marketing
Search Intent
The underlying reason behind a search query. The key to ranking content that actually converts.
Definition
Search intent is what the user is actually trying to accomplish with their query, classified into four types: informational ('what is gross margin'), navigational ('hubspot login'), commercial ('best CRM for small business'), and transactional ('buy hubspot starter'). Ranking on the wrong intent type wastes traffic - if your service page ranks for an informational query, visitors bounce. Modern SEO is intent-led: figure out what the searcher wants, then create the content that delivers it.
In your business
- →Classify every target keyword by intent before writing content
- →Match content type to intent (blog for informational, service page for commercial)
- →Audit your top traffic pages - if they rank for the wrong intent, bounce rate is high