What is User Search Intent?
User intent, also called search intent, is a concept by which Google categorizes various types of searches: Does the user want to know something (Know)? Does the user want to act (Do)? Do they want to visit a specific website (Website) or a real-world location (In-person visit)? Maybe there are multiple intents behind a keyword (multi-intent)? Learn what they mean and how you can benefit from this knowledge.
How to Define User Intent?
“What purpose does the caller have with his query?” When we ask the question, we find two sources that can answer:
The first is a study that has been repeated in the SEO industry. The paper “Identifying the informational, navigational, and operational intent of web queries” by researchers at Penn State University uses Rose and Levinson’s (2004) definition of search intent, citing the work of Broder (2002). Search intents are divided into three categories: Informational (I want to know something), Transactional (I want to do something), and Navigational (I want to go somewhere).
The second source is Google itself. There is section 12.7 in the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. “Understanding User Intent” where they divide user intent into 4 categories.
Know Queries
A user with an information query wants to “know more about something.” This goal is the same as Broder’s “information search queries,” although Google goes one step further.
In the Quality Assessor Guidelines, they added an extra subcategory for highly specific responses. These “Know Simple” queries return “a very specific answer like fact, diagram, etc.” and “is accurate and complete and can be viewed in a relatively small area the size of a mobile phone screen.”
“Know Simple” is not used for queries that are neither definitive nor have a single clear answer, queries that are too complex to be answered concisely, or queries where different users may want to see different types of information or information from different sources. Highly controversial topics are also exempt.
Make a Query
Google’s definition of a doing query is a user’s request to “achieve a goal or perform an activity on the phone.”
As with Broder’s “transactional search queries,” this goal or activity does not necessarily have a transactional character. A do query can also be a request to download an app, initiate a call, open a website, or run an app on the phone. All interactions with websites or applications, including commercial transactions such as purchases, are also subject to inquiry.
Do queries also have their subcategory, “device action”. This includes all actions where the mobile phone is ordered to perform a user’s action. This includes specific requests, such as telling the phone to use a car’s hands-free headset. These device actions have a very clear purpose as well as a specific action trigger. An example of this would be “OK Google, call Mom.”
Website Queries
Website queries are search requests in which the user wants to navigate to a specific website or page on that website. This intent covers “navigational search queries” very well, as an action is always done in conjunction with a specific site.
A website search could be something as simple as a query for “Facebook,” but this search for “red dance shoe size 8 Zappos” is also a prime example for this purpose. The searcher wants his question answered from a specific source.
Visitor Inquiries
This user intent is Google’s way of addressing the fact that users often use their mobile phones as the last step in their search journey. These searches include where to find the nearest ATM, a specific restaurant, a gas station, and other highly location-aware queries.
Google doesn’t care whether the search query includes “near me” (“where is the next gas station”) or whether the question explicitly includes my location (if I search for “pizza” I’ll probably want to go). eat somewhere nearby). These are the search queries for which Google will rely heavily on Google Maps integrations within SERPs.
Google recognizes that there are many good examples where it cannot be differentiated between whether a searcher would prefer to go to a website or visit a brick-and-mortar store (Personal Visit). Examples of this are well-known brands that have both an online and offline presence. Examples are Tesco, Ikea and searching for “Apple store”.
These In-Person Visit searches can also be heavily influenced by local search behavior. The example Google uses is a search for “Turmeric” which will show anyone from Sunnyvale, CA a different result than users in other parts of the world because there is a Restaurant with that name in Sunnyvale, CA.
When you’re wondering when a search query belongs to the “In-Person Visit” search intent, Google has this advice: Use common sense when considering inquiries and possible intent to visit in person.
Multiple User Intent Queries
Many search queries cannot be easily categorized into just one of these user intents. This is not necessary either, as search results may contain a combination of different user intents.
This generally applies to shorter, more general search queries. “Can you always clearly isolate a user intent?” We will go into an example shortly in our section titled.
For multiple user intent queries, Google asks quality raters to use their judgment to decide which search intent is the most likely intent for their audience.
How Important Is User Intent for Google?
Google still makes the lion’s share of their money from advertising. We showed that only about 7% of clicks go to ads. Most of the search queries that Google sees will be answered without even a single Ad being shown, leaving no opportunity for Google to make money. This comes with the limitation that Google will only show a maximum of 10 organic results per page for up to 7 ads. This becomes a bottleneck.
For these non-commercial queries, it is equally important that Google gives users the (perceived) best results so that they continue to use Google as their search engine and do not switch to a competitor.
Only when Google understands what intent is behind a search can it most likely return results that align with that user’s intent and therefore good results for searchers.
If I’m looking for the best places to visit during my trip to the USA and therefore expect travel accounts and tips (clearly for informational purposes), but Google only shows me hotel platforms, my search intent is unsatisfactory, and I’m frustrated.
On the other hand, if I’m looking for the latest Air Jordan sneakers (a transactional do query) and Google only shows reviews on the first results page, my search intent hasn’t been addressed either.
Why Should I bother with User Intent?
As is often the life case, it is very difficult or even impossible to make everyone happy with an article or even any other kind of content. That’s why it makes sense to align my offers with the user intent of the people I want to engage with my content.
If I believe my visitors want to find the best travel accounts about the USA, then I should cater to that exact purpose and not try to sell them hotel reservations, come hell or high water.
In general, we can say that informational queries will likely appeal to a very broad audience but will mostly be at the top of your marketing funnel. Transactional inquiries, on the other hand, are often way down your funnel, as the visitor usually already knows what he wants and just needs to decide where to buy the goods.
Navigational queries can be found from the middle to the bottom of your funnel because users already know which website they want answers from. With this user intent, it becomes important for you to convert these visitors into customers. Depending on the user’s intent, you might also consider working with Google’s micro-moments.
Can You Always Clearly Separate a User Intent?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to know every search query and match it only to a specific user intent, such as a visit in person or a website. In the Penn State study, we mentioned at the beginning of this article, published in 2008, one of its key takeaways was that approximately 80% of searches were informational, 10% transactional, and 10% navigational.
More than 10 years have passed since then, and search engines have come a long way. Google in particular has become much better at understanding user intent and how to measure it, so they can incorporate this into how they create search result pages for a particular query.
There are many search queries where we see a mix of different purposes. Google defines these as “multi-intent” searches, and if we search for “University” from London, we can see that such a SERP works for multiple purposes. The results show that Google has learned from its users that they don’t just want one answer. Some callers want to take a closer look at universities in the region. For them, there is both a Google Maps entry – Face to Face Visit purpose – and a website purpose – the websites of many universities.
At the top we find an advertisement; This is a very good indication that Google believes some users want to do something after their searches.
Then we have Universal Search image integration, which is often used by searchers if they want to learn more about a topic, and we have a “People also ask” box. This box consists of featured snippets and therefore appeals to the “Know simple” objective.
Summarizing User Intent
But if I know what a person wants to get when they initiate a search, I can offer them the best results for their needs. This is imperative to understanding the user intent of your visitors, because only by doing so can you develop a strategy that creates the right content for the right audience.
We can count ourselves lucky because Google offers a great window into what its users want to do. Type your keyword into the Google search bar and look at the top 10 results. What types of websites are in the results and what type of content do they offer?
