Search Intent

Search intent—sometimes called user intent or query intent—is the reason someone types a specific query into Google. Getting intent right is arguably more important than keyword research, technical SEO, or even backlinks. If your content doesn't match what the searcher actually wants, you won't rank regardless of how well-optimized it is. The four main intent categories: Informational (learning something—'what is a sales pipeline'), Navigational (finding a specific site—'Salesforce login'), Transactional (ready to buy—'buy CRM software'), and Commercial Investigation (comparing before buying—'best CRM for small business'). Search intent is visible in the SERP itself. If you search a keyword and see all listicles, Google has decided that intent is informational/commercial. If you see product pages, it's transactional. Trying to rank a product page for an informational keyword—or vice versa—rarely works, no matter how good the SEO. Where teams go wrong: they find a keyword with great volume and stuff it into whatever content they're already writing. Instead, look at what's already ranking, understand the format and depth that satisfies that intent, and build content that's the best answer to the specific question behind the query.

• 1'Best email marketing tools' shows comparison posts—intent is commercial investigation
• 2'How to write a cold email' shows tutorials—intent is informational, not a product page