SEO is a way to drive more traffic to your website. By ranking high on Google, you attract more people to your website, which leads to more sales and repeat visitors. You need to optimize your content for the right words to attract people to your website. However, you should consider search intent to increase your chances of ranking, convincing people to purchase your items, subscribe to your newsletter, or even return to your website. In this post, we’ll tell you what search intent is and how you can optimize your content for search intent.
What is search intent?
Search intent (or user intent, audience intent) refers to the purpose of an online search. It is the reason someone performs a particular search. Because everyone who researches online hopes to find something. But is anyone looking for an answer to a question they have? Would you like to visit a specific website? Or are they searching online because they want to buy something? Many of these types of searches are part of the online user journey, but they often represent different phases.
Over the years, Google has worked hard to improve its algorithm for determining user search intent. Google wants to rank pages that best match the search term someone uses and the search intent behind the query. Therefore, you need to ensure that your post or page matches the search intent of your audience.
Four main types of search intent
There are a few different types of search intent. We’ll go over the four most commonly used ones, but start with an infographic that briefly describes the four types:
1. Navigation Intent
The first type of search intent is called navigation intent. People with this intent want to visit a specific website. For example, anyone who searches for (Facebook) online is usually on the way to the website. So you want to make sure your website is found when someone searches for your business name online.
Remember that ranking high for a navigation term is especially beneficial if your website is what people are searching for. Years ago we had a Google Analytics plugin that ranked well for this term (Google Analytics). But that didn’t drive any traffic to our website. People who specifically searched for (Google Analytics) were searching for the Google Analytics website and were often not interested in our plugin.
2. Informational intent
Moving on to information intent. People looking for information often do research on the Internet. This can be information about the weather, children’s education, SEO and much more. People with informational intent have a specific question or want to learn more about a topic.
You should know that Google understands intent as more than just showing results that provide information about a specific term. For example, it knows that people searching for (tomato sauce) are most likely looking for recipes, not the culinary history of the sauce. It assumes that most people who type (Mercury) are looking for the planet, not the element. Google even knows that it’s useful to include videos and images for search terms such as (how to build a birdhouse).
3. Commercial Investigation
Some people intend to buy something in the (near) future and do research on the Internet. Which washing machine would be best? Which WordPress SEO plugin is the most helpful? These people also have transactional intentions but require more time and persuasion. These types of search intent are commonly referred to as commercial research intent.
4. Transaction Intent
The fourth type of search intent is transactional intent. Many people buy things online and search the internet to find the best purchase. People search with transactional intent when they intend to purchase something at that moment. This means they already know exactly what they want to buy and want to get to the product page straight away.
Keyword intent
The words people use in their searches give us insight into user intent. This also works the other way around. By formulating keywords with intent-specific words, you can increase your chances of being seen by people with matching search intent.
What do we mean by intent-specific words? Well, transactional intent keywords often include words like:
- buy
- act
- Discount
- Product names
To give another example: information searches may (but don’t necessarily have to) contain words like:
- information
- How
- the best way to do this
- Why
How to optimize your content for search intent
Why are we telling you this? Because you want to make sure a landing page matches your audience’s search intent. When people are looking for information, you don’t want to show them a product page. At least not immediately. You’ll scare them away. But if someone wants to buy your product and lands on one of your longer blog posts, you could lose them. In this case, you want to take them to your store and the correct product page.
It’s a good idea to optimize your product pages for commercially oriented keywords. For example, if you sell dog vitamins, you could optimize a product page (category page) for the search term (buy dog vitamins). Maybe you also have an article about giving vitamins. You could optimize this article for the search term (how I give my dog vitamins) and target it to people with an informational intent.
Research your audience’s search intent
Sometimes it can be quite difficult to determine the search intent of a query. And maybe different users using the same search term have a (slightly) different user intent. Luckily, there is a direct source to help you figure out which intent best matches your keywords: search results pages. Learn how to use results pages to create intent-based content.
If you want to learn more about your audience’s search intent, you can also ask them. Create a short survey with questions about users’ search queries and have this survey appear when users visit your website. This gives you valuable insights into your target group and their intentions. Please do not be too intrusive with such pop-ups as this may affect the user experience on your website.
Search intent in Yoast SEO with SEMrush
Aligning your content with the right intent is important, but with eCommerce content this becomes even more important. Here’s how to apply this with a focus on eCommerce.
First, identify the intent behind your main keyword. E-commerce often involves transactional or commercial investigative intent. When users are ready to purchase (“transactional”), your content should lead them to purchase. If they are still doing research (“commercial research”), provide comparisons, reviews or detailed product information.
Look for related keywords that match those intents. Use tools like the SEMrush integration with Yoast SEO to find variations that potential customers might use. For a keyword like “buy running shoes online,” related phrases might include “discount running shoes,” “running shoes with free shipping,” or “best price running shoes.”
In the Yoast SEO Related Keyphrases interface, the different intents are color coded using the SEMrush system:
- C (yellow): Commercial intent
- N (purple): Navigation Intent
- Me (blue): Informational intent
- T (green): Transaction Intent
Examine the search results for the keywords you found to see what e-commerce sites are doing. Look for product pages, reviews, and comparison guides that rank well. This will help you understand what customers expect and how to differentiate your offerings.
Incorporate these keywords naturally into your product descriptions, category pages, and blog posts. Make sure the content answers potential buyers’ questions and highlights unique selling points. Add clear calls to action to encourage purchases, especially with transactional intent.
When you focus well on search intent, you can create content that improves SEO and enhances the shopping experience. Ultimately, you want higher conversions and better customer satisfaction.
Conclusion on search intent for SEO
It’s important to make sure your content matches the terms people are searching for and your audience’s search intent. Make sure your post or page is informative when people are looking for information. Be the first result when someone searches for your business name. Provide content that helps people make an informed decision while exploring their options. But direct people to your sales pages if they want to buy one of your products.
Read more: Keyword research: the ultimate guide »
Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked at a top web design magazine, where he developed a strong understanding of how to create great content.
