A Guide to Keyword Intent: A Google Keyword Research Masterclass

Google now processes over 40,000 searches each second. With so much opportunity to grab traffic, you might be playing in the Google Keyword Planner. 

While it is great to do keyword research, one of the things many people miss when they create content is keyword intent. When you fail to understand user intent, your website might not even answer the searcher's question.

If you want to take your content to the next level by learning about buying words and types of intent, continue reading this article.

What You Have to Understand About Keyword Intent

Not all keywords are created equal. If your site only targets top of funnel keywords, it will take your company a long time to convert leads. Even with a great lead nurturing set up, if leads aren't' ready to buy - they aren't ready to buy.

Developing Your Base Keywords List

When you get started, you need to have a base of keywords. Your base of keywords should be all of the keywords you can think of that are related to your niche.

Let's say you own a salon that offers services from hair and skin to nails. Some of your base keywords might be a manicure, pedicure, hair cut, hairstyle, getting hair styled. You get the idea.

You may also want to list any brands of products you sell in your salon, so you're able to be found for those keywords as well. It isn't likely that you'll be able to rank or show up on the first page of ads for many of these base keywords, but they are a good start. The next stage is when you work on finding intent keywords for your campaign.

Mixing in the Intent

Once you have your base keywords, you can start adding in the intent. There are different stages when it comes to intent and understanding where the users are when they find your information is important.

Discovery Intent

If people are at the beginning of their searching phase, this is where discovery intent comes in. People that are in the discovery phase will type in terms like, "what is the best way to solve problems XYZ?" or "What is XYZ?"

These terms are searched by people that might be far away from making a decision to purchase. You should know that there are going to be more people searching at this stage, but it will take longer to convert them to customers.

Even if it takes longer to convert these people to customers, if you understand where they are in the process, you can guide them through the process. Instead of creating content that is for people in the buyer stage, you can give them the information they need.

People can go from the discovery phase to the buyer stage quickly if they see value in the product or service.

Buyer Intent

Buyer intent is the fun part that everyone loves to get into. When people are ready to buy, they search for terms like "review of product XYZ" or "what is the top XYZ?"

You know they are looking to buy because they are getting specific in their searches. They have gone through searches to find out about specific products and services that can solve their problem.

Buyer intent keywords aren't as plentiful as discovery keywords, but they usually convert faster. If you can rank in the search engines for buyer intent keywords and you have a great product, you can put your company in a great position to make a lot of money.

Transactional Intent

Transactional keywords are the ones that convert quickest. People are searching for a brand name, a price or where they can buy the product. Some of the terms people might search for in this stage are "how much is product XYZ?" or "order product XYZ with free shipping." 

As you can see, the intent of these keywords is to make a transaction happen. Most of the time people want to make the transaction happen right away as soon as they find what they are looking for. 

A Note on Using Keyword Tools

There are many keyword tools that are available to help you. While these tools can be helpful, they can also waste your time. Try setting a time limit for using these tools and then make a decision which keyword you're going to use.

If you get too caught up in the research, you aren't likely to get much done. Some of the keyword tools are free, and some are expensive. If you get an expensive keyword finder with a subscription, you might want to set aside time to bulk research keywords and cancel your subscription to save money.

Always Audit Your Keyword List

Once you have your keyword list, you need to look it over closely. It is likely that you've researched so much that you have hundreds or even thousands of keyword possibilities. 

Not all of these keywords deserve their own page or post on your website. While these keywords might not deserve their own page or post on your website, you may be able to put them into your content as secondary keywords.

Secondary keywords can rank just as well as your primary keyword so make sure the intent is the same, so you're speaking to the right audience. You may notice keywords that are very similar in your list. Instead of trying to write another post about this keyword, you should add that keyword into the content to give yourself the opportunity to get SEO traffic from people searching for it as well.

Create Content for People That Want to Buy

Now that you understand keyword intent, it is time to take your web marketing to the next level. Filling your site with content that will allow you to attract more leads so you can convert more customers is always a smart move.

Do you need help with your web marketing? We work with companies win with PPC, SEO, Instagram and Facebook marketing. Contact us today to find out how we can help you uplevel your online marketing strategy.