Understanding Search Intent and SEO Strategies
By Contributing Author
Using SEO strategies for your business is highly beneficial, but only if you understand exactly what they are, and how to effectively use them. Too often people are jumping past the information stage and right into implementation and that can be a mistake. Starting at the source and increasing your knowledge base about exactly what these strategies are, the components that are important, and how they relate specifically to you and your needs are going to increase the effectiveness once you add them into your strategy and plan.
Search Intent
Simply defined, search intent is the reason behind a searcher’s inquiry on a search engine. It represents the objective the searcher is trying to accomplish. Understanding search intent will help you maximize your overall search engine optimization. Researching the intent of your target market will help you create a higher probability that traffic patterns flow towards your site. You can find out how to consistently outrank competitors from Granwehr and multiply revenue with SEO strategies based on intent.
Once you understand what search intent exactly is, you can shift your efforts towards developing site posts that align with search content. Search engine rankings are related to search intent, so if you miss the mark when creating and adding content, you will be passed over. There are four main types of search intent: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial investigation.
Breaking Down the Categories
Informational search intent refers to someone who seeks information. An example of this would be a searcher typing in a specific question, or noun that they wish to gain information about. ‘Who is the president’ and ‘home buying process’, are two examples of informational searches. Navigational searches apply to those who are looking for a specific website. These searchers already know where they want to go, they would just rather type a few keywords into Google than the entire URL into their address bar.
Transactional searches are defined as those that happen when the searcher is in buying mode. They know what they want to buy, they are just looking for a place they can buy it from. An example of this type of intent would be ‘buy iPhone’ or ‘purchase couch.’ Commercial investigation happens when a searcher is still weighing their options regarding what they are looking into. They have identified they want to buy a new watch but are unsure which solution best suits them. Typically, on the hunt for comparisons and reviews, searches of this nature can look like ‘best sports watches.’
You can infer search intent for the purposes of cultivating your content, or you can use keyword research tools. If you consider yourself a beginner or have an aggressive goal for overhauling your brand content a research tool can be extra beneficial because you will get the logic behind the research and deeper explanations than you might if you just inferred keywords independently. Once you learn the basics you can dive into the details that make this information actionable. Intent categories are overly broad and when focusing solely on the types you may miss a mark. Analyzing the best type for you in greater detail will yield more purposeful results.
