Are you using all SEO practices and still not getting results? Well, it's not a problem for you alone. There are so many out there just like you. 

You may think that attaching links to your article, using keywords appropriately, and providing infographics or videos are enough for your SEO. However, that's not the case, and something is still missing. 

That's search intent. Until a few years back, no one had heard this name, and now it is taking over the SEO world swiftly. Here in this article, we will be discussing what search intent is and how you can use it for your SEO. 

What Is Search Intent? 

Search intent is the reason for which a person is using a search engine. Also known as user intent and keyword intent, search intent is the intention for which anyone searches a query. Let's understand this through an example. 

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Suppose you want to buy a car, so what will you type on search engines? It will be:

• How to buy a car 

If you want to buy a pizza, you will type,

• A pizza restaurant near me

If you want to know how to use a washing machine, then you will type, 

• How to use a washing machine 

So, whatever you are typing on search engines, point out your intent for the search. 

After an update in the Google search engine algorithm, it now uses search intent as a factor to rank websites. It means that along with other SEO tactics of your content, its search intent will also decide your ranking. 

Still confused, then let's take one more example. Just like in the above case, you want to buy a pizza. And you typed on Google, pizza places near you. 

However, it shows you pages with pizza-making tutorials, pizza ingredients, or its origin. What do you think? Will these search results satisfy your demand? 

No, they will not, but pages of pizza restaurants or online pizza delivery services will. In this way, Google tries to show you the most relevant pages to your search query.  

Why Is It Important In SEO

Now, you can ask why search intent is so important in SEO. Well, the reasons why user intent is important are as follows, 

1. Higher Ranking In SERPs

Search engines like Google pay the utmost attention to delivering their users the most relevant content for their queries. That is why, more than anything, SEO tactics now emphasize user intent. 

Search engines can now rank pages based on their relevance to a query by understanding user intent, making it a dominant factor in SEO.

Whereas, other tactics may not be as accurate as a search intent. For example, a pizza tutorial and an online food delivery website will use pizza as their keyword. Probably they will have somewhat similar SEO tactics, like links. 

However, they will be relevant to different user intent, and based on your user intent, you will need one of them.

In this way, based on search intent, search engines rank the pages. If you use user intent appropriately, you can rank highly on search engines. 

2. Helpful In Creating Relevant Content

You should know this thing well in SEO; even if you rank high on search engines, you need to engage readers. Ranking high on search engine pages alone will not help you, but your content will. 

And when you create content according to the search intent of your audience, you can engage them. Ultimately you can turn them into leads, and increase your sales. 

Google's most recent edition of their Quality Rater Guidelines is OBSESSED with Search Intent. And Google recently published a report called: "How Search Intent Is Redefining the Marketing Funnel".

3. A Streamlined Content Strategy 

When you know the user intent of your audience, you can target keywords accordingly. As you may already know, keywords are essential for content strategy. 

Thus, in this way, you can plan your content strategy with efficiency and streamline the entire process from keyword research to content creation. 

Types Of User Intent 

When we are talking about user intent, it will be helpful for us to talk about types of intent. There are four types of search intent that you can use. 

99 percent of search queries fall under the four main types of search intent.

Informational Intent

In informational intent, users need information on their search query. For example, if you want to know about SEO, then your search query will be like this, 

• What is SEO

This means that you want to know about SEO. So you will get the pages talking about SEO in detail. They will tell you about SEO factors and best practices. 

However, they won't include pages about SEO companies or services because that is non-relevant to your user intent. 

Navigational Intent 

Under this category, users know where they want to go or which site to visit. So, they will type terms specific to that. 

For example, if you want to visit the official page of Canva, you will type 

• canva.com

So, you will get the website in your search results and you can visit that. 

Commercial Intent 

In commercial intent, users want to gain more information before making any buying decision. Let's take an example to understand this. 

Suppose you want to buy a car, so you will use, 

• Best car 

• Best budget car

• Best car for family 

Or something like this before you buy a car. You will try to gather this information to make a sound decision. 

Hence, in result pages, you will get reviews on cars or their listicles relevant to your user intent. 

Transactional Intent 

Transactional intent is when a user wants to complete a particular action. For example, he can use, 

• Buy online pastries

By this, he wants to buy a pastry online and is ready to purchase. 

3 Cs Of User Intent 

Now, after discussing search intent and its benefits, we shall move towards how to implement it. When we are talking about using user intent for your keyword, we must start with the 3 Cs of user intent.

1. Content Type 

The first C represents the type of content that users want to see. There are various content types, like blog posts, landing pages, product pages, category pages, and videos. 

