How To Understand Keyword Intent

Let’s say you’re searching online for a vegetarian recipe you can rustle up in less than 30 minutes. You type in ‘quick vegetarian recipes’. You find what looks like the perfect site in your search result. You click, only to find a slow-cooked dinner that takes three hours to prepare! That’s not helpful. Chances are you’ll click away, a little frustrated.

Keyword intent is all about matching your website content to what the customer is searching for. The better the match, the more likely your website visitors will stay on your site – rather than clicking away.

As a website owner, your site should be filled with pages that are optimised for specific keywords. Blogs, product pages and landing pages all need a keyword.

But how do you know which keyword to use? If you’ve done any research for your keywords related to your services or products you may find lots of options, long and short. This guide will help you allocate the right keyword on each page to generate the most impact. In other words, generate longer page visits and on-page conversions!

What is keyword intent?

Keyword intent is a bit of an SEO buzzword at the moment. But it’s also a super useful strategy that online businesses can leverage.

Keywords are mostly split into four categories:

Informational

This is when a customer is thinking about purchasing a product or service, but wants to know more about it. It’s an initial research stage that could lead to a sale further down the line.

For example, if you sell laptops, customers may want to know which type is right for them. If they’re searching for a buying guide, they don’t want to be sent straight to your product pages. Instead, they want to see a comprehensive, easy to understand guide that details all the key information they care about.

The customer will also ask specific questions at this stage to get a better understanding of what they need, and whether the product or service is right for them. Question-based keywords are perfect for this! For instance, they may want to know what processor they should have, or how much RAM they need in their PC.

Commercial

At the commercial stage, the customer will do comparative research such as reading reviews and examining specific functionality. They will investigate different brands or services.

Transactional

The customer may be comparing a few options. They’re looking to make a purchase!

Navigational

Searchers are looking for a specific site or page. They know which brand or model they want.

How do you know which keyword to allocate?

You can take the guesswork out of allocating your keywords using sites like SEMrush. They automatically categorise keywords using the four categories listed above. You can also use the framework above to help match key terms to the right pages.

Keyword intent often involves creating content that suits all the stages of the customer buying journey. Choose your keywords wisely and you can deliver exactly what customers want, and even funnel them towards a purchase on your website.