Search Intent - How to optimize for the ranking factor #1

Hi - Mirco from ContentPush here.

A few years ago I learned one of the most important lessons in SEO.

My mission:

To bring a buying guide that had slipped in the rankings back to the top.

It should rank for the keyword gaming pc configuration*. Monthly search volume: 30,000.

The article was packed with knowledge and product recommendations from experts. My colleagues followed all the SEO rules. The website was a 20+ year old domain with high authority.

And yet the guide didn't even rank on page 2.

Why?

Because we missed the search intent.

People searching for gaming pc configuration don't want any buying advice.

They don't want to dig through a 20,000 character article to get recommendations.

They only want a configurator page to put together their gaming PC according to their wishes.

Sounds logical, right?

When we realized that, we optimized our guide article for a different keyword:

gaming pc self build.

That only had a search volume of 6,000, so only a fifth.

And yet we generate over 300% more traffic with it - because we now meet the search intent and rank at number 1 for it.

I’ll explain you how to master search intent, step by step.

First the basics: 4 types of search intent

What is search intent? When a user types something into Google, he has a specific need.

He wants a quick piece of information, a recipe, to access a page or to buy something.

The intent behind his search query is the search intent, also called User Intent. And it is crucial.

Because for a search engine, the primary goal is to please the user.

Otherwise he won't come back (and the search engine won't earn any more money via advertising positions etc.).

Thus, search intent is the most important of all ranking factors.

We distinguish 4 types:

(There is also a 5th intent - the mixed intent, when several overlap. But we will ignore this for today.)

The key to success is to pick the keywords you can rank for.

Do you have a blog?

Then focus on info and transactional intent keywords.

Do you run an online store?

Then transactional and commercial intent keywords are lucrative for you.

How to recognize search intent and optimize for it

This is how you proceed:

• Enter your main keyword phrase into Google Search

• Analyze the search result page (SERP) according to the 'TFA' formula

I'll show you an example:

Let's say you've picked the main keyword E Bike cleaning.

First, put your main keyword into Google Search and have a close look at the rankings.

Now we apply the TFA formula:

• Content TYPE (blog post, landing page, product or category page, video etc.)

• Content FORMAT (listicle, review, comparison, how to guide etc.)

• Content ANGLE (the unique perspective in the title)

On the SERP we see articles and videos - this is our type.

The videos and articles are all detailed step by step guides - this is our format.

On the SERP, there is no such thing as a unique perspective. But you can use your own for a strong headline:

👉 How to Clean an E Bike in under 15 Minutes - Step by Step.

So now you know:

E Bike cleaning has an informational intent and requires instructions. Thus, you will only rank with a guide or tutorial.

Here’s another example:

See how mountain bike cleaning products show product pages from online shops most of the time?

The content type is a category page of a shop.

It would be a battle against windmills to try to rank for it with a blog article.

(Even if authoritative sites with lots of backlinks like BikeRadar make it.)

Tip:

For keywords with commercial intent, you can often put 'best' in front of them. This way you'll get results with informational intent.

Want to write a blog article about mountain bike cleaning products?

Don't go for the keyword mountain bike cleaning products but best mountain bike cleaning products.

As you can see, it's easy to recognize search intent - and also what kind of content you need.

Simply analyze the user intent by

• checking the ranking content format

• analyzing the ranking content type

This way you have the ultimate formula to rank for every keyword.

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading. 🙏

See you next time!

Mirco

P.S. I’d love to hear your feedback

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*example translated from German