Search engines are continuing to develop and evolve over the years. Nowadays, results for any type of search are focusing on more of what the search engines think the user intent is. Your content strategy should take this into consideration as well. Contractor Charlie explores this concept in depth.

What is User Intent?

What is the reason why someone is searching for a roofer? Why is someone searching for heating repair? Neil Patel has described user intent as the goal a user has when typing a search query. The reason why someone is searching is what user intent is.

User intent is typically organized into three different categories of search queries (which we’ve discussed in the past):

Informational: Users are looking for information on a particular topic.

Navigational: Users are looking for more specific information, maybe even a brand or business.

Transactional: Users are ready to buy.

These search queries are tied to user intent.

How?

Through the type of keywords entered into the search engine.

Understanding the User’s Intent through Keywords

Many keywords can be pretty ambiguous in terms of identifying user intent. You may know why you’re typing “iPhone” into the search bar, but the search engines don’t. Are you looking for product reviews? The latest deals?

According to The Buzz Bin, there are three types of keywords:

• Generic
• Broad Match
• Long tail

Generic keywords can have several kinds of user intent. A search that uses the keyword “iPhone” can display shopping results, the Apple website, local phone repair shops, and tips and tricks on how to use the device. Google doesn’t know the user’s intent so it displays what it feels are the most relevant results.

Broad match keywords are much more specific than generic keywords. Using “iPhone XR” narrows down the results since the user intent is a little more clear. In this case, Google thinks you want information about the iPhone XR, so it provides retailer pricing and product reviews for that specific phone.

Long tail keywords are the last of the three keyword types. These are the related search terms you’ll find at the bottom of the Google search results page. They give search engines a much better idea as to what the user wants. If you use the keywords “iPhone xr white 64gb for sale near me” then Google will show you results tailored to this exact search.

How to Craft Content for User Intent

So how do you create content based off of what the user is intending to look for? Consider Hubspot’s buyer’s journey process, which has 3 stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. We can apply content that is designed for user intent into these stages.

Let’s pretend that we’re selling memberships for a fictitious gym called “Fitness Your Way.”

Awareness Stage

At this stage, the user intent is typically going to be informational. In our example, a keyword you might target could be “Gyms near me” or “fitness center.” These searchers are looking for gyms that are close to their location. So creating content that clearly defines your address and contact information would be helpful. If you have multiple locations, a dedicated landing page for each location would be even better.

Consideration Stage

Here, the user is defining what they want in a gym by researching different options. The intent here is slowly moving towards becoming transactional, but users are still gathering information. Let’s say that they use the keywords “Fitness centers with pools.” Then you would create content that focuses on the swimming pool features of your gym.

This stage would be great for highlighting the different products and services your gym would have. Use Images and videos to show off these features.

Decision Stage

We’re now at the stage where the user is now ready to make a decision. If the user enters the keyword “Fitness Your Way pricing” then you need to ensure that your content has a list of prices and detailed information for becoming a member of your gym. Other useful content could be centered around any discounts or bonuses for signing up.

We Can Help Strategize for User Intent

Designing content around user intent is a huge part of a successful marketing plan. By analyzing both your high-performing keywords and keywords that you want to target, you’ll increase the odds of reaching your desired audience. Contact Contractor Charlie today to discuss how to market your content around user intent.