Back in the early days of the world wide web, search was far less sophisticated than it is now. You opened up one of the myriad search engines (Infoseek, Magellan, Dogpile, AOL, etc), typed in your query, and generally got a list of 10 results.
That was it.
And the search results weren’t always that good either. Just because someone had pasted “Harry Potter” in the meta keywords tag in every page of their website, sometimes they would rank well but provide completely irrelevant information. You’d instantly realise you’d been duped and then go back to the search results list.
Nowadays, wow – whilst there are far fewer search engines (Mainly just Google, Bing, and Yahoo!) the results are hugely more sophisticated. Whilst the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) have evolved to show images, news, and videos, the accuracy has improved exponentially.. And one reason is the search engines’ ability to gauge user intent.
What is User Intent/Search Intent?
As we’ve said, early search was relatively simple – you typed in a keyword or keyphrase, and the search engine would retrieve what it thought were the most relevant websites for that query. It’s still the same principle today but the action of retrieving the relevant result is the big thing that has changed.
Today search intent is a key component of delivering search engine results – what is the user’s intent when they make a search? Now humans don’t know exactly what other people are thinking, and search engines cannot either, but by analysing the behaviour of billions of searches, we can ascertain a degree of certainty in the types of intent.
As SEO experts, we’ve always tried to “get into the heads” of users, because that’s what clever marketing is all about, trying to understand the psychology behind what motivates people. However, art has to become science in the world of search and so in 2005 Andrei Broder wrote a research paper at IBM entitled “Determining the User Intent of Web Searches”. This was one of the first research papers to systematically analyse user intent in web searches.
Broder’s paper laid the groundwork and identified three primary categories of search intent:
- Informational: Users seeking information or knowledge on a particular topic.
- Navigational: Users looking for a specific website or web page.
- Transactional: Users intending to complete a specific action, such as making a purchase or downloading something.
While IBM itself didn’t directly implement its findings into any search engine, the paper contributed to the wider study of human/computer interaction and the field of information retrieval, which is ultimately what search results are all about. Since the release of these findings search engines like Google and Bing have incorporated the notion of user intent into their algorithms to improve both search relevance and user experience.
An Example of Search Intent in the SERPs
Last year I was working on a website that provided natural ingredients to the food manufacturing sector. One of their products was xanthan gum. The client wanted to ensure that they were ranking well, and receiving clicks and enquiries for that term.
When you typed xanthan gum into Google Search, the pages were dominated by shopping results for small pouches and tubs of the ingredient. There was also a Wikipedia entry, more information in the form of People Also Ak (PAA) results, more info, and then even more shopping results. Google results are designed to match search intent and the vast majority of users in our example here wanted to buy small quantities or simply know what xanthan gum was. The issue for my client was that they were:
- B2B and not B2C
- They supplied pallets not pouches
Their product was wholesale and bulk, not relevant in small quantities.
The search intent Google was satisfying was “I want a small tub of xanthan gum for cooking”. The additional result was “What is xanthan gum?” and all the variations of that such as where does it come from, what is it used for etc.
Thus Google’s results were designed to match the user intent and show shopping options and information.There’s a very high likelihood that user intent is well matched by these results. We could see this in a high ranking but low Click Through Rate (CTR).
For us, as a digital marketing agency with a B2B client, the general results were not immediately applicable.So we would have to think about how to gain rank, clicks, and conversions for the B2B users and obviously their search intent too. It’s shopping but on a scale far bigger than your average shopper.
Aligning with User Intent in SEO and Content
Now that the metrics of user intent are imbedded into search engines’ algorithms, we have a yardstick that we can work to as website owners, SEO practitioners, and content creators
Keyword Research
Conducting high-quality keyword research is absolutely essential more than ever – it’s not just about looking at the most popular terms and trying to rank where the volumes and impressions are, it never has been, but everyone now needs to really deep dive into the “long tail” keywords. These are the lower volume queries but they give you more clues to what users are looking for and hopefully what they’re thinking.
For example, using Google Ads’ Keyword Planner tool, it shows that the term SEO has 50,000 average monthly searches.There are a dozen or so SEO terms with similar volumes, but then we get to the next range which drops to 5,000 searches a month with terms like SEO services, SEO agency, etc. If that’s what you offer and who you are then these are relevant.
But digging even further, the next “plateau” is 500 searches per month with related terms such as SEMrush alternative, good if you have a tool that offers what theirs does, or SEO company near me, for those offering local SEO services.
But amidst these terms there are some really specific gems such as Google My Business Optimisation – people are looking to improve their Google Business Profile pages, so if you can hep with that service, there’s a keyphrase to focus on.
Creating High Quality User-Centric Content
Users are expressing their needs in these search queries. So in my industry, users looking for a freelance SEO specialist will want to click through to a webpage that displays my credentials as an independent consultant, my knowledge and understanding of the subject, any case studies, successes and results, what users should expect from hiring me etc.
Another thing I try to do with user-centric high-quality content is provide value, e.g. what can I as an independent SEO consultant provide over and above a local SEO agency? In this case it’s good to show off 25 years experience when a rival full-service agency may have one dedicated SEO expert with just 5 years’ experience.
As for the variations in user intent, whatever the query is, it’s worthwhile trying to provide content that matches the different intent types. So with my B2B ingredients supplier, their site is full of product pages, I’d started creating informational pages to help build up their topical authority. Social media posts help create brand visibility, and that in turn helps to drive navigational user intent.
Measuring User Behaviour
Once you’ve conducted genuinely intelligent keyword research, created high-quality user-centric comprehensive content that matches their intent, you need to assess whether you’ve really satisfied them.
As mentioned elsewhere, users are no longer tracked, they’re measured, or rather, their behaviour is measured.
Using tools such as Google Tag Manager (GTM), Google Analytics (GA4), and Google Search Console (GSC) are the very minimum you should do. Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft’s equivalent to GSC so use that too.
Then you’ll need Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity to see how users interact with your webpages. Sure, you can use GA4 for some of this, but Hitjar and Clarity are great to see hotspots, scrolling etc.
Direct user feedback adds an essential dimension here – by asking them their experiences through surveys, comments, or engaging them on social media, you can glean valuable insights into their intent and satisfaction.
Conclusion
User intent is a fascinating dimension to SEO and digital marketing. It also applies highly to PPC as well. You really need to understand what your audience and customers are thinking, what they’re looking for, and what they expect to see. Then measuring how they interact is absolute gold.
If you’d like to see this all out into action on your website, speak with me on 01252 692 765 to secure me for your next project. I’m happy to be your exclusive SEO consultant, whether your business is based in Hampshire, Surrey, London or elsewhere in the UK.