Seo - Search intent
Stuart Somiah
Digital Marketing Specialist | Boosting Brand Visibility, Driving Results and ROI through Creative Campaigns, Innovative Strategies, Data-Driven Insights and Technologies | Posts about Digital Marketing and Psychology
One of the most overlooked SEO techniques is the Search Intent, not just on SEO but when selecting Paid Keywords as well.
So, what is search intent or user intent exactly? Search intent is the main goal a user has when typing a query into a search engine, for example, A user searches “how to design a website”, clicks on the first result, and is met with a company selling their services for website design, immediately this result is not what the user wanted, the user then clicks on the second or third result and is shown in detail, step by step how to design a website. If enough people searching “how to design a website” clicks on the website that is giving the user exactly what they want, that website will start to rank higher in the search results and the website providing services on website design will start to drop.
Once Google sees that your website is not providing the information based on certain short or long-tail keywords, it will lower your ranking. Knowing what a user searches is important for SEO and ranking, however, knowing the intent for that long or short-tail keyword can ultimately determine whether your website ranks or not for the keywords you are trying to rank for.
So how does this affect paid results? Well if you’re a company selling website design services and you bid for keywords such as how to design a website, you will notice that your bounce rate will firstly skyrocket as well as you will be wasting money because you will not be providing users with their intended information. This will also lower your ad ranking on Google AdWords because a high bounce rate shows Google that your ad is not relevant to what users are searching for and you could even start paying more per click for your keywords.
This is one of the main reasons why doing keyword research is so important before creating an SEO strategy or before running any type of paid advertising on Google. Taking the time to compile a list of keywords that are relevant to what you’re selling and what’s on your website can not only help you save a lot of money but can also help you rank faster in the SERPS.
High intent vs Low intent
High Intent Keywords
High intent keywords signify a strong intent on the part of the searcher, whether it be to buy something, inquire about a service, or another type of action that has a strong possibility of leading to a sale later on.
Example of high intent keywords:
Low Intent Keywords
Low intent keywords are considered navigational or informational. Someone looking for information on a certain topic or searching for a specific website is unlikely to commit to buying your products or submitting a contact form.
Examples of low intent keywords:
Basic types of search query:
Informational: searches performed to answer questions or learn something
Examples
Navigational: searches performed to locate a specific website
Examples:
Transactional: searches performed to buy something
Examples
How to rank for the above?
Use Informational keywords in your blog posts and hashtags on your social media posts.
Use Transactional keywords on your service or product pages with clear call to action.
Navigational, these keywords are your business name, service, and product names, which you will automatically rank for.
Tools such as Google keyword planners, Ahrefs, Moz, and Ubersuggest can help you decide which keywords you should use for your organic and paid campaigns.
Thank you for taking the time to read. As always if you have any questions, you can message me on LinkedIn.