User Intent: Understanding How People Search These Days

User Intent: Understanding How People Search These Days

Online search has greatly developed and evolves during the past decade.

From simply being a way to find websites and acquire information, it has become a versatile platform that enables you to perform a wide variety of functions that enable you to discover different kinds of content on the internet. In the days where services, like an SEO company in the Philippines, allow you to elevate your brand online, it is important to help users discover your website by understanding search better.
One of the elements that enable you to understand online search better is by knowing more about user intent. Every search has a purpose, whether it be asking a question, looking for the nearest restaurant, or even searching for information about a person or event. By understanding the purpose of the search, you would be able to make use of user intent to optimize your search traffic and bring in more users to your content.

What is User Intent?

The intent is the reason why people conduct online search queries, as this is the reason why they went to the search engine in the first place. There are many reasons why users want to search, which is why user intent is a major factor that can help users discover high-quality and relevant content online. The most important question that you need to know is why did the user make the search in the first place. User intent helps you identify the reason behind the search, enabling you to optimize your website to make it easier for people to search.
Search engines like Google are designed to provide users with the most relevant content related to their search query, which is why they have constantly made changes to their algorithm to have a deeper understanding of how people conduct these searches. This enables them to provide the best and most organized set of information for every query possible, making sure users got the information that they need.
Search engines get the most relevant search results for every query, which is why if you are looking to put out content for your website, it is important to identify its purpose to find out how people search. User intent helps you understand the reason behind every online search, which enables you to find the right strategy that provides you much-needed search traffic.

Types of Search Intent

One of the best ways to help you understand user intent better is by identifying the four different types of search intent. These types of intent help categorize the many different search queries made by users on a regular basis. Understanding these four types of search intent enables you to create content centered around each type of intent, making it more effective and useful. Here are the four primary types of search intent:

  • Informational - Search engines are used to look for different kinds of available information on the internet, which is why question-based queries are some of the most common types of searches conducted by users. Informational intent helps lead users to content that would help them find answers to their search queries. Along with questions, search queries about places, people, events, and other items are also informational, as they would provide all the necessary facts and information about your query. Notable examples can include questions like “What is digital marketing?”, “When it the next Olympics?”, or queries like “Christmas”, “Tony Hawk”, and “Cake Recipe”.
  • Navigational - Along with getting information, users also look for different kinds of websites using search engines. This is called navigational intent, and it provides content and information that guides users to the website that they are looking for. This means queries that contain the name of the website must go to to the website itself, or a website that contains a link to the website.
  • Transactional - Along with providing information, users also search for products and services online. With more businesses expanding their operations to fit their online platforms, it is important to guide users to the products and services that they offer. This is called transactional intent, and helps users who have made a decision to make a purchase, and have found the product that they are looking for. When it comes to e-commerce websites, this has become the most effective method of promoting their products online.
  • Commercial - While this may look similar to transactional intent, commercial intent is for users who have yet to make a purchasing decision, and are looking online for the best options. This is called commercial intent, and common types of content that make use of this search intent are list-type articles, reviews, and product comparisons. If you are looking to help provide users with content that helps influence their decision, it is best to make use of this intent.

Optimizing Content for User Intent

With user intent becoming an important factor in online search, it has now become a crucial process to optimize your content to improve the way people search. Here are some of the best ways to optimize your content through user intent:

Take a look at the top search results per query

One of the first things that you need to do to identify the intent of the search query is to take a look at the top search results on SERPs. Take a look at the top 5 results per search query to help give you an idea of what type of search intent would be the best match for your content.

Search your target market

One of the best ways to understand user intent is to understand the market itself. Looking at how people search for your keyword, along with your products and services, can help you find the best ways to fir their search needs, while also helping you improve your online presence at the same time.

Craft Intent-based Content

Once you have done your research, the next step is to create content that focuses on capturing the right user intent. For example, this can mean answering questions if your targeting informational intent, or providing a list of products worth buying for users making use of commercial intent.

Key Takeaway

User intent has revolutionized the way we search on the internet, as there is now a way to identify what type of search users are making, allowing you to formulate the right SEO strategies and techniques to capitalize on it. Search is constantly evolving at a fast rate, and user intent is a step towards helping search algorithms understand the way we search even more.

Posted by April Ebarvia

April Ebarvia
April Ebarvia is a digital marketing specialist in SEO Hacker. She loves to read poetry books. When she is not reading, you will find her writing her own poems or exploring new places.

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