The Complete Guide to SEO Search Intent

Have you ever been impressed by how Google seems to know exactly what you’re looking for, even with a simple search term? That’s because Google’s gotten super smart. In the past, it relied on matching keywords. Now, it uses complex algorithms to figure out the underlying question behind keywords. That’s where search intent steps in.

By following the “one search intent = one page = one keyword cluster” rule, you can design content that caters to various search intent queries and make it easier for Google to rank your pages faster.

In this article, we’ll explain what search intent is, why it is important for SEO, how to determine search intent from keywords, and what the main benefits of search intent targeting are.

What is User Intent?

User intent (search/audience/keyword intent) is the term used to describe a person’s goal when entering a search phrase. For instance, they might be seeking information on a specific topic, a solution to a problem, or looking to make a purchase.

By understanding the purpose of an online search query, you can:

With SE Ranking’s Keyword Ranking Tracker, you can easily monitor your progress in optimizing content for search intent. The higher you rank, the better you understand and satisfy user needs.

Take a look at our guide on tracking search engine rankings to learn more effective techniques for analyzing your website’s performance on search engines and optimizing your content strategy.

The 5 Types of Search Intent

Now, let’s dive deeper into the main search intent categories.

• Informational: The goal is to acquire specific data, conduct research a particular topic, or learn new information.
• Commercial: The goal is to find more detailed information on a product/service before making a purchase.
• Transactional: The goal is to make a purchase.
• Navigational: The goal is to find a specific brand/website.
• Local: The goal is to find products/services available within a specific geographic area.

Expand your understanding of search intent and other essential SEO concepts by enrolling in our online Basic SEO Course.

Informational Search Intent

The goal behind informational searches is to learn something new. These search queries could be in the form of a specific question (e.g., how long does it take to become a doctor) or broad investigations that require research (e.g., the role of mass media in childhood socialization).

Google usually displays answers to specific questions with the help of featured snippets. These highlighted excerpts of text sit at the top of the SERP so users can save time browsing the Internet.

Informational SEO search intent can be recognized by question words like who, what, when, where, why, how, etc. For instance:

• Who invented the radio?
• When did the Titanic sink?
• Why doesn’t it thunderstorm in the winter?

But that’s not always the case. Google also infers informational search intent from general noun keywords, such as:

• Carbonara sauce
• Chetham’s Library location
• UX writing trends

How to Optimize for Informational User Intent

To get started, examine the way people look up information online. Discover informational queries around your topics with the help of these features:

Just click Keyword Research in the top navigation bar, paste a seed keyword, and scroll down to the Keyword Ideas section.

Alternatively, you can directly access this tool from the widget below:

By filtering these keywords with the help of question keywords, you can find a variety of valuable content ideas for your blog. To do this, go to the list of keywords, hit Filter, and add question words like how, where, why, when, etc. You’ll find plenty of topics that are interesting to your audience.

Then, create blog posts, in-depth guides, how-to videos, and checklists around these keywords, as these are the most popular forms of informational content on the Internet.

Navigational Search Intent

Users with navigational intent are looking for a specific web page or domain. These queries are typically used as an alternative for typing the entire URL into Google’s search bar. Here are some more examples of queries with navigational user intent:

• SE Ranking website audit
• Twitter sign up
• Google Analytics

Make sure your website can be easily found. When someone searches for your company’s name online,  the audience should be able to access your platform with minimal effort.

It also makes sense to audit a website to identify and rectify any technical errors that may impact its accessibility. Indexing errors are among the most critical ones. If search engines can’t index your pages, although optimized for navigational intent, they won’t appear in the SEPR, and your customers won’t see them.

How to Optimize for Navigational User Intent

There’s not much you can do with the navigational search intent outside of your own domain. Users with this intention are typically looking for a specific link pointing out to the website. Your task is to do everything in your power to nab and hook the first position on the SERPs for all variations of your brand’s name.

But how do you do it? Create relevant content around navigational keywords, such as:

• Price
• Reviews
• Location
• Login 
• Testimonials

Transactional Search Intent

Whether it be a product, service, or subscription, people with transactional search intent are looking for the right place to buy something. This is why transactional searches often include words like buy, subscribe, price, cheap, discount, sale, order, and so on. Here are examples of transactional search queries:

• Cheap tickets online
• Buy body cream
• Denim jackets sale

Still, transactional queries are not always this obvious. Sometimes people type the name of a product or service into Google’s search bar without any additional modifiers. A “denim jacket” query, for instance, most likely has transactional intent even though it’s not accompanied by other words, such as buy, sale, and so on.

How to Optimize for Transactional User Intent

To get the most out of transactional intent optimization, begin by auditing the following page types:

• Landing pages
• Product pages
• Pricing pages
• Sales pages
• Event pages

These are the most likely pages to appear in SERPs for transactional intent queries. They are also “responsible” for generating sales on your website.

To audit and improve keyword intent SEO on each page, you’ll need to analyze page SEO factors such as the title tag, meta description, heading tags, content, and internal linking. It’s important to ensure that each of these elements is optimized with the relevant keywords and intent in mind.

To learn more about on-page SEO —whether it’s one page per time or all pages in bulk—check out our complete guide on this topic.

Commercial Search Intent

Commercial intent is usually perceived as something lying in the middle of informational and transactional intent queries. Simply put, the user has already decided to buy something but still needs to conduct a commercial investigation to make the final decision.

Arnout Hellemans

Senior Online Strategist at OnlineMarkethink

People have always followed a similar path before buying something. First, they notice a need or something they like. Then, they research it, ask friends for advice, and compare different options. Finally, they decide what to buy. This hasn’t changed, but now they do it mostly online instead of in stores.

