Digital marketing services focus on ensuring an optimized website, better website ranking and good online traffic for a business. Search engines provide users the best results relevant to their queries and if your website ranking is good in the search engine then many targeted consumers will come to you. So, a smart SEO campaign based on how potential customers conduct searches is important.
The key point is to know the intent behind keyword search. When a user wants to find specific information, Google uses advanced algorithms to analyze which results are the best match for the given keyword. So, knowing the various categories of intent is important to have a search engine optimized content strategy to target not just the keywords but the intent behind keywords.
What Is Search Intent?
Search intent is a new concept that focuses on why people conduct a search. Categorizing keywords based on intent provides a solid foundation for your search engine optimization and content marketing campaigns. For e.g. if you are a plastic surgeon and someone searches for a plastic surgeon with the name of the town where you are located (plastic surgeon NYC), then there is a high possibility that you provide what they want. This helps medical practices to get in front of potential patients at the right time to satisfy their requirements and this is the most effective marketing strategy.
Businesses looking to establish their brand and target customers higher in the market funnel must necessarily develop a deep understanding of the intent behind search keywords. searchengineland.com stresses the importance of understanding 3 categories of search queries to achieve this objective.
- Navigational query: This is a query in relation to the website you want to go to. Google Chrome enables search from the address bar and you need not type in “www” or “.com.” Other popular browsers also allow searching from the address bar now. There are two main considerations in navigational search:
- Businesses get an opportunity to get listed with other businesses and build brand awareness. This is an opportunity to create fear or anxiety among competitors by presenting your business as a force to reckon with.
- This offers high-value traffic for the brand or business being searched; therefore it is important to ensure that your business enjoys a good reputation and has favorable reviews and social signals. This will earn you a high ranking in the search engine results.
- Informational search query: These types of queries enjoy the largest volume and are usually based on a wide range of topics ranging from business and marketing to health, fitness and so many others. Information is the end goal and most businesses will have opportunities in informational search. So, identifying the queries related to the product or service you offer, and developing content based on it helps you to be more visible to your potential consumers, build brand awareness, credibility and traffic.
- Commercial or transactional query: Commercial queries relate to the action you want a prospective customer to take. Such queries can be obvious or simple ones or more research-oriented. People could search for “plastic surgeon,” or “best plastic surgeon in New York.” The action you want someone to take will depend on your business and could include things like signing up for a newsletter, take a free trial, call your office etc. These keywords are commercial in nature and therefore high value. So, target these keywords and ensure that you are focusing on helping the visitor achieve what he/she wants once they reach your site.
Understanding Search Intent
It is important to ensure that your landing page fits the search intent of your prospects. For instance, when people search for information, don’t show them your product page. Similarly, if people want to purchase your product or service, make sure that they don’t land on an article page. Ensure that they are led to your shop.
Sometimes it is difficult to have a clear idea of the search intent of a query. Different people may have slightly different user intent, yet land on the same page. Asking your audience is a great way of clearly understanding search intent. Make a small survey with questions regarding what people were searching for and have that survey pop up if visitors come to your website. This could throw more light into the search intent of your specific audience.
Content Strategy and Search Intent
Understanding the intent behind the keywords you target simplifies the entire process of SEO. For organic SEO, identifying search intent is very important. Creating content that ranks high requires a clear understanding about what a searcher wants. Once the intent is clear, review the content and look for aspects that can improve the ranking of the content. You can take search intent rather than word count as the primary target when developing content so that you can work out how well you might perform against competitors targeting the same area. If you can answer a user’s query satisfactorily, and even provide additional information to show you are an authority on a particular topic in 300 words where your competitor has 800 words, you can always go for the shorter content.
If you wish to improve your SEO techniques to increase leads and conversions, consider obtaining reliable search engine optimization services from a reputable Long Island SEO company.
