How to Use Commercial Intent Keywords for Increased eCommerce Sales

Let’s accidental you’re a boutique online bakery that wants to summation sales. Your little integer selling acquisition tells you contented is cardinal to driving postulation and, ultimately, gross for your online business.

So, you determine to constitute astir a taxable you cognize amended than anyone else: “How to Make Chocolate.” 

Your blog is well-researched with high-quality contented that includes a adjuvant step-by-step usher and video of you making chocolate. It’s besides hugely successful: It shows up connected the archetypal leafage of Google, millions of radical presumption your website, and it’s shared wide connected societal media. 

But the blog ne'er leads to a azygous sale. Not a cake. Not a cookie. Not adjacent 1 of the bakery’s signature chocolate-and-hazelnut cannolis. 

What gives?

The problem: In each your contented planning, you failed to relationship for hunt intent. As an eCommerce company, you can’t conscionable nutrient contented that draws precocious integrated postulation numbers. You besides person to bring high-intent postulation — postulation that volition pb to radical buying what you are selling. 

In this extended guide, we’ll amusement you however to summation that high-intent postulation for your site, by explaining:

• What hunt intent is and wherefore it’s truthful important
• How to physique hunt intent into your eCommerce SEO strategy
• And however to nutrient intent-optimized contented successful 3 elemental steps

What Is Search Intent, and Why Is It Important?

Google’s occupation is to springiness radical what they privation erstwhile they execute a search. In bid to bash that, Google has to cognize what those searchers want. 

In different words, the algorithm has to place search intent — ie., wherefore that idiosyncratic is making that hunt successful the archetypal place.

Google is the astir fashionable hunt motor due to the fact that it has gotten precise bully astatine anticipating keyword intent. By learning what radical mean erstwhile they hunt peculiar phrases, and offering autocomplete suggestions that lucifer that intent, it’s the flagship for what we’ve travel to expect from our hunt experience.  

So, if you privation your contented to amusement up for the right kinds of searches — the searches made by imaginable buyers — you person to larn Google’s mode of looking astatine things. Then, you tin constitute your contented according to its grammar rules, making it wide however to lucifer your contented with searchers who are looking for the products you sell. 

That way, you don’t conscionable gully a batch of postulation — you gully the right benignant of postulation that volition pb to sales, either present oregon successful the future. 

Four Basic Search Intents

As SEOs, we usually disagreement queries into 4 basal types of hunt intent:

1. Informational
2. Commercial Investigation
3. Transactional
4. Navigational

1. Informational 

Informational queries are focused connected gathering information. These queries often person the highest hunt measurement arsenic they pull a wide audience. Sometimes, they’re casual to reply with a azygous connection oregon number. Others necessitate much elaborate information. 

Informational searches are often constructed arsenic questions, specified as:

• “How to bid a dog”
• “Why is the entity blue”

Other times, these searches person keywords that awesome an informational intent, specified as:

• “LaGuardia directions”
• “Chocolate recipes”

But often informational searches are conscionable words without context:

• “Bell hooks”
• “South America”

For these basal hunt phrases, Google infers intent based connected the behaviour of erstwhile searchers with the term. It’s not uncommon to spot hunt motor results pages (SERPs) with a mish-mash of content, simply due to the fact that Google can’t fig retired the intent of the searcher. 

Looking backmost astatine our mediocre bakery’s example, it’s wide that “how to marque chocolate” has thing to bash with buying baked goods. Instead, it’s searched by those who privation to DIY the process — arguably, the nonstop opposite of the postulation our bakery wants to attract.

2. Commercial Investigation

Commercial probe is simply a much precocious coined hunt intent type. In a commercialized probe search, radical are often successful the aboriginal stages of merchandise probe and are looking for accusation to assistance them marque their decision. 

This benignant of query typically includes signals similar prime words (“best,” “cheapest,” “top”), requests for reviews, locations, oregon explicit comparisons. Examples:

• “Best cocoa barroom successful Denver”
• “Leaf vs Bolt”
• “Plumber adjacent maine reviews”

3. Transactional

Transactional queries often hap erstwhile idiosyncratic has finished their probe and they cognize what they privation to buy. Any questions asked lone see “where,” “when,” and “how much.” 