Take a look at different examples of commercial intent queries:

• Android and IOS comparison
• Top hotels in Las Vegas
• MacBook Air vs Pro

How to Optimize for Commercial User Intent

Make sure to target commercial queries, be honest about a product’s shortcomings, and structure your content so that it clearly answers your audience’s questions. 

For example, let’s take a look at the comparison table presented by Tesla:

Despite minimal text, the webpage effectively compares three car models in a visually appealing format. Potential buyers can easily navigate and compare options before making a decision. Subtle call-to-action buttons encourage purchases without being overly pushy, contributing to the website’s conversion rate.

Local Search Intent

Local search intent refers to the search queries made by users with the intention of finding information, products, or services available in their local area. Often, users expect to see these places on Google Maps when inputting these kinds of queries. They also expect to see the direction from their current location.

Some examples of local search intent queries are:

• Restaurants near me
• Events this weekend in [city name]
• Pet stores near [zip code]

How to Optimize for Local User Intent

Here are some tips on how to optimize your website for local user intent:

How to Determine Search Intent from Keywords

Determining keyword search intent is an integral part of any content marketing strategy. There are three main practices for identifying audience intent—and they don’t take much effort on your part.

Arnout Hellemans

Senior Online Strategist at OnlineMarkethink

One effective way to understand user intent is to analyze SERPs in incognito mode. By examining the types of results displayed—like videos, image carousels, or shopping listings—you can identify the user’s goal behind search. Another great way is to look at intent modifiers that are added to the keywords.

Analyze Keyword Modifiers

By considering keyword modifiers, you can identify SEO user intent without using additional techniques. 

But identifying user intent is more complex than finding modifiers (especially for the transactional and commercial intent), so the best way is to check the SERP for your keywords of interest.

Examine the SERPs

Identify user intent by typing the target keyword phrase into the search bar and analyzing Google’s search results. This is the best way to figure out user intent because you’re essentially getting hints from Google’s algorithms as to what it believes is the best match for your searched keyword. 

To get in-depth information on top SERP players and all their major metrics—and on a single screen, you can use SE Ranking’s SERP Analyzer tool. Choose the depth of analysis (we recommend choosing the top 5 and top 10 results when analyzing user search intent), select any country/region, and enter a keyword from which to find top-performing webpages.

By using this tool, you can:

• Identify the main SERP players.
• Analyze their associated SEO metrics.
• Determine the main ranking factors for a certain SERP.
• Learn more about the type of content offered by top-performing pages and how optimized they are.

Since you will always see different types of SERPs depending on the intent of keywords, let’s go over the different types of intent in more detail.

SERP Results for Informational Intent

Most often, Google reacts to keywords with informational intent with Knowledge Panel, featured snippets, and People Also Ask sections. Wikipedia or informative articles oftentimes occupy the primary positions for these keywords. Also, the majority of URLs in the top 10 would include something like “blog,” “guide,” etc in their URLs. Take a look at this example:

SERP Results for Navigational Intent

Considering that searchers with navigational intent already have the exact domain they’re looking for in mind, these results typically feature the most relevant page within that domain at the top of SERPs. You can also find additional site links and Knowledge panels in search results depending on the search you run.

The first organic result will most likely include the product or brand name in the URL, page title, and meta descriptions.

SERP Results for Transactional Intent

Transactional SERPs include paid results, shopping carousels, maps, shopping places, and reviews. Top-performing pages optimized for the transactional user intent include information about the product, its features, price, benefits, and alternatives.

SERP Results for Commercial Intent

With commercial intent keywords, SERPs include paid results or local pack at the top. Meta titles and descriptions of top SERP players optimized for commercial user intent often include a list of different products/services accompanied by modifiers like best, top, perfect, leading, and so on.

Use an Automated SEO Solution

Understanding user intent is a critical aspect of creating a successful SEO strategy, but manually analyzing search results for each keyword can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Fortunately, with the advent of automated solutions, such as SE Ranking’s Keyword Research tool, this process can be streamlined and made more efficient.

In particular, you’ll see the intent behind any keyword you enter right at the top of the screen.

Each keyword you enter into the tool gets analyzed for search intent. This information can be used to create a list of intent-specific keywords to optimize content quickly and efficiently.

Using filters, you can quickly identify a list of keywords with any user intent you want, be it informational, navigational, commercial, transactional, or local.

You can easily add a list of keywords with a specific search intent to a project, a Keyword Manager list, or straight to the Content Editor. Alternatively, you can export these keywords in .csv or .xls format.

Another valuable feature of the SE Ranking platform is its Competitive Research tool. You can use this tool to figure out which keywords the target domain/URL ranks for and see what the search intent is behind them.

Before you move on to finding untapped keyword opportunities and carefully analyzing their search intent, make sure to check out our extensive keyword research guide that covers different methods of finding keywords, keyword grouping, and more.

Final Words

Understanding both search intent and SEO is one of the most crucial marketing tasks for ranking higher in SERPs and attracting the most motivated users. If you want your engagement and marketing strategies to pay off, write content that targets specific search intents and corresponds to the expectations of your audience. Spend more time on research so you’ll know exactly how to match your content with each keyword’s search intent.

Written by

Yulia Deda

Yulia Deda is a content marketer at SE Ranking. She is passionate about all things SEO, with a particular focus on analytics & reporting, technical SEO, and keyword research. In her spare moments, Yulia enjoys watching documentaries or immersing herself in a captivating book.