How people search: search query content in SEO

Query intent is one of the fundamental building blocks of SEO, which is known by different names. WEDEX will tell you what an intent is and how you can use it.

What is search query content?

Search query content in SEO is the meaning that a user puts into their query to a search engine. Otherwise, intent can be called the goal, intention, and in some ways even the user’s pain. SEO specialists rely on it when forming semantics, analyzing existing keywords, and forming a strategy. Why is it so important?

A proper understanding of the audience problem will help you develop a more detailed strategy for SEO promotion of a page, website, or advertisement through search engines. Knowing the intent makes it possible to «hit» the user’s needs more accurately and precisely, and therefore more likely to get a future lead.

What is the difference between an intent and a search query?

If you do not delve into the linguistic side of the issue, it may seem that the concepts of «content» and «search query» are identical. However, this is not the case. Any language contains a huge number of lexical constructions to denote certain phenomena that have many meanings and interpretations.

On the Internet, this problem is complicated by the fact that a query for the same word or phrase can be quite broad in interpretation. A banal example to understand the problem: a user enters a browser and enters the query «Apple». What did the user mean? A translation of the word? A corporation? Or a certain type of apple?

That is why an intent does not equal a query. The same problem can be formulated in several sentences with different structures. Therefore, the task of an SEO specialist is to understand exactly what the user wants to find, not how.

Why is search content important for SEO?

Knowing a specific intent allows you to reach a specific audience. Having understood what goals the user pursues, an SEO specialist gets a clear idea of the location of a potential client at the stages of the sales funnel. In turn, this understanding makes it possible to create content that is optimized for a specific type of user or client.

In most cases, the average Internet user makes a quick query and tries to find the information they need just as quickly without diving deep into the topic. Based on this fact, we can distinguish three conventional types of future customers:

• people who know nothing at all about the company, products, or services offered – they visited the page or website by accident;
• people who are searching and ready to buy a product at the best price – usually these users do not need additional «warming up» because they are already one step away from buying;
• people who are «in the know», looking for new information and understanding the features of the product are exceptions to the rule, and in general, such users are much smaller than the previous two categories.

Content creation should be different for all three groups. And this is where the search query intent comes into play. Knowing the intent for a specific audience will help you choose keywords more accurately. For people who just happen to be on the page, we create general keyword queries that match a wide range of potential user interests. For people who are «in the know», we fill the text and content with more precise definitions and descriptions.

The use of intent when forming keywords will help in SEO optimization of the site through:

• Increase the relevance of content. Search engine crawlers scan website content for relevance to user requests based on time spent on the site and interaction with it. Well-formed content that is used to create keyword-driven content will increase the relevance of content on the site.
• Authoritativeness. The more the content meets the needs and demands of the audience, the more likely it will be linked to by other sites and sources. This increases credibility not only in the eyes of users but also search engines.
• Satisfaction of user requests. Users who regularly receive high-quality content on topics of interest will return to the site or resource more often, and therefore Google will perceive this as a positive indicator.

Types of search queries and their dependence on intent

So, search queries can be generally divided into five categories with the following intents:

• General – a search query without specifics. The same «Apple» without context, «Croatia», «dinosaurs». What does the user want to know with this query? Only the user knows. Promoting a website for such a query and building an SEO strategy around it is a waste of time and effort. Under such a general intent, there may indeed be a person’s need to solve issues, but in most cases, these are common queries that we make on Google every day.
• Informational queries are more specific queries aimed at finding specific data. Such queries often contain words and phrases: «how», «why», «where to find», «how to do», etc. For this type of query, you can create expert materials and fill the text with relevant keywords. In other words, the content satisfies the user’s need for certain information.
• Transactional – a request whose purpose is to conduct a transaction (purchase). Keys for such a request: «buy», «order», «order», «price», etc. Online stores and online sellers often use such queries for their SEO promotion. The intent of a transactional query is the need to satisfy a desire or need for products or services.
• Navigational – these queries contain more detail, such as «Apple smartphones», «Dufour yachts», «Al Malem shawarma», etc. Navigational queries are usually used to search for specific brands, products, and services, so they should not be «pulled up» from competitors.
• Multimedia – queries used to search for non-textual content. These are the same queries: «listen online», «watch online», «download», etc.

Now that you know the approximate types of requests, you can investigate intents in more detail.

How do search engines define content?

Google and other search engines determine user identities based on metrics. That is, for each individual site, Google has a set of specific metrics (time, frequency of visits, repeat visits, interaction, etc.) that it uses to assess whether the site meets the user’s needs.

After all, Google’s algorithms are proprietary, so we, SEOs, will never know all the secrets. But we still have a lot of tools in our hands that help us understand the relevance of certain keys, queries, and semantics to the query intent.

For example, services such as SemRush’s Keyword Magic Tool allow you to research the best ideas for new keywords for your website. You can enter any potential word into the tool’s search and see trends in the use of this word, options for its combination with other keys, and analyze the likely feasibility of the chosen key. All this will help you find the right intents and build an SEO strategy that will work.

Here are some of the metrics that Google also uses to understand whether your page is on-page:

• URL – the link should be clear and correspond to the direction of the content. That is, articles with expert opinion should be located in the /blog or similar section, services in the /poslugy or /services directory, and so on.
• Content – the semantics of content consists not only of keywords by topic, but also of hook words such as «this guide was created by…», tables that will have prices in the description, information about services – all this also indicates the type of content.
• Micro-markup – Use micro-markup to provide additional guidance on page direction and layout.

How to SEO-optimize content for content?

Unexpectedly, SEO optimization of content for content is generally similar to regular optimization. However, there are some nuances here, which we will discuss in more detail.

Reduce content, metadata, and content type to a single denominator

Knowing the content of different categories of your users, you can and should edit the existing meta tags on regular landing pages. Fill the content with relevant keys to provide as much information as possible for search robots, and adjust the type of content according to the needs of your customers.

Study your competitors

Study how competitors form semantics, keywords, meta tags, etc. This will help you better understand the current market conditions, because you may know what is going on with your business, but not understand the reason why users are not coming to you.

Study existing competitors’ strategies to find out what attracts customers. A lack of competitive analysis can be a more serious obstacle than poorly chosen semantics in a vacuum.

Conclusions

Instead of the classic conclusions, here are a few more tips for SEO content optimization:

• Filter the semantics. Untargeted keywords should be discarded and new ones should be searched for, tested, and implemented if necessary.
• Cluster your users’ queries. Each such cluster should have its own content with separate keywords.
• Improve the structure of the resource. Conduct a study of typical user behavior on the site and try to improve its functionality – perhaps there is a lack of a quick order option or blog articles are published too infrequently.
• Don’t forget about on-page SEO – intents help improve SEO optimization, so use them to create real quality and useful content.

Of course, content, like any other content on a website, should be created with intents in mind. But, as practice shows, most of the development of a website occurs through constant self-improvement and correction of old mistakes. So, use intents as an opportunity to improve page rankings and really help users find what they need.

Oleksandr Romanenko

Team Lead/Senior SEO specialist

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