To have a successful SEO campaign in the modern search landscape, it's not enough to consider the keywords your users are searching for. You also need to consider your customers' user intent when they visit your page: why are they there, and what do they hope to accomplish?

Understanding search intent is a key part of any modern SEO strategy. As search engines improve their results for their users, they are getting better at identifying users' search intents and serving up content that helps them achieve their goals.

Thus, search intent has a deep impact on search results. If your business appears on a search engine results page (SERP) and your page doesn't match the user's intent, they'll quickly leave your site and try the next result, even if you're at the top of the SERP. This behavior can increase your bounce rate, which in turn can actually down-rank your page on the SERP in the future.

In this article, we'll define user intent, discuss the four main types of your users' intent as they browse the web, and show you how to identify user intent and write content that takes your users' intent into consideration.

Understanding the importance of user intent and how to incorporate it into your SEO strategy is a vital part of getting high-quality leads and engaging with your consumer base. Let's get started!

What Is User Intent?

Put simply, user intent is the goal that a user has in mind when they begin searching online. Some users are ready to purchase a product or service, and just want to know where they can do that. Others will want to research the similarities and differences between similar products, and others still will want to know what type of product or service will best solve the problem they're currently facing.

A large number of search users simply want to know more about the thing they're searching for, or answer a question they may have nagging them. If your business can answer their questions, they might stick around to browse your inventory or remember you for when they are ready to purchase down the line.

Types of User Intent

It could be argued that there are about as many types of user intent as there are users. Every time someone searches for something online, they have a different want, need, or question to answer - otherwise, they'd have no reason to search!

However, there are four broad categories of user intent that every search falls into. Deciding which of these four your content matches and targeting it to that type of intent will help your content rank in search engines.

Informational

Users with informational intent want to learn something - they're seeking out knowledge about a given topic, product, or service. Content for these users usually involves how-to guides, Q&A pages, and other educational content. Informational intent is important because consumers who trust you for information about your industry are more likely to buy from you in the future - if you're an expert in your field, you probably provide quality products or services. Plus, informational content is a great way to raise brand awareness.

Navigational

Users with navigational intent know where they want to go. Navigational queries are more specific - they're trying to find a specific website or page - and they're usually centered around a particular brand. For example, "Click Here Digital blog" is navigational: the user knows they want to find our blog, they just don't know the exact URL.

Commercial

When a user has commercial intent, they know what they want and they're ready to buy it. They just want to carry out some research to make sure they're getting the best deal. Commercial keywords include best, review, or compare, since users are trying to figure out which product is the best value for their money. An example of a commercial search is "Best SEO agency."

Transactional

Users with transactional intent are looking for something to buy. Most of the search results for a transactional search will be landing pages enabling the user to make a purchase right away, instead of blog posts. Transactional searches are why it's important to include content on your product pages and other bottom-of-funnel endpoints.

Putting Yourself in Your Customer's Shoes: Identifying User Intent

When building content to target user intent, it's important to think about the questions your customers might have while they're searching and to answer those questions. Start with a focus topic that relates to the content you want to publish. Then, search for it yourself and see what the top results are - those top-ranking sites meet user intent for that query. As you build your site, taking cues from those top-rankers can help you write high-ranking content yourself.

How to Write Content with User Intent in Mind

Even with all of these tips in mind, writing content with user intent in mind can be difficult. It requires a lot of empathy toward users, as well as keeping track of the latest industry trends and marketing best practices. That's why it's a good idea to hire a dedicated SEO agency to take care of it for you, so you can focus on running your business.

Click Here Digital has been in the business of helping businesses online for 30 years. We can implement a content strategy that makes a difference for your company and provide tips that will revolutionize your SEO relevance. After discovering user intent based on the search queries that lead users to your page, we re-calibrate our content strategy and optimize it to fit the needs of your audience.

If your web presence needs a boost, check out our full-service web marketing agency and schedule a demo today!