Creating content that matches the search intent of a keyword is the easiest way to get your target audience to come to you.
Search intent is the reasoning behind a user’s query. It helps you determine why that person is searching for a particular keyword and what action they are likely to take once they are satisfied with their search.
In essence, it allows you to meet people where they are in the buyer’s journey, filter out those who may not find your content useful, and streamline customer acquisition.
Keep reading to learn about the importance of incorporating search intent into a content marketing strategy, the most common types, and some tips to get you started.
What Is Search Intent?
Search intent is the reason people use search engines. When you type a query into Google (or any other search engine), you do so because you need to find an answer to a specific question.
In simple terms, search intent is the action someone is more likely to take once they have an answer to that question.
Let’s say you’re looking for the best iced tea makers. Since you’re gathering information, search engines assume you’re in the research stage of the buyer’s journey, meaning you want to know your options before making a purchase or taking another action.
As a result, search engines flag your query as commercial because you’re not trying to buy a specific iced tea maker or navigate to a specific page.
Why Is Search Intent Important in Content Marketing?
When you create digital content, your main goal is to satisfy both your audience and the search engines.
Search engines use algorithms to determine which content deserves to be on the first page. Typically, first-page content matches the search intent of one or more keywords.
This is how search engines ensure user satisfaction.
By taking the time to understand the search intent of a keyword before using it, you’re also creating content that satisfies a specific group of people. This tells search engines that:
- You understand your audience.
- You’re a subject-matter expert.
- Your content is worthy and should be at the top.
In essence, creating content with search intent in mind is important because it helps you to:
- Meet the needs of your audience by helping them solve a problem.
- Rank higher on search results by creating content that targets keywords in harmony with the search intent behind them.
- Stay relevant by building brand awareness.
The Most Common Types of Search Intent
Although marketers can categorize search intent in several ways, the four most common are:
- Commercial Intent: for research-oriented keywords (e.g., “best iced tea makers”)
- Informational Intent: for educational keywords (e.g., “how to do a backflip”)
- Navigational Intent: for navigational keywords (e.g., “Gmail login”)
- Transactional Intent: for purchase-oriented keywords (e.g., “buy pink Crocs”)
Below is a detailed explanation of each:
Commercial Intent
Commercial intent is the bridge between informational and transactional intent. The keywords for this search intent belong to the research stage of the buyer’s journey.
People use commercial intent keywords when they want to do some research before purchasing.
Examples include:
- “best yoga mats“
- “nike Air Force 1 vs Adidas Samba“
- “skyscanner alternatives“
- “brightening serum for sensitive skin“
- “canon eos 90d review“
Since people are looking for information about a specific product or service, the top-ranked posts for commercial keywords usually come from third-party sites that are not affiliated with the company offering the product or service.
This is why businesses have a hard time ranking for commercial keywords.
Informational Intent
Informational intent includes the keywords people use to learn about a topic.
These queries typically include how-to questions and the four Ws: what, where, when, and why.
Examples include:
- “how to parallel park“
- “what is synergy“
- “where is the titanic wreckage?“
- “when is it christmas eve“
- “why do my feet hurt after running“
One thing to keep in mind is that even though Google answers the most basic questions directly (see image below), the top results are almost always blogs.
This presents an opportunity for businesses to rank higher in search results, as businesses with blogs are more likely to drive more traffic by creating valuable content for their audience.
In essence, using informational keywords to create quality content may help you increase traffic and rank higher.
Navigational Intent
Navigational intent refers to the keywords used by people who want to take a particular action online. These keywords are branded, and the people who use them are almost always actual customers of the business.
This is a great marketing opportunity for your site’s PA growth, as these keywords help customers find your site’s most important or popular pages in seconds.
Examples include:
- “netflix“
- “google maps“
- “gmail login“
- “canva instagram story maker“
- “instagram privacy policy“
Transactional Intent
Although somewhat similar to navigational search intent, people who use keywords with transactional intent do so to perform a specific, usually commercial, action.
Transactional keywords are also known as profitable keywords because they’re used by people who want to purchase a product or service.
However, it’s worth noting that not all transactional keywords are purchase-related. In fact, they also apply to non-commercial actions, such as taking a quiz or changing account settings.
Examples include:
- “threads deactivate account“
- “macbook air 2022“
- “city i should live in buzzfeed quiz“
- “watch looking for happiness“
- “quickbooks plans“
How To Create a Blog Post With User Intent in Mind
Now that you know the importance of search intent in SEO and marketing writing, learning how to write a blog post with user intent in mind is the next step to reaping the benefits of smart keyword use.
Here’s how the process works:
- Goal setting.
- Keyword research.
- Outlining.
- Writing.
Goal Setting
Each blog post and article you publish is a separate revenue stream and requires its own strategy and research.
Before even considering the keywords you will use, you need to determine the goal you want to achieve with your blog post.
Since we’re talking about blog posts, it makes sense to set goals such as:
- Continue to increase brand awareness.
- Reach more people.
- Sell a product.
- Generate trust.
- Improve website overall SEO.
It’s okay to want to accomplish multiple goals with a single post, but my recommendation is to focus on just one and let the quality of your content do the rest.
Let’s say you want to sell a product (either yours or through affiliate marketing). Your main goal should be to create a blog post that sells that product well. However, if you publish quality content, you’ll reap other benefits, such as increased traffic, higher search engine rankings, and more exposure.
In other words, even if you focus on one main goal for a post, quality content will always bring more benefits.
Keyword Research
Once you’ve determined what you want to accomplish with your upcoming blog post, it’s time to do some keyword research and find a keyword that has:
- Informational or commercial search intent.
- A good volume of monthly searches.
- Low- to medium-ranking difficulty.
Next, review the top-ranking pages for that keyword and make a list of your primary keyword and its variations (secondary keywords).
I use Semrush for keyword research because it shows me what’s currently working for that keyword, the competition, trends, and an overall explanation of what I’d need to rank for that keyword.
Outlining
Outlining is the process of structuring your blog post. It includes the keywords you want to use (and the times you think it’s best to repeat them), the H2s, H3s, and H4s, the data you want to include, and any comments relevant to the writing process.
Outlining makes writing easier because it provides a roadmap, which is helpful if you tend to forget things or outsource your content.
One thing I’d like to point out is that outlining can be as simple or complicated as you make it. Some people see it as a time-consuming task, but it is basically a guide to help you write a piece of content that aligns with your main goal.
Writing
Now that you know what you want to accomplish with your blog post, what keywords will help you rank well, and how to structure your blog post, it’s time to start writing and optimizing your content.
Don’t forget to:
- Include your keywords in a way that makes sense.
- Keep your audience in mind.
- Make sure the content matches the search intent of the keywords you chose.