Here's the scenario: You're putting content on your website regularly. But it isn't corresponding with an increase in impressions, clicks, mentions, or citations.
This is a sign that you might have a search intent issue on your hands.
What is search intent in SEO?
Every time someone makes a search, whether using search engines like Google or an AI tool, they have an underlying intent. Knowing this intent is what helps you figure out what type of webpage to create for the best SEO and GEO effect. And if you don't know what the search intent for a particular keyword is, you might not deliver what the searcher really wants and needs in the moment.
Types of search intent
There are four kinds of search intent that apply to both traditional search engine and AI search queries: informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.
Informational search intent
Informational searches happen when a person is simply looking for info or conducting research. The person searching isn't interested in buying anything or booking a call just yet—they merely want to get a lay of the land or figure out how to resolve a problem.
Navigational search intent
Navigational searches don't actually have anything to do with where your business exists in the physical world. Instead, a navigational search is one where someone's trying to figure out how to do something on your website. For example, if you sell products or subscriptions, someone running a navigational search might be trying to find:
- The customer account login page
- Your terms and conditions
- A privacy policy
- A return policy
Commercial and transactional search intent
Commercial and transactional searches are similar. When someone's searching commercially, they're getting ready to make a purchase. They haven't committed to buying something yet and remain in the second-to-last purchase funnel stage. A person running a commercial search is likely evaluating their final options.
When the commercial searcher is ready to make a purchase, their searches become transactional. At this point, the searcher is looking for the thing they've decided to buy. They have their credit card in hand. If your website comes up in search results and offers what they're looking for at the right price, they're going to buy it.
Why do you need to know search intent?
Paying attention to search intent has always been important, but it's even more essential than ever now. This is because large language models (LLMs), which power chat tools like ChatGPT and Claude, have made search engines and those named chat tools even better at figuring out the point of a page.
If you have the right keywords on your webpage but the wrong search intent, these tools will recognize that your website isn't equal to the end goal their user has in mind. And you won't appear in search results at the right time.
This shift also means you need to have blog content. I've talked to a handful of people recently who have only been putting up landing pages on their website for a long time. And it was working for them.
But now, because AI chats really just surface information, not sales offers (with the exception of some shopping integrations), it's important to have a library of informational pages on your site.
While you can certainly have a sales call to action (CTA) of some sort on the page, the primary purpose should be to share resources. If you only have landing pages that push people into a funnel or require a booking, you won't get much traction in informational AI search results.
Think about the last time you were chatting with either AI Mode or ChatGPT. When you were searching for information, you got bits of text from (and maybe links to) webpages, right? The AI didn't suddenly stop responding and say "hey, you know what, you should just click here and buy Susan's product. It's what you want."
How to find search intent
The easiest and fastest way to find out search intent is by using a keyword research tool. Ahrefs, Semrush, and SE Ranking all show you what the most common intent is for every term in their databases.
But you can sniff out some search intent information on your own. The process just takes a little longer than if you were to use a keyword research tool. Here's what to do:
- Open up a Google search tab. Log out of your account.
- Type in the first phrase on your list.
- Check out the results, including both the AI Overview/AI Mode and the list of links.
- Note what kind of content is the most common in the results. Are you primarily seeing informational articles and how-to guides? Sales pages? Help docs for an app or product?
- Cross-reference the most common kind of content you see with the content cheat sheet below. If you're primarily seeing reviews of two products, it might be an informational query or commercial keyword. If you're seeing exclusively product pages in the results, then you're dealing with a transactional keyword.
What content to create based on search intent
If you know the search intent for your target search terms, you can use this information to improve your overall content strategy.
- Informational search intent: The searcher wants a blog post, guide, video, interview, or downloadable resource. Thought leadership can fit in here, too, if you're working with a business audience.
- Navigational search intent: The searcher wants a direct link or how-to steps for finding something on your website or in your product. This is not suited to real-world driving or walking directions.
- Commercial search intent: The searcher is doing research to buy something, so comparison guides, lists, product reviews, and (sometimes) sales landing pages work well.
- Transactional search intent: The searcher is ready to buy, so a final landing page, sales funnel, or product checkout page will be most effective.
To create this content even faster, check out my Simple Blogging System—it helps you identify the right search intent + content type for every keyword in your SEO content strategy.