For example, let's say you want to know about SEO tools. So when you search it on Google, you will see review blogs comparing different SEO tools as top results rather than a beginner's guide on SEO. 

Similarly, different keywords with different search intent may require videos or product pages. 

2. Content Format 

The second C is for the format in which content is available. It can be reviews, comparisons, listicles, how-to guides, and step-by-step tutorials. 

Under this, you should know what your audience is looking for and what format. Do they want reviews or listicles and then accordingly plan your content? 

3. Content Angle 

The third C is for the content angle that represents what users are emphasizing while searching. For example, if they are using 2023 in their searches, then it's clear that they want the latest and relevant products for the current year. 

This shows what searchers value the most while doing searches.

Best Practices For Search Intent In SEO

Till now, we have discussed various things about user intent, and now it's time to have a glance at the best practices. 

Align Your Content 

Above, we have discussed the 3 Cs of search intent. If you want to reap the benefits of user intent, then you need to use these Cs in your content. 

It depends on the search intent and what content type, format, and angle you can use. 

Do A Thorough Research 

If you want to make the most of user intent, then you should do comprehensive research. You can simply type your chosen keyword on search engines and see what results you are getting. 

Then, you study them and see what content they offer. This will include analyzing the content type, format, and angle. It's better first to visit the top-ranking pages to get a clear idea of what your competitors are ranking for. 

However, you don't need to create just exact content like them. You have to make your content different from them. 

Plan Your Subheadings 

A well-formatted content contains various subtopics divided by subheadings. For that, your research will help you and let you know what topics your competitors have used. 

You can analyze their content and see why they have ranked on top, the depth of their content, and the content angle. This will make you understand your audience more, and you can plan your content accordingly. 

You need to plan how deep or brief your content needs to be according to your audience and the search intent. After studying search engine results pages, it will be clear what your audience wants and how you can offer that in the best manner possible. 

Perform Content Gap Analysis 

You can also use tools for your search intent content planning. For example, you can use a tool to get content gap analysis. 

In the report, you will know the search intent-wise ranking and content of different pages. 

Then, you can identify the gaps between the already available content on the same keyword. You can use this gap in your content and approach a wider audience.  

Google Autosuggest 

When it is about getting search intent, then Google Autosuggest can also help you. As you may already know, based on your query or keyword, Google also suggests similar or relevant pages. 

You can also study them and incorporate them into your content. In this, you can reach a broad audience base.

Social Media Forums

If you truly want to know your audience, its pain points, or demands, then you need to be comprehensive while collecting data. Today people mostly spend their time on social media sites, they are indeed good sources to collect data. 

You can get to know more about your audience, what it likes, what its problems are, and what solutions are available. Also, many times people use public questioning forums to get to know about something. 

Thus, you can harness the data acquired by these platforms to create engaging content for your audience. 

FAQs 

Q. How to find search intent or user intent? 

To find the user intent, you have to do research and analyze the SERPs for the topic you have chosen. You have to analyze the results and see what your competitors are offering. Also, you can use the autosuggest feature by Google to find the user intent. 

Q. What is a local search intent? 

Well, as you can guess from the name itself, local search intent is about the geographically relevant search results. For example, when you type 'near me', it falls under the local search intent. 

Q. What is a high-intent keyword? 

High-intent keywords are very specific keywords with a high conversion rate. When users search for a brand name, they are most probably willing to make a purchasing decision. That is why these keywords are very promising for business. 

Q. What is search intent modeling? 

Search intent modeling is a comprehensive procedure to know why a search was conducted. It includes analysis of keyword research, paid keyword testing, user personas, data analysis, and usability testing. 

Q. What is high search intent? 

High search intent is reflected by numerous words that indicate a decision-making sentiment. Some of them are purchase, buy, visit, get, to name a few. They show that the users want to buy an item or visit a store.

Q. Is search intent really important? 

Yes, search intent is very important. If you want to attract readers and retain them, then you have to know what they are searching for. This way, you will get the traffic and leads for your business. 

Conclusion

In this article, we have seen and discussed how search intent is essential for your SEO. Even if you are using keywords, links, images, videos, and other SEO tactics, it is not guaranteed that you can rank higher. 

And it's because now search engines like Google have become focused on their users. That is why they are paying more attention to the appropriate content for their users. 

While user intent alone may not be enough to handle SEO, it is undoubtedly an essential factor that cannot be ignored. If you fail to consider user intent while using other SEO tactics, then it is unlikely that your website will rank high. Therefore, it is crucial to determine user intent before working on other SEO tactics like backlinks and infographics. By crafting your content around keyword intent and including other SEO tactics, your website is more likely to rank higher.