query into Google, you’re looking for a specific kind of result. As the whole purpose of a search engine is to answer a user’s questions, writing content that matches their search intent boosts the chances of it ranking for those keywords.

Sometimes a search query is obvious – if someone were to search ‘flights to New York in July’, it’s pretty clear what they are hoping to find. However, if someone were to search ‘pain au chocolat’, it’s less straightforward to decipher the intent. They could be looking for a recipe, or to find somewhere nearby that sells pain au chocolat, or the history of the pastry.

Google is always improving its algorithm to better understand user intent. One of the ways it does this is by tracking which results people click on, as it then assumes that these results are probably the best fit for the primary search intent. If more people are clicking on pain au chocolat recipes, then the search results for that keyword will reflect that.

Why is search intent important?

The basic goal of SEO is to increase a website’s presence in online search results. In order to do that, creating relevant content is a must – relevance is a huge priority for Google. If the content that you’re writing is addressing what people are asking, it increases your chances of ranking for it. Content that fulfils a user’s need is more likely to rank higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages), have a better click-through rate and higher engagement.

Optimising for search intent also helps to position your site as an authority. Offering relevant information signals to the audience that you really know your stuff, which helps to build trust and drive traffic and leads.

The 4 types of search intent

There are four main types of search intent: informational, commercial, transactional and navigational – here’s what they mean…

  • Informational intent – Informational intent search queries someone is trying to learn more about something. It could be phrased as a question, such as ‘why do trees have rings’, or it could be a little less obvious, such as ‘dog refusing to go for a walk’.

  • Commercial intent – A search with commercial intent means that someone is considering making a purchase, but needs more information before they commit to buying. Some examples of queries with commercial intent could be ‘shark vs dyson airwrap’, or ‘best food processor 2024’.

  • Transactional intent – Transactional intent means that users are ready to buy, or otherwise take action, such as signing up for a subscription service. Searches could look like ‘buy Levi’s ribcage jeans’ or ‘subscribe to Netflix’.

  • Navigational intent – A search term with navigational intent signals that a user knows where they’re trying to visit, but are using the search bar rather than typing in a URL. ‘Semrush login’ or ‘john travolta imdb’ are examples of navigational search intent.

How to determine keyword search intent

Sometimes you can tell straight away what a user’s keyword  intent is, but other times, it’s far less obvious. So, how can you determine search intent?

Take a look at the SERPs

As the SERPs are formatted to reflect search intent, take a look at the results for your keywords when you’re conducting keyword research. Seeing how the search engine prioritises content for a specific search term can help you work out which results it sees as the most relevant.

  • Informational search intent – The SERPs may include featured snippets, knowledge panels and suggestions for other questions.

  • Commercial search intent – The SERPs could lead with reviews, shopping adverts and featured snippets if it identifies commercial search intent.

  • Transactional search intent – If the search engine can tell that someone is ready to make a purchase, the SERPs may include shop carousels, reviews and paid results.

  • Navigational search intent – If it’s clear which website a user is searching for, the search results will lead with the relevant site links.

Keywords and modifiers

Although a search like ‘mascara’ may be too broad to easily determine the search intent, a search that contains both keywords and modifiers – such as ‘best mascara’ – can help to indicate the actual intent behind it.

Here are the types of modifiers you might expect to see around keywords…

  • Informational keywords – The classic ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ modifiers are a dead giveaway that you’re looking at informational intent, as the user is trying to find out more about a subject. As well as question words, resource-focused keywords such as ‘tips’, ‘advice’ and ‘guide’ also indicate that the user is asking for more information.

  • Commercial keywords – Keywords that ask for an opinion to help make an informed choice point to commercial intent. For example, ‘review’, ‘best’ or any keywords around comparison, such as ‘vs’.

  • Transactional keywords – A search that contains transactional keywords, such as ‘buy’, ‘register’ or ‘order’ has transactional search intent.

  • Navigational keywords – As well as searches for specific brands or websites, a navigational search could include terms like ‘login’ or ‘homepage’.

How to incorporate search intent into your content strategy

Now we know what search intent is and how we can spot it, how can it be used to help your website perform better and reach your target audience?

Look at the competitors

Have a look at the top-ranking pages for your target keyword to analyse their content. What are they writing about? How are they laying the content out? What other keywords are they using? It might sound like a shady tactic, but identifying what is making a piece of content rank highly and replicating something similar on your own site is very common practice. If you can’t beat them, join them (and hopefully beat them by making better content).

Choose the right types of content

Whilst you’re looking at your competitors, have a look at what types of content is ranking the highest for your search term. Someone who is searching for ‘best wireless headphones’ probably doesn’t want to see a product page for AirPods, they want to see lists comparing headphones, or reviews, so you wouldn’t want to optimise your page for that term.

From how-to guides to blogs and videos, the types of content that are featured in the SERPs can steer you in the right direction to make sure you’re creating content that best addresses your audience’s needs.

Improve your keyword research

When you’re pulling together a list of potential keywords that your site could target, identifying the intent behind them can help you identify if the keywords are the right match for your site. There’s no point chasing keywords that don’t match the search intent of users, as you won’t be able to rank for it.

Although long-tail keywords have lower search volume than more generic keywords, they have more refined search intent and lower competition. For example, ‘tiramisu’ will have significantly more search volume than ‘easy tiramisu recipe’, but if you run a cooking blog, the long-tail term is likely to be more relevant for your content, as well as being easier to rank for.

Don’t forget your metadata

The humble meta description, so easily overlooked. Meta descriptions have the power to increase click-through rate by communicating to users what the web page is about. If they don’t think it matches what they’re looking for, they are less likely to interact with your site.

Make sure that all of your metadata is optimised properly, to signal to searchers that your content is worth clicking on.

We know our stuff when it comes to SEO, so if you’re struggling to increase your site visibility and need a new content strategy, get in touch! List & Found is an award-winning agency that specialises in on-page and technical SEO, so find out how we can help your business shine.