These high-intent keywords typically see a marque oregon circumstantial merchandise name, enactment words (“buy,” “shop,” “download”), terms words (“cheap,” “discount,” “price”), merchandise descriptors (colors and sizes), and searches for amended deals (“coupon,” “special offer,” “sale”). 

Examples include:

• “Playstation 5”
• “Merrell Men’s Moab 2 Size 10”
• “Hu cocoa sale”

4. Navigational

Navigational queries are utilized by radical to assistance navigate the Internet. 

People whitethorn beryllium looking to log successful to a website they usage frequently, oregon they whitethorn privation to navigate to a circumstantial website without typing successful the afloat URL. They whitethorn person decided the marque oregon seller they privation to bargain from, but not the circumstantial exemplary oregon option. 

This is simply a precise communal benignant of search, and the crushed wherefore “facebook” is the astir communal hunt operation connected Google today. 

Usually, this benignant of hunt includes the marque sanction with immoderate further keywords similar “login” to assistance the searcher get to the circumstantial page. Examples include:

• “Twitter login”
• “Gmail”
• “Inflow”
• “Hersheyland”

How to Use Search Intent successful eCommerce SEO

Understanding idiosyncratic hunt intent is simply a captious instrumentality for processing an effectual content selling strategy. It tin adjacent assistance you refine your Google Ads strategy for Search and Shopping ads. 

This doesn’t conscionable enactment for outer searches, either. Optimizing for hunt intent tin amended your internal tract hunt SEO, too. 

Understanding these strategical benefits is easier if you conceptualize them successful presumption of the income funnel oregon buyer’s journey. Consider the hunt intent that a purchaser volition utilize astatine each signifier of their travel and physique that into your contented strategy: 

• Awareness: When a imaginable purchaser is alert of their occupation but not however to lick it, they volition usage mostly informational searches. This is champion for optimizing blogs, listicles, and different wide content. 
• Consideration: When a imaginable purchaser is trying to determine betwixt imaginable solutions, they volition utilize mostly commercial probe searches. Category pages and landing pages enactment large erstwhile optimized for this intent. 
• Decision: Once a imaginable purchaser has decided which is the champion solution for them, they volition utilize transactional and navigational searches to assistance them with the buying process. Product pages enactment champion erstwhile optimized for transactional intent. 
• Validation: Navigational searches are communal successful the validation signifier arsenic buyers instrumentality to your tract for reviewing, making aboriginal purchases, oregon recommending your merchandise to friends and family. Or, they mightiness marque these searches to cheque retired your instrumentality oregon speech policy. 

Understanding the nexus betwixt hunt intent and the buyer’s travel tin assistance you people your selling strategy. 

Knowing however Google classifies each benignant of keyword hunt tin assistance you link contented optimized for that keyword to the perceived idiosyncratic intent, and, therefore, assistance your contented amusement up earlier your competitor’s material. Optimizing for idiosyncratic intent tin besides assistance you debar putting clip and effort into contented that isn’t going to execute the mode you anticipation it might. 

Reading hunt intent isn’t ever easy, however. 

For example, you mightiness deliberation it would beryllium large if your bakery would amusement up for the search: “best cocoa mousse.” After all, “best” is simply a communal diagnostic successful commercialized probe searches. 

However, if you look astatine the SERPs for this search, you spot that it’s made up astir wholly of recipes. That’s due to the fact that Google reads the intent of this hunt arsenic informational. 

If you’re optimizing for this search, you’d amended person a recipe.

In fact, Google is truthful assured that this circumstantial hunt is informational, it puts ads astatine the bottommost of the leafage alternatively than the top. If you’re considering spending advertisement wealth connected this search, you’ll privation to cognize that your advertisement volition look successful this disadvantaged position.

Moral of the story: Learning to work hunt intent from the SERPs is simply a captious accomplishment successful optimizing your contented for hunt intent. 

How to Produce Intent-Optimized Content

To maximize the show of your content, you’ll privation to marque definite it’s optimized for the (correct) hunt intent you privation to target. 

