Search intent is critical regardless of how you are getting your content written; through content writing services or in-house. But what is it? In basic terms, search intent, also known as user intent, is the user’s intention when he types in the keyword in the search engine. Does he intend to buy a product? Is it his intention to find information about a topic? Is he looking for a comprehensive comparison? A user has so many intentions and it is your job as a content writer to ensure you write with the user or search intent in mind. Content fails because of not having clear search intent in mind. Before we get into why it is important, let us define the major types. 

Types Of Search Intent

Search intent can be divided into four categories as follows. 

Informational

This intent is when the person wants to find information about a certain topic they want to learn about. People with this intent have a particular question 

Navigational 

People who have this type of intent want to go to a specific page. For example, typing in Google on the search bar means they are interested in going to the search engine Google.

Commercial

This intent is when a person is in the research phase although they eventually want to purchase something. For instance, someone searching for the best headphones has an intention of buying in the future.

Transactional

When a person wishes to buy something through their search, then they are said to have a transactional intent. For example, someone searching for reflective dog collars on Amazon has an intention to buy. 

Why Search Intent Is Important

Google’s main goal is to ensure maximum user satisfaction. That is, high-quality content that satisfies the user is going to be ranked higher than the other content out there. And Google has made it clear that search intent is one of the ranking factors. That is, if your content matches the search intent of the user then it will undeniably rank higher than other pages. So if you want to rank higher on Google, then you better be clear about the search intent. Without search intent, your content will be all over the place and you won’t be able to satisfy your readers. But if you focus on search intent and take it from there, then your content will be valuable to your readers. 

When you have a clear understanding of search intent and your content, then you can ensure people in different stages of the sales funnel are interested in moving to the buying stage. Let us say you have a store that sells dog food. You can write content about different types and brands of dog food for satisfying the informational intent of the user. When you write content such as the best food for different dog breeds then you are satisfying the commercial intent of the user. When you write content for the various intents, your content is focused and you can therefore ensure your audience gets value from it. This can help you create excellent content that matters to your readers.