User Intent Unveiled: All You Need To Know and How to Leverage To Your Advantage
For many online content producers user intent is an afterthought. But actually, it should be a determining factor in keyword research.
Studies indicate that 82% of shopping journeys start from online searches. To make sales from products or services, a company must provide customers or clients with the exact information they need. All the search queries in the search engine have a clear user intent.
What is user intent?
User intent or search intent is the answer a user expects to find when they type a word or phrase onto a search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing, among others.
For example, when you type in “diabetic recipes,” the search engine should display the recipes, not the benefits of a diabetic diet. The user intent was to find diabetic recipes, and they have found what they wanted.
Easy right?
Sometimes the search intent is not clear. For example, someone types in “acne” into Google. What is the user searching for? Is it acne meaning? Maybe the symptoms? Are they looking for acne treatment? In this scenario, the user intent is vague.
What are the types of user intent?
Search engines classify web search queries into four divisions:
1. Navigational Query
The search intent in navigational query is to proceed to a specific website, application or tool the user wants to use. For instance, if you want to visit the Pinterest site, you simply type in “Pinterest” onto Google or any other search engine, right? Meaning that the user’s search intent on Google is to navigate to a particular site, and that’s it.
So once the user gets to their desired website, they can carry on with what they want to do.
Simply put, the user in this category knows what they are searching for precisely. It could be a brand, service, or product.
Examples of navigational searches are :
· Paypal login
· Twitter
· Harvard University
· BBC and so forth.
2. Informational Query
The user intent in an informational query is to find out how to solve a problem or understand a concept For example, when a user types “How do I get rid of hiccups?” onto Google, the generated results display all the helpful solutions which answer that search query.
An important point to note is that users in this category are not in buying mode. Common keywords used in informational queries include tips, guide, examples, how to, among others.
Examples of informational query searches:
· Where is CNN based
· Tips on how to pass mathematics
· Guide to bathing a newborn,
· What is bitcoin and so on.
3. Transactional Query
The search intent in this category is to purchase a product, course or service; they are in buying mode. They are saying, “here, have my money and give or send me product X.”
The user has gathered all the information they need to arrive at this decision. Notable keywords used in transactional query include for sale, where to buy, coupon, and so forth.
If your blog post keyword is “buy hand-made pots,” but the content provides tips for making pots. Unfortunately, you are not providing user satisfaction.
The solution is simple…
Change your keyword strategy! So that anyone searching for “buy hand-made pots” is taken to a product page, not an informational blog. That way, you satisfy users with what they need, and they end up purchasing.
Examples of transactional query searches are:
· Black Opal coupon
· Dubsado premium price
· Where can I buy a Nikon mirrorless camera
· Free shipping bath and body works
E-commerce sites like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba fall under this category.
4. Commercial Query
A commercial query is when a user is searching for a particular service or product for example, room heaters but has not yet decided on the best type.
For starters, the user has already done basic fact-finding. They are now looking for additional information like product reviews to make the best decision.
Keywords used in commercial queries include review, X vs.Y, best, cheapest, and so on.
For software companies, the commercial query is the best place for a user to test the product. For instance using a free version, a trial period and other offers. Using these queries, you can later craft special offers and convert these users to future premium users.
The free version or trial period offer helps in marketing you to potential customers and is a fantastic strategy for lead generation.
Examples of commercial queries are:
· ClickUp vs. Asana
· Ikea reviews
· Best formula milk for newborn
· Top 10 pet-friendly restaurants
Why is user intent important?
Google wants everyone using its search engine to benefit greatly. How? By providing the required information quickly and accurately. As a business, Google generates revenue from advertisements. So the better user satisfaction a search engine provides, the more users and businesses it attracts.
Google’s algorithm can tell if an article, for example, “diabetic recipes,” has many people reading and sharing it. Why does this article attract so much traffic? That’s right! Because everyone who selected the article got all the answers they needed.
Without a doubt, Google will rank the article higher because the content satisfied the search query.
Every article that fulfills the user’s intent still needs optimization for Google ranking. If your content satisfies only Google’s search engine algorithm, but no one is reading it, then it will not rank well.
So, a combination of meeting the user intent and optimizing your content is very vital to claiming your position on the first page of Google search.
To sum up…
As much as keyword research is important for planning out your content, understanding user intent and the implication of those keywords is key. When all is said and done, humans are the ones who search the internet, visit a website, and transact business.
So take time and think through your next article, does it guarantee user satisfaction?
You will be glad you did!
