09 Sep Why is Search Intent Important for SEO?

When it comes to SEO, everyone wants to rank on the first page of Google, but I don’t think much consideration is given to the sort of search term or keyword you would like to rank for, or what action will take place based on that search term.

As an SEO marketer, I feel it is crucial to understand the user experience by considering what people will search, what they’d expect to find based on that search and what action they are likely to take.

In other words, we must ask the question: what is the user’s intent based on their search and does this lead to conversions (sales or bookings) for your brand?

As an example:

A local coffee roaster has asked to rank for the keyword, “coffee.” This is a terrible keyword, for a few reasons:

1. It is too broad.

2. There are hundreds and thousands of websites who want to rank for the word “coffee.”

3. You’ll be competing with the likes of Wikipedia and listing websites.

4. Most importantly, you need to consider the search-intent for something as broad as “coffee.”

A user searching “coffee” may be looking for dietary information, the history of coffee, local coffee stores or random facts. They aren’t being specific enough in their search, to indicate that they are even in the market of buying something.

Typically, users start their initial research phase with broad searches like, “gifts for coffee lovers,” these searches lack specific terms or brands, but generally hint at their intent. To reach these users, it is a good idea to have blog posts which help to inform and educate clients who are in the initial phase of researching and asking questions, as this provides you with an opportunity to establish yourself as an industry expert and build trust before they’ve even made a decision to use your business.

As the user moves down the sales funnel and closer to converting, they use more defined search terms reflecting background knowledge like “drip coffee giftset”, and right at the bottom of the sales funnel, we tend to find brand-related search queries whereby the user has done their research and has decided on a specific brand.

So, the next time you ask, “why am I not ranking on the first page of Google?”, take the time to consider what your user or audience is typically typing into Google to find businesses like yours, and then work with your SEO Marketers to improve your rankings based on search-intent, instead of focusing on broad keywords.

If you’re looking to rank for keywords that consider user intent, we’d love to help you. Get in touch with us at SOMS Digital Agency and lets see how we can help you with our comprehensive SEO Services.