Do you think local SEO is entirely technical because it deals with code, bots, and algorithms? Know that this part of optimization mainly focuses on ranking. And one overlooked part of the process is understanding people’s search intent.
Search intent is more subjective and has more human aspects. This is why search engines like Google have so many updates to understand human language better, completely unveiling people’s search intent online. With a deeper understanding of this area, Google can search the index of any content that best meets the user’s needs.
It is necessary that you have to make your SEO and content marketing strategy subjective, too – best to understand the search intent of your target audience and deliver what they are looking for so that search engines recognize that you have the best, ultimate answers and therefore deserve the higher positions in SERPs.
In this blog, learn more about search intent, how it benefits your business online, and some best practices to optimize your content for search intent.
What is Search Intent?
As the term suggests, search intent or user intent is the purpose and reason behind all online user queries entered into the search engine. To put it simply, it is the “Why” behind every search query. In other words, why do people do this particular search? Do they want to know and learn something new? Are they looking for services and products? Or are they searching for a particular website?
Search intent is important, and you must know its role, especially in your SEO. Google is getting smarter and smarter and strives hard to provide online users with the best results to meet their expectations. Hence, the reason why your focus should be your content.
When your content is optimized for search intent, you will reap the following benefits:
- Closer match to the user needs (target audience needs).
- It helps search engines classify your content
- Makes more content engaging and prioritized
- Attract high-quality visitors
- Better adapted for mobile search
- Improves overall local business traffic
- Cost-efficient
Understanding more about search intent and how it impacts your SEO and content increases your website’s dwell time, answers the questions your target audience asks, and increasingly attracts more traffic.
Optimize Your Content for User Intent Using These Best Practices
Once you know what search intent is and why it is crucial, it is time to optimize your content. Analyzing and optimizing your content for search intent will significantly benefit your SEO – you will get better conversion rates, increased page views, lower bounce rates, and a wider audience reach.
Here are some best practices to align your content with search intent.
1. Figure out first the keyword search intent
Every keyword in your SEO targets a particular intent. A minor change may lead to different search intent. So, you have to be very specific and research every term. What is the user (who uses the keyword) looking for? More information? A particular service/product? To make a purchase? There are so many questions.
Devote part of your keyword research efforts to answering all possible questions. How to do that exactly? Simple, once you have collected all relevant keywords, you can add the intent for every keyword variation. Next, you sort the list according to search intent and prioritize them properly.
Pro Tip: Almost all websites today use various tactics to signal their relevance on Google searches. You have to find what works best for you, and you can opt for high-quality images, positive business reviews, local packs, or any other SERP features to rank higher.
2. Pay attention to long-tail keywords
When you sort out your keyword list based on search intent, you look at long-tail keywords differently. The thing is, you can target multiple intents with the same main keyword just by simply adding different tails. Another way to use long-tail keywords is by merely finding similar ones that target the same intent. Here, you can create different content and strengthen your authority on the subject.
Pro Tip: Search intent is crucial to consider when assessing keyword gaps. So, make sure to benchmark the amount of your site traffic and determine if there are any inefficiencies.
3. Point out organic competitors
Collecting data on your closest competitors is a standard strategy for marketing research. And you can start by determining your organic competitors. In other words, you have to know who you compete against for your target keywords’ site traffic. These websites might only sometimes be your competitors or might not be within your industry.
However, it is still important to know who your competition is. After all, one of your goals is to benchmark against your closest competitors and compare all keywords they currently target.
4. Optimize meta descriptions
Meta descriptions and even title tags are all important aspects of search results, and this is the info users often see when asking Google a question. Optimizing your meta descriptions contribute to better content and result rankings.
Now that Google has further expanded how much can fit in the meta descriptions, you need to be wise to capitalize on it. Go over your content and check all the meta desc and title tags. Create some changes and ensure fit a great deal of information targeting specific people and groups.
5. Experience what the user experiences
If you want to optimize your content for search intent, you have to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Experience what your website has to offer from beginning to end. Check if it is responsive and mobile-friendly. Another thing to do is to see if your website shows up in the Google 3 pack. Doing everything so will help you see if people truly notice your website on the outside.
An average user will look for your services/products online, so you must ensure your website is great from the inside and out. Conducting an in-depth assessment of your website not only helps you know how your target audience thinks and experience your website but also gives you ideas on what to improve, what to add, and what to alter.
If all else fails, you can turn to run surveys.
6. Go back to make adjustments
Never be afraid to go back to your old content and make revisions. It has been an ongoing misconception that once content like a blog is published, it is no longer editable. We assure you that any of your content is reusable in many ways. Depending on your goal, you must tweak a little or too many.
Pick older content you want to edit and reuse it. Make sure not the recent one. To optimize it for search intent, use the top social media marketing tools to spread the content online widely. Over time, this content of yours will climb its way to the search rankings.
7. Optimize your product and service pages
Earlier, we mentioned that it is fine to return to your old content, especially your old blogs. This time, we want you to focus more on your product and service pages that are found on your construction website. As you may know, you can also use your knowledge about user intent in this area.
Your product/service should be optimized for the right keywords. If you do this right, you will reach more potential clients interested in your service offerings. In addition, it will also help Google to understand your website even more, including your Google My Business profile.
Overall, any content well-optimized for user intent will be favored by search engines and have better rankings.
Is Your Content Already Optimized for Search Intent?
If you are not still using effective search intent optimization methods and practices, this is the perfect time to start. Partner with ConstructionMarketing.io, a full-service digital marketing agency that will help you develop a strong, lasting connection with your target audience.
At ConstructionMarketing.io, we perform a comprehensive SEO analysis using the latest tools and with the help of seasoned SEO marketing experts. Trust that we can meticulously understand your audience’s behavior and leverage opportunities to optimize user intent further.
Also, our local SEO marketing services are leading and top of the range in the market. Our goal is to:
- Increase website traffic
- Reach better positions in the search results
- Decrease bounce rate
- Get more qualified leads
- Enhance your conversion rate
- Attract more prospects and expand your target group
As you can see, partnering with us is worth the shot and will benefit your business to an extent.
Get in touch with us today. Let our agency help you achieve your marketing goals and boost your campaigns.