What is in the mind of users when they search a given keyword? Are they looking for information or do they want to buy something? Are they looking for the website of a certain brand or are they just trying to locate something? Could they also be comparing products and services?
With thousands of visitors coming to your website, understanding user intent will help you better create and market your products and services. If you use an Atlanta SEO Company, they will guide you through the process. Read on to learn more.
What is Search/User Intent and How Do You Identify It?
Search intent or user intent refers to the goal of a user when they enter a query on a search engine. Although Google has not admitted it yet, they are relying more on machine learning to understand user + search intent to rank content better.
The launch of technologies, such as RankBrain, BERT, and now MUM shows that Google is using AI and machine learning more. If your website serves the user intent, you will likely rank higher. Let’s say, for instance, a user search for the best quick recipe. They open the first page only to realize that the recipe takes an hour to prepare. You open the second page and the recipe only needs ten minutes to prepare. If several users do the same for the same keyword, Google will rank the second website higher.
You can identify the search intent of your audience through keyword research. Research on the most popular keywords in your niche. Most of these keywords are straightforward. For instance, if someone searches “who is Jeff Bezos,” they are definitely looking for information. If they search “buy a laptop,” their search is transactional.
Through keyword research, you will understand what most of the users are searching for. You can also search for these keywords on Google and see what the first pages of Google have. The first pages are ranked the best for search intent. As such, the information on these pages will guide you on what your content should be like.
Implement a User-Intent-First Strategy
To implement an intent-first strategy, you need to understand your audience and understand the keywords that target which pages. Optimize your content to serve the keywords that you researched.
You can also change the title tag, H1, and H2s to meet the needs of the target keyword. But you do not need to create click-bait to earn visitors. As you do so, check the competition to see what they are doing differently. Look at the top pages on Google for your target keyword to see how they are formatted, their tone, the nature of the content, and everything else. Every Atlanta SEO Consultant understands the importance of user intent in all the SEO strategies that you may have.
