Using keywords in internet marketing appears to be straightforward. However, it is not always that easy. Keyword research should be done with the searcher’s intent in mind. The goal of doing proper keyword research isn’t to find keywords that have a huge search volume or are highly competitive, but rather to find the best keyword for what you are promoting.
Understanding the intent is important when using keywords in any marketing strategy.
Understanding Search Intent
There is often more than one way to search for a product or service, and each method has its own intent. When it comes to SEO, there are four common intents: informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.
Informational: These types of searches are usually done by people who either want to learn more about a topic or person, or they need information in order to complete a task. Some examples of informational searches include “how do I make pancakes,” “what is emo music,” and “meme photos.”
Navigational: There are two types of navigational searches: brand and non-brand. Brand searches are done when someone wants to find a company’s website, product, or service. A search for “Nike shoes” is an example of a brand search. Non-brand searches are used to go directly to a site without the intention of buying anything, but instead for information. “Google Maps” is a good example of a non-brand search.
Commercial: These types of searches are usually done by people who want to find the best price or they know exactly what they want when they go online. Some examples include “Nike shoes,” “men’s running shorts,” and “hotel in New York.”
Transactional: These searches are usually done by people who know exactly what they want and the exact brand of product or service they want. An example of a transactional search maybe “buy Nike shoes,” “find men’s running shorts,” and “best New York hotel.”
Intent Can Change During a Search Session
It is important to understand that the intent of a search can change during a session. People may start out searching for information and later decide to buy something. It is also possible that people will start with one intent, such as informational, and then move on towards commercial or transactional intents.
When it comes to SEO, search engines are better able to deliver relevant information to searchers if they understand intent. For example, a search for “Nike shoes” is more likely to return Nike’s website as the first result than it would be if someone searched “buy running shoes.”
Understanding Intent Can Help with SEO
If you are able to identify the different intents of your target audience, it will be easier to create great content that you know your audience will find helpful.
It is important to understand that any keywords should be used in the context of what the user will want to see, not just what you think they might want. Using keywords with a high search volume but for something completely unrelated to your business or content won’t help your website.
It may take you a bit of time to fully understand how to identify the different search intents, but once you do, it will be easier for your SEO content and strategies to become more effective.
Isn’t it true that you just take a word or phrase that people search for and incorporate it into your material?
If a keyword has a lot of people searching for it and there isn’t too much competition, it’s an excellent one to target. It couldn’t be simpler!
On the other hand, if you were to look for keywords that are extremely competitive, it could be very time-consuming with little return.
The art of keyword research is how successfully you can find keywords or key phrases that people are searching for but your competition doesn’t know about yet. This is where most businesses fail in their online marketing efforts because they have no clue how to do this.
In order to find these hidden gems, you need to know what search engine optimization is all about and how they get their information from the different search engines. This way, it’ll be a lot easier for you to find what your audience wants and needs when it comes down to making a purchase decision.
That said, there’s a lot more to it than that. It means understanding the sort of person who searches for those specific terms, why they search for them, and what this might tell you about how to market to them.
In short, it’s the process of gaining a deep understanding of how your audience is using search engines as a part of their decision-making process.
Why is this Important?
Because SEOs want to find those keywords that will bring them the most traffic and conversions, right? The thing they all forget is what sort of people are doing
One of the biggest ideas to understand here is “intent.” And in a more AI-focussed era for Google, this is now more important than ever before.
Intent and AI
SEO is really about understanding intent. And if you want to understand what Google’s AI does, just have a read of the following article:
This highlights one area where machine learning can help SEOs. It can provide a clear insight into user intention and a better understanding of how that relates to ranking factors.
Conclusion
Start by finding what keywords are popular with your target audience. Then mix in some terms that will make it easy for you to create content without the stress of trying to keep up with changing algorithms or ad copy changes. And finally, find out how to make your site rank better with these keywords by becoming an expert in identifying intent.
So, are you ready to find those keywords that are easier to rank for?
