If your primary goal is about optimizing content, then you should focus on the search intent. While there was a time when ranking well on Google meant stuffing content with keywords, it no longer holds true. Today, it’s all about understanding the intent behind the search query to deliver results accordingly.

There is a defined purpose behind every search query that is referred to as search intent. As a content marketer, your purpose is to identify the intent and curate content that is aligned with the user’s search intent. The search query reflects the placement of users in the conversion panel and an understanding of how it can create effective content to convert potential customers.

What are the types of search intent?

Classifying and understanding the type of search intent is primarily important to create content that matches the search intent. For example, someone searching for “buy cake batter”, has a completely different requirement than someone searching for “cake recipes”.

Let’s look at the different forms of search intent:

  • Informational: Trying to learn more about a topic (How to make chocolate cake)
  • Navigational: Trying to find something particular (Nigella Lawson’s chocolate cake recipe)
  • Transactional: The user is in the ‘decision’ phase, and is ready to buy. (Buy chocolate cake batter online)
  • Commercial: Trying to know better before making a buying decision. (Top brands of cake batter available online)

The importance of SEO to Search Intent

Understanding that the search intent impacts the ability of your content to rank and determine whether readers are satisfied with your page’s content. The Quality Evaluator Guidelines by Google go a long way in explaining in detail user search intent.

Having a thorough understanding of search intent can help you to do effective keyword research and create content that answers the search question of users and create structured pages that are friendly to both users and search engines. Rank higher by creating content that search engines identify to be both valuable and relevant to users.

How to optimize content to meet audience search intent?

Develop relevant user personas

To create meaningful and engaging content, you need to know who exactly you’re creating content for. Develop personas that are representations of your ideal audience. Gather critical information by performing comprehensive research, interacting with your customers, or conducting a market survey to understand their challenges, interests, and motivation. 

Based on the findings of the market research, create detailed and unique customer personas to maintain consistency and write unique content for the audience.

Conduct a SERP analysis

Along with doing keyword research and identifying long-tail keywords, it is helpful to perform SERP analysis to understand the type of competitor content that is ranking and what the dominant user search intent is. When writing for information queries, research the “people also ask” box to gain common questions about a topic.

Create your content around what the user is searching for the highest impact. By doing so, your content becomes much more relatable and relevant to your audience. It caters to your interest and therefore has the probability of ranking higher on Google. 

Categorize your content by search intent

Before performing extensive keyword research, map out all your content ideas and categorize them by the search intent. Doing so will provide a clear dimension to your content and help it become more crisp and refined. It will also help you to visualize how distributed your content is. 

If you’re writing in one direction while ignoring the other search intents, this categorization will help you pivot and become more diverse. Having your research organized will give you an extensive picture perspective and help organize different aspects of your business like keywords and formats. 

Optimize content for audience passive search intent

Active search intent is the most common form of the search query. However, writing content for passive search intent can also help your brand stand out. For the audience searching for “chocolate cake recipes”, Google will prioritize websites with chocolate cake recipes. But when you read those articles, you’ll also find sites for buying pre-mix batter or tools for baking. These articles address the passive search intent of buyers – and make the experience more wholesome.

Optimizing your content to match the passive search intent of buyers can go a long way in boosting your rankings and making content suitable for customers.

Optimizing your content to meet the search intent of the audience is not about manipulating Google’s algorithm or adding some short-term hacks. It’s a practice that’s about providing value to users and giving them access to the precise information they need. By doing so, you establish your website’s credibility and boost brand value.

If you haven’t been using effective search intent optimization practices, it’s time you partner with an agency that knows the ropes of the game. At Citytech Software, we conduct an in-depth SEO analysis to understand the online behaviour of your target audience and leverage opportunities to optimize their search intent. You can explore our customizable SEO plans here https://www.citytechsoftware.com/seoplan.html