If you want to write target group-oriented content and thus improve the ranking of your own website in search engines, it is usually not enough to simply implement SEO measures without a sound basis.

As a webmaster who really wants to provide suitable content, you have to ask yourself what the goals and intentions behind search queries are. What do users really want to know? What results do they expect behind the search query? And for this very reason, it is important to understand what types of search intent there are.

What is a search intention?

In short, search intent is the intention with which a user makes a search query. When a searcher enters a search query in the search engine, they are trying to find a solution to a specific problem – for example, to buy a product, to find out more about a brand or a subject area. It is important to recognise and understand the search intentions in order to provide the searcher with suitable and useful information.

Recognize search intent: implicit and explicit search queries

It is not always easy to recognise the intention behind a search query. A search query can be implicit or explicit.

• Implicit search query: the search intention is not clearly recognisable. Behind the search query “sauna”, for example, there may be various intentions that are not recognisable at first glance. Does the user want to buy a sauna, is he looking for an opportunity to visit a public sauna in his neighbourhood or does he just want to find out more?
• Explicit search query: the search query consists of several words that reveal the intention behind the search. For example, behind the search “Which milk is good for my toddler?” you can recognise an informal search intention.

Important for optimising your own website: It is always better to optimise your website content for explicit search queries. Why? The advantages are clear:

• Reduction of scattering losses
• Clearer focus of the website
• Exact coverage of the search query
• Improved ranking option

The 3 search intentions of users

Search intentions cannot always be clearly separated from each other and a search query can fulfil several search intentions. In general, however, a distinction is made between 3 search intentions :

• Informal search intention
• Transactional search intention
• Navigational search intention

Informal Suchintention

With an informal search query, the user is looking for useful information to answer a question or solve a problem. However, they can also search for DIY instructions or find out about a brand or products. Informal search queries often start with W questions, e.g. “What is search intent?”, “How can you improve your ranking?” or “Why do you need to carry out a keyword analysis?”.

Transactional search intention

The intention behind a transactional search query is often to carry out an action, such as a purchase or a booking. It is therefore not uncommon for transactional search queries to contain terms such as buy, book, rent, etc.

Navigational search intention

Users usually know exactly what they are looking for, for example, a product from a specific brand. Accordingly, a brand name or company name is often entered in this search.

Search intent & Google: another typology

Normally, a distinction can be made between informal, transactional and navigational search queries. On this basis, Google has provided an even more specific description of search intentions in the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines:

• Know Simple: the user wants short and precise answers, e.g. “How many inhabitants does Munich have?”.
• Know: the user searches for general information “Apple pie recipe” or “When should my child start eating sugar?”.
• Do: the searcher wants to carry out an activity that often has a transactional character, e.g. “rent an office in Berlin” or “buy a sauna”.
• Device Action: the user interacts with intelligent assistants, e.g. Siri or Google Assistant.
• Website search: the user wants to call up a specific website, e.g. “Anna Schaffelhuber Grenzenlos Camp”.
• Visit in person searches: through general search queries, such as “office” or “sauna”, the user would like to receive local search results.

Search intention & basic needs

Of course, there can be different needs behind a user’s goal, which in the best case are covered by the search results presented.

• Thrill me: the seeker wants to be fascinated.
• Impress me: the seeker wants to be impressed.
• Educate me: the seeker wants to learn something.
• Reassure me: the seeker wants to be confirmed.
• Help me: the seeker is looking for a solution.
• Surprise me: the seeker wants to be surprised.

Search intentions & the role of keyword analysis as an SEO measure

Carrying out a keyword analysis is a very important SEO measure that includes researching, defining and evaluating suitable keywords. The search intention behind each keyword should already be checked during the keyword research and analysis. In this phase, it is already possible to exclude unsuitable keywords from the further strategy due to an unsuitable intention. If there is an informal intention behind a keyword, it is not advisable to publish transactionally driven content.