Understanding Buyer Intent Keywords

We all know that strategic keyword targeting is central to successful SEO and paid search campaigns.

The more your site appears in search results for relevant queries, the more visitors it will attract.

But keyword optimization is about more than just driving more traffic to your site. It also plays a crucial role in maximizing your website conversions.

When you target buyer intent keywords as part of a holistic keyword strategy, you can build a site that generates sales just as well as it generates traffic and leads.

In this article, we’ll dive into different types of buyer intent keywords and offer tips on identifying terms that bring more conversions and sales to your business.

But first, let’s define our terms.

What Are Buyer Intent Keywords?

Buyer intent keywords are the search terms people use when considering buying something.

These terms express varying levels of purchasing intent depending on where the search user currently sits along the buyer’s journey.

For example, suppose your business sells weed whackers. A potential customer might search the following terms along the path to conversion:

• Awareness stage (problem-aware): “how to landscape a front yard.”
• Consideration stage (solution-aware): “best weed whackers 2023.”
• Decision stage (ready to buy): “buy Black & Decker electric weed whacker online.”

As you can see, prospects closer to a sale will use keywords with higher purchasing intent.

Now let’s briefly address why buyer intent keywords should be a focal point of your keyword strategy.

Benefits Of Targeting Buyer Intent Keywords

The obvious benefit of ranking well for buyer intent keywords is that it places you in front of prospects who are considering making a purchase.

This drives more conversion-ready visitors to your site, which, in turn, increases your bottom line.

But a prominent placement in Google’s results doesn’t just boost your site’s visibility; it also boosts its perceived credibility. Search users naturally assume that high-ranking sites are more trustworthy, making them more willing to reach for their bank cards.

Targeting buyer intent keywords tailored to your niche also helps drive more qualified visitors to your site. While high traffic volume is never a bad thing for a business website, traffic quality has a bigger impact on sales.

Instead of wasting resources attracting visitors with no genuine interest in your business, you can improve your SEO ROI by catering to those actively seeking the kind of products and services you offer.

Simply put, the better your site ranks for relevant buyer intent keywords, the more your site will attract and convert new, qualified customers.

However, it’s important to appreciate that optimizing for buyer intent keywords doesn’t mean you should exclusively target users closest to making a purchase.

The goal should be to cater to potential buyers at each stage of awareness in order to nudge them toward conversion.

Types Of Buyer Intent Keywords

We’ve already mentioned how buyer keywords express different degrees of purchasing intent depending on where someone is on the buyer’s journey.

Prospects at different stages of awareness tend to have similar goals, problems, and informational needs.

We can therefore group buyer intent keywords into three categories, each reflecting a different stage of the buyer’s journey.

Awareness-Stage Keywords

Users searching these terms are looking to better understand a problem they’re facing or a goal they want to achieve. Here’s where they discover that businesses like yours can offer the solution they need.

Awareness-stage keywords tend to be informational queries containing phrases like:

• “How to.”
• And “what is.”

Consideration-Stage Keywords

Once prospects learn about the available solutions to their problem, they move onto the consideration stage, where they start weighing up different buying options.

Often, prospects will seek resources like product comparison lists, in-depth reviews, testimonials, case studies, and anything else that helps narrow down the best option for their needs.

Consideration-stage queries often contain words like:

• “[Product name] reviews.”
• “Best [product].”
• And “[brand name] vs. [competitor].”

Decision-Stage Keywords

Finally, prospects reach a point where they’re ready to take action.

They’ve homed in on the specific solution they want to buy and, at most, just need an extra nudge to get them over the line.

As you’d expect, decision-stage keywords express high levels of purchase intent.

For B2C audiences, these tend to include terms like:

• “Buy now.”
• “Discount.”
• “Delivery times.”

For B2B customers (for whom the buying process usually takes longer), decision-stage keywords may include phrases like:

• “Demo.”
• “Terms and conditions.”
• Or “payment plan.”

Various Types Of Keywords To Consider For Optimization

Finally, if you run a brick-and-mortar business, it’s definitely worth incorporating local keywords into your content marketing strategy.

Local keywords with high purchasing intent include terms like “[product/ service] near me,” “[type of retailer] open now,” and “[business type] in [location].”

Check out the guide to GMB optimization to learn more about increasing your site’s visibility for local searches.

Targeting buyer intent keywords is one of the most effective ways to reach a wider pool of potential customers, improve your website’s conversion rates, and boost your business revenue.

By following the tips outlined above, you’ll be well on your way to optimizing your site for purchase-ready buyers.

But remember, as with all aspects of SEO, sustainable results depend on strategic planning, careful implementation, and constant course correction.