What Is User Intent & How Can It Help You Rank Higher in SERPs?

According to Ahrefs, over 96% of published web pages get zero traffic via Google searches. Several reasons contribute to a web page underperforming in search engine result pages (SERPs), but one reason most people overlook is user intent. Or, more accurately, the lack of it.

What Is User Intent?

Search/User intent is what a search engine user hopes to achieve by Googling a keyword or search query. The goal may be to find specific information, make a purchase, compare products, or find a brand or website. In summary, search user intent is the driving motivation behind every user’s Google search.

For example, let’s look at similar-looking search queries like “best bakery nearby” and “top 10 best bakeries nearby”. At a glance, you may think the user intent for both queries is identical, but it’s not.

The search intent behind “best bakery nearby” is likely to find a quality nearby bakery to make a purchase. You could call this a primarily commercial investigation search intent. The searcher is looking for the best and closest bakery to buy what they want.

On the other hand, the search term “top 10 best bakeries nearby” looks commercial, but the search intent is more informational. The searcher isn’t going to shop at the top ten bakeries, but they want to know the top closest bakery options. They can then research the top ten bakeries and pick the one (or ones) to visit.

What Is Search Intent in SEO?

Search intent in SEO means crafting your content to match user intent, increasing your chances of appearing at the top of SERPs. Google can’t maintain its position as the top search engine if it can’t provide users with the best answers. So, Google will only place your content high in SERPs if it believes the content matches the user intent behind a keyword or search query.

Google responds to user search queries with search results containing web pages that provide the most accurate answers to submitted queries. The search engine looks at a search query and assumes the search/user intent behind it.

The search engine then provides an SERP it believes best matches the user’s search intent. If Google considers your content the most valuable, quality, and relevant to a search query, that content will get top ranking in the SERP.

You want your website to be one of the top three on a SERP or at least on the first page. Otherwise, Google users may never see the content you worked so hard to create and publish. According to First Page Sage, almost 70% of all Google users don’t go beyond the top three websites in SERPs. Also, 75% of users never leave the first page of search results.

In summary, identifying and understanding the user intent behind a search query or keyword is crucial to creating search-engine-optimized content. If your well-written, highly researched, and keyword-stuffed content doesn’t match a keyword’s search intent, it won’t rank highly in that keyword’s SERPs.

What Is An Example Of User Intent?

Let’s say a Google user searches “blog copywriter”. It’s a vague term without a clear motive or intent behind it. As such, you can assume, the searcher is researching to understand what blog copywriters are, what they do, and so on.

Google will assume the same thing and respond with a SERP filled with articles that explain blog copywriters or blog copywriting. You can call this informational user intent, as shown in the screenshot below.

If a user changes their search term to “hire blog copywriters”, the search intent changes. Now, you have a user who is still researching but with the intent to hire a blog copywriter. Google will respond with a SERP filled with web pages that highlight the top copywriters or share where to hire such a writer.

These examples showcase how Google perceives search user intent and responds to it with SERPS. It also reveals how you should act on search intent when creating content. If you’ve picked a primary keyword to build your content on, verify the search intent behind that keyword. Then, craft your content to respond to the identified search intent.

If you create content that doesn’t match the search intent Google has identified for that keyword, your content likely won’t rank well in SERPs. Correctly crafting content to match search intent requires identifying existing content for that keyword. Your content should follow the same format or theme as the existing top-ranked content.

For example, let’s say the highest-ranked web pages for keyword X are listicles, and the top pages for keyword Y are service pages. Creating a comparison article for keyword X and a listicle for keyword Y will end with your creations underperforming in SERPs. This is because Google will consider your content as inconsistent with the search user intent established for keywords X and Y.

What Are the Types of User Intent?

We have four types of search intent: commercial investigation search intent, transactional search intent, navigational search intent, and informational search intent. Each search user intent type captures a search engine user’s mindset or motivation when performing a Google search.

Let’s look at each user intent type and what they mean.

1.     Informational Search Intent

Informational intent covers search engine users looking to learn more about a subject or item. The user may be researching a topic, concept, product, person, or other details. For example, this is an article built on the keyword “user intent”, and the intent behind this query is to understand what user intent is.

If you identify a keyword or search query’s user intent to be informational, you can write an article, blog post, guide, tutorial, or similar content. The content will provide the information the searcher seeks to satisfy their curiosity. Bear in mind that your content must provide valuable and relevant information that satisfies the user’s query so they understand the topic thoroughly.

