Search Intent: The Overlooked Ranking Factor You Should Be Using

There are many tools in a digital marketer’s tool kit to help a brand and a website rank on Google and other search engines. Fundamental techniques like on-site SEO, link-building, and keywordKeywords are the words and phrases that potential customers might search for to find your business. targeting have all become standard practices when it comes to digital marketing; however, there is one pretty significant ranking factor that many people are overlooking. That ranking factor is search intent.

What is search intent?

Search intent, also known as user intent, is the phrase that is used to describe the reason why a person is searching a particular parameter on Google. It’s the idea of trying to figure out what someone wants to find when they search in a keyword or phrase. There are many different things that searches could be looking for: they may want to find a specific website, they may want to find information, or they may want to make a purchase. To help ensure that your website gets as much traffic as it deserves, you need to tune into this search intent and ensure that your webpage matches what the users want to see.

For some keywords, the intent is clear, such as phrases like ‘buy puppies’ or ‘hairdressers near me.’ You know that for both those keywords, the user internet is looking for a service or store. However, some keywords can be a little tougher to work out search intent, such as ‘best puppy breeds’ or ‘hairdresser equipment.’ For these, it’s unclear if people want to see an informative list about these searchers or if they’re looking to make a purchase. This means that if your website goes against the true search intent, then your website will fall on that result ranking page and fail to attract users and traffic.

Why is it important?

Google strives to make sure that every query on their search engine is followed up with the most relevant results. This is because if those results are inaccurate and don’t give the user what they want, then Google’s reputation and reliability will suffer, so it’s crucial that they use as many ranking factors as possible to make sure that the results for a search are both quality and relevant.

To ensure that your content is deemed good enough by Google for whatever keyword you’re targeting, you need to be using search intent to help you beat out the competitors. More importantly, you need to learn the search intent to ensure that your page actually fits the keyword you’re targeting. You don’t want to shoehorn a landing page into a SERP that it doesn’t belong in, as Google will recognise this and push it down the rankings. When looking for keywords to target in your content writing, user intent can be an excellent way to help you find the best ones, as it can help direct your content to users who are actually looking for it.

The bottom line: Search intent is vital as it helps ensure that your content is relevant.

The Different Types of Search Intent:

There are four different main types of search intent that digital marketers can use to help differentiate search parameters and help them identify what type of content they need to provide for a specific keyword. These main types of search intent are known as:

1. Informational

This type of search is where the user is looking for information, such as the answer to a simple question or something a bit more comprehensive and in-depth. These types of searchers are usually written as a question, making them easy to identify; however, they are not always like that. Sometimes they can be as vague as an individual’s name or an incomplete sentence. The majority of searchers on Google are ones that are looking for information, meaning that it is pretty worthwhile to optimise your content for this search intent in the form of blogs, articles, and infographics. Writing good, illuminating content can be tough for those with no experience at it. That is why a lot of businesses use an external content agency to create content on their behalf. This is a good way to get a lot of quality content quickly, which can be used to target keywords and boost SEO.

2. Navigational

A navigation search intent is where the user is looking to find a specific website, meaning that they have a clear idea of where they want to go and end up on. Many people search navigational queries on search engines because it may be easier for them than typing a URL. It’s a good idea to avoid targeting navigational keywords, as you will likely fail to get many conversions. This is because the user has one clear destination in mind. Only target navigational searches if you’re confident that they’re searching for your own website.

Some examples of navigational searches include simply searching the brand name of a website, such as ‘Pinterest,’ as well as adding tags to that name like ‘Netflix login’ or even searching page titles, such as ‘Paid Social Guide Click Intelligence.’

3. Transactional

A transactional search intent is where the searcher is looking to buy something and make a purchase. This means that they’re in a spending mood and are looking for places to buy something from. These are the best types of intent to target as the user is most likely more open to different options, providing that you’re selling what they’re looking for.

For example, if they search ‘buy cat food’ and you sell this product, then it’s worth targeting that search query. However, if they search ‘premium Smalls cat food’ or include any other brand in their transactional query, then it means they’re looking for a specific brand from a specific provider and might not be interested in your product. It may be worth running a promotional advert on that SERP, but it’s definitely not worth targeting.

4. Commercial Investigation

The final main type of search intent is commercial investigation, and this is where the user is looking for more information to help inform them on what they should buy. In essence, this means that they’re looking for something and have an interest in a product but don’t know which one is best for them. With the user being so impressionable, it may seem like a good idea to target this type of search intent with linksHyperlinks, also known as links, are the connection points on a webpage that take you to other webpages. to your products; however, this isn’t what the searcher is looking for. Instead, they want to find reviews and ranking lists to help them figure out what’s trusted and what’s recommended. A brand can use this and create their own ranking lists and informative content to become an authority, and it’s better to present this type of information for this type of search query than just trying to sell your product.

How To Tell Which Type Is Which

Know that you’re aware of the different types of search intent; it’s important to help figure out which type is which when looking at a search. To help you identify what is what, there are some buzzwords that, when incorporated into a phrase, will make it clear what the intent is. Here are some of the most common:

Informational:

• The five W’s (who, what, where, when, why.)
• How
• Guide
• Tutorial
• Resource
• Tips

Navigational:

• The name of a product
• The name of a brand
• The name of a service

Transactional:

• buy
• coupon
• order
• price

Commercial Investigation:

• Best
• Top
• Review
• Comparison
• Attributes of the product, such as size, color, and more.

Using these buzzwords and phrases, when searching for keywords to target, you can filter intent by including some of these words to help you find better keywords that more naturally link and relate to your pages. To help boost your content, you can also enrich your text with these keywords to get better SEO results. When doing this, make sure that you’re not stuffing your content with these words and that it can be incorporated into your content naturally.

It’s clear then that user intent is a big player when it comes to your pages ranking and doing well on the SERPs. This means that if you’re not already using it and aren’t thinking about the intent of the users when identifying keywords to target, you should start to incorporate it as part of your SEO strategy alongside all other things that you’re doing. The benefits of doing this can be huge. It can help boost your ranking, making people more aware of your business. It can improve traffic which can lead to higher conversions, and it can also improve your domain authority, making you a more respected brand in your niche.

In a nutshell, search intent has the potential to be the most important ranking factor for the year. The bottom line is, if your content fails to give users what they want, then your chances of ranking and being seen drastically reduces. Even if you somehow do end up ranking with an ill-fitting and low-quality page, the user experience will suffer, and many people will be turned off from your page, which could contribute to a high bounce rateBounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a website who visit only one page. A high bounce rate indicates that visitors are not satisfied with your website.. Avoid this by optimising your pages for the right search intent, and you’ll be well on your way to better rankings and better success online.