How to Optimize for Search Intent to Earn Better Rankings and More Conversions?
TABLE OF CONTENT
Google is no longer a place to rank with just keywords. Search engines today have focused on search intent, which is the actual purpose of the query that a user made. Unless what you have written is what the users are searching, still, the best pages will not be ranked or converted.
This step by step tutorial will discuss what search intent is, why it is important, and how to optimize your search intent in order to achieve higher rankings, more people to engage and meaningful conversions.
Step 1: Get an Idea of What Search Intent is:
Search purpose is the goal of a search query. Whenever a person enters a query in Google, he or she has a particular purpose; to gather knowledge, to evaluate alternatives, or to buy something.
The algorithm of Google is created to deliver results that will most probably fulfill this purpose. Unless your content matches the goal of the user, Google will remove it in the ranking system no matter how effective your SEO is.
Search intent can be of four broad types:
The basis of intent-based optimization is to understand what intent your target keyword belongs to.
Step 2: Find the Search Purpose of your Target Keywords
Find out the deep analysis of your keywords before developing or optimizing content. It is not only about the search volume: it is also about the type of results that Google provides.
Manually search key word and you will notice:
When Google displays mostly guides and tutorials, it is an informational intent. When it displays service pages or product listing, it is transactional or commercial in nature. To compete well, your content should be of this pattern.
Step 3: Find the Intent Signals of the Top ranking Pages
Search intent can be understood by looking at the top 5-10 ranking pages with ease. These are pages that are satisfying the users already.
Look at:
Google rewards content that is quick and clear to the user in relation to the expectations of the users. Apply them to create your own page without using the ideas of other people.
Step 4: Match Content Type and Format to Intent
After knowing what you want to do, select the approriate content format.
For informational intent:
For commercial intent:
For transactional intent:
One of the most widespread bad SEO mistakes is attempting to optimize a blog post with a keyword which should be optimized with a sales page.
Step 5: Optimize Headings and Content Flow for Intent
Included in the headings should be what the user wants to know or do. Do not use the vague or clickbait kinds of headings that bewilder the reader.
Use:
The user is expected to feel immediately that there is what he or she wants on this page. There is high intent satisfaction when users spend more time and interact on Google.
Step 6: Intent-Based Keywords - Use them naturally
As opposed to cramming keywords, aim at semantic and intent driven expressions. These are a combination of questions, modifiers and the associated words which are bound to occur in a quality content.
Examples:
This assists Google to get into context and increases your chances of ranking under the several variations of the same intent.
Step 7: Optimize for User Experience and Engagement
Content is not the only way to optimize search intent. User experience is a significant determinant of user retention or user abandonment.
Focus on:
When the user returns to search results very fast, it is taken to be a bad match by Google. An easy experience sponsors rankings and conversions.
Step 8: Correlate Calls-to-Action and Search Intent
Your CTA must correlate with the user in the journey.
For informational content:
For commercial content:
For transactional content:
Step 9 : Assess Intent Performance with Actual Data
The performance measures that you should monitor to determine whether or not your intent optimization is working include:
Such tools as Google Analytics and Search Console assist in realizing pages with misaligned intent. Modify these pages rather than develop new pages irrelevantly.
Step 10: Constantly Optimize on the Behavior of Search
Search intent is not static. There are changes in the user behavior, industries and Google regularly changes their algorithm.
Revisit good performing pages after every few months to:
Rankings are maintained and more conversions are long term through consistent refinement.
Final Thoughts
Search intent optimization is not a choice anymore. When you have the right content at the right time and place, the ranking is automatic, the engagement is high and the conversions come naturally.
Rather than posing the question, How can I rank this keyword?, you should begin to pose the question, What does the user actually want? It is that change of perspective that makes the difference in the success of SEO.