The easiest way to spot informational search intent is to look through search results for specific words. If the results feature words like “how”, “who”, “what”, “where”, “guide”, “tips”, “help”, or “advice”, the intent behind the keyword is predominantly informational.

2.     Commercial Search Intent

Commercial intent or commercial investigation search intent covers Google users performing research with the goal of purchasing a product. These search engine users want to make a purchase but want to know their best options first.

The intent behind a keyword is predominantly commercial if the webpages in the SERP contain words like “best”, “top”, “review”, “features”, “vs”, and “comparison”. These words indicate that the content discusses a product or service’s attributes and benefits. Readers of such content can then decide which product best fits their needs.

You should create such content to attract leads to your website. Leads searching for commercial content are more likely to make a purchase than users with informational intent. This is because users with commercial search intent already intend to make a purchase. They just haven’t decided what to buy.

For example, if you’re a plumber, create a comparison article of the five best plumbers in your area. The article should position your brand and services as the very best, which will drive readers to contact you. At HypeHelper, our full-service blog copywriting primarily targets such Google users to help our clients generate organic traffic and high-quality leads.

3.     Transactional Search Intent

Transactional user search intent covers users who know what they want to buy and are ready to buy. They aren’t looking for comparisons or reviews. They just want to buy.

Besides shoppers, transactional search intent covers web users who are ready to convert in some other way. Converting may involve signing up for a program, subscribing to your best newsletters, booking an appointment, downloading a product, viewing a video, or taking some other action.

The intent behind a keyword is predominantly transactional if the webpages in the SERP contain words like “buy”, “signup”, “subscribe”, “download”, “book”, or similar action words. It may also contain words like “discount, “cheap”, “free shipping”, or “coupons”. These words indicate that the users are ready to complete a transaction but want the best deal.

4.     Navigational Search Intent

Navigational search intent shows users looking for information about a specific brand or product. The user will perform online searches with search queries or keywords containing the desired brand or product name. It may also contain specific terms related to a particular website or web page.

For example, a query like “HypeHelper blog copywriting” isn’t looking for just any blog copywriter. It’s looking specifically for me. As you can see in the screenshot below, adding HypeHelper to the search query ensures the user only sees pages relevant to my brand.

Another example is a search for Coke Zero. The searcher wants information about that product and no other products. Not Pepsi or some other soda brand.

Users with this search intent typically conduct online searches with a clear goal to navigate to that brand or product’s website. This can occur if the searcher is unsure about the product or brand’s website name, or they’re too lazy to enter the URL. Navigational intent may also occur among users seeking a specific online resource from a known brand or website, instead of information from other websites.

For example, you can search “benefits of blog copywriting hypehelper” if you specifically want HypeHelper’s article on blog copywriting benefits. Searching just “benefits of blog copywriting” will bring up information provided by other websites.

How Do You Research User Intent?

You can quickly and easily research user intent for a keyword with a simple Google search. The process requires entering your primary keyword into the search engine and hitting enter. The provided result will reveal the user intent for the keyword.

For example, if the SERP delivers educative web pages, then the search intent is informational. On the other hand, if the pages on the SERP are best, review, or comparison posts, the search intent is commercial.

Below are screenshots that illustrate the different types of user intent.

The search intent for the keyword “hybrid cars” is informational because the top pages aim to explain what hybrid cars are.

The search intent for the keyword “best hybrid cars” is commercial because the pages on the SERP discuss the top hybrid cars to buy.

The search intent for the keyword “Toyota hybrid cars” is navigational because it shows Toyota web pages for hybrid cars.

The user intent for the keyword “buy hybrid cars” is transactional because the SERP shows pages where you can purchase such vehicles.

You can identify the search intent of a keyword in a SERP by looking at the shown content types and word usage. The table below shares the different words associated with each user intent.

If the Google method seems tedious, you can do your user intent research with tools like Ahrefs and Semrush. During keyword research with such tools, you’ll see the user intent associated with each search query. The screenshot below shows a list of keywords with their search intent. “I” stands for informational, “C” for commercial, “N” for navigational, and “T” for transactional.

Don’t Ignore Search User Intent

Content or copywriting without taking user intent into consideration puts you at risk of publishing content that never ranks. However, if researching and applying search intent sounds like too much work, let someone else handle it.

Hi, I’m Tobi Moyela, the superpower behind HypeHelper. Let me provide top-tier blog copywriting services that populate your website with engaging, search-optimized, and user-intent-aligned content. With me taking care of your content needs, we’ll take your website to the top of SERPs and flood it with organic traffic. Contact me today to get started!