It’s important to understand search intent in order to make your business more visible to potential clients. No matter how well you optimize your content for search engines, it won’t rank very high if it doesn’t match the search intent behind the keywords you’re targeting.
The experienced digital marketing team at New Wine Digital understands how to use search intent to gain an advantage. Continue reading to learn more about what search intent means, why it’s important, and how to optimize for it.
What Is Search Intent, and Why Is it Important?
Search engines like Google strive to deliver the best results possible for every single search query. If you’ve ever typed a string of nonsense into Google and it still gave you the results you were looking for, it’s because Google understood your search intent. Search or user intent refers to the goal a web user has when using a search engine.
Depending on the query, they may be looking for more information about a product or service, or they may be ready to purchase. When Google understands the intent behind a search, its engines will show the most relevant product pages, blog posts, videos, etc. as the top ranking results. If you want to create high-ranking content for your website, you must determine which type of search intent would lead a customer to your content.
The Three Types of Search Intent
1: Informational Search Intent
In the early stages of the buyer’s journey, a customer is simply looking for more information on a topic. These types of search queries are typically questions like “why do my gums hurt?” or ”how to get rid of dog fleas” that would then lead the customer to answers in the form of a blog post from a dental practice or veterinary clinic.
Writing trustworthy content that answers a user’s search query helps establish your business as an authority on the subject. And later, when the customer is ready to decide on a service provider, they’ll be more likely to return to your website because they know you can meet their needs.
2: Navigational Search Intent
It’s important to rank well for your own business’s name to make it easier for users who have heard of your business to find your website. Customers with navigational intent are looking for a specific website, so the keywords they would use in their query would feature the business’s name. There is also comparative intent, which involves the same goal as navigational intent but with the additional intent of comparing specific businesses.
3: Transactional Search Intent
When someone is ready to buy, their search intent is transactional. These specific—and often local—searches have keywords like “dentist near me” or “plumber in Denver.” Google may display product pages or service pages, depending on each specific query.
However, customers with transactional search intent aren’t only looking to purchase a product or service online. They might also be looking for an address or phone number to contact a specific business. It’s important to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile, which features all of the information someone needs to contact you.
How to Optimize Your Website for Search Intent
To optimize your content for search intent, you first need to know what type of content is appropriate for each different type of search intent. For instance, a search query with informational intent will show results for blog posts that answer specific questions. Navigational intent search queries will show locations and contact information for the type of business the user is looking for. Transactional intent queries will show product and service pages.
When creating content around search intent, you also need to understand which keywords to target. Searching words and phrases on Google can give you an idea about what type of content to write, and what Google believes is the goal of a search with those keywords. For instance, if you search for a keyword and a mix of informational and transactional pages come up, then you need to target more specific keywords. If you search for a keyword and only product pages come up, then an informational blog post targeting that keyword wouldn’t rank very well.
Professional Content and SEO Marketing Services
Knowing which keywords to target and the search intent to build content around can be a complicated and time-consuming task. Let New Wine Digital work on improving your search rankings while you focus on your business. We offer a wide range of web design, SEO, and content marketing services to help you bring more traffic to your website. Call 480-516-1819 to discuss our services.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (12/3/2024). Image by Juan Francia from Pixabay