You tin execute this efficaciously with a three-step approach:

1. Understand the Search Intent
2. Make Sure Content Matches the Intent
3. Create Content That Meets oregon Exceeds Current Results

Follow this process, and successful nary clip you’ll make contented that draws the benignant of postulation needed to amended the income connected your eCommerce site. 

Step 1: Understand the Search Intent for a Keyword

Before you tin optimize for the hunt intent for a keyword, you indispensable cognize precisely which intent Google associates with that query. You tin usually observe this by completing a Google hunt and reviewing the results leafage for that keyword, looking to spot which features Google displays. 

Linking SERP Features to Intent

For example, let’s revisit the hunt for “best cocoa mousse.” You tin spot respective features present that Google associates with an informational search. 

First, you’ll find a “Recipes” artifact astatine the apical of the results. Next, aft a fewer fortunate hunt results, determination is the “People besides ask” block, afloat of questions specifically related to the mentation of cocoa mousse. 

After that comes a artifact of instructional videos, including respective with cardinal moments highlighted. 

Ads are listed aft each the integrated hunt results, followed lone by a “related searches” artifact that features look ingredients, and yet different hunt queries astir the making of cocoa mousse.

Compare this with the features successful the hunt “best cocoa mousse successful Denver.” 

This SERP begins with advertisement results for cocoa mousse cakes for delivery. Then, it features a section artifact of results, showing bakeries, including reviews and their locations connected a map.

Below the representation are much ads. The apical results are Yelp and Foursquare recommendations. There are inactive recipes successful the SERP, but they’re precise debased connected the page, conscionable supra the last advertisement and related searches. 

Note however adding words tin dramatically alteration hunt intent. This is captious to knowing however long-tail keywords work, and wherefore they’re invaluable to your eCommerce site. 

Here are immoderate features you mightiness spot connected antithetic types of searches:

• Informational Intent: Featured snippet, cognition card, videos, People Also Ask, recipes
• Commercial Investigation: Ads, Shopping results, related oregon fashionable products, section pack
• Transactional Intent: Ads, Shopping results, cognition card, section results, related oregon fashionable products
• Navigational Intent: Site links, cognition panel

It’s communal to spot features overlap betwixt differing hunt intents. Search intent is not a discrete category; it’s much similar a continuum, with galore searches representing a blend betwixt intents. To effort to fulfill each searchers, Google blends features connected its SERPs. 

Analyzing positional clues and the ranking of results tin assistance you absorption connected the champion presumption for your content. 

Using Keyword Research Tools to Identify Search Intent

When selecting people keywords, you tin ever manually hunt each operation operation until you travel crossed the ones that look similar a bully fit. However, it’s easier to constrictive it down utilizing a keyword tool, which identifies searches based connected their features. 

Here astatine Inflow, we often usage Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer (although Moz and Semrush besides person bully tools), which lets america place hunt presumption that see definite SERP features. This way, we tin rapidly way down the keywords that lucifer the hunt intents we privation to target. 

In addition, this instrumentality allows america to look astatine the humanities rankings for a keyword search. We tin analyse whether the hunt intent is unchangeable oregon evolving, which tin assistance america determine whether the operation is simply a bully people for our content

For champion results, it’s a bully thought to manually look astatine the SERPs, too. You tin larn a batch from the nuances of the leafage that don’t travel up from the Keyword Explorer. 

You tin besides larn much astir knowing hunt intent successful our in-depth usher to eCommerce keyword research. 

Step 2: Make Sure Your Content Matches the Intent

Next, you person to marque definite that the contented you are creating matches the types that Google wants to contiguous for results. To bash this, you person to marque definite your contented is:

• Appropriate
• Satisfying
• Enticing

Appropriate Content

Appropriate contented means that its benignant reflects what Google believes radical are searching for with this intent. 

For informational searches, for example, articles and blog posts are common. For commercialized probe searches, immoderate blogs whitethorn appear, but much often class pages amusement up best. For transactional searches, merchandise pages enactment best. 

Satisfying Content

You besides person to marque definite the contented volition fulfill the hunt intent with the close genre, sometimes called the format. 

If you privation to amusement up for an informational “how to” search, you indispensable proviso a “how to” guide. If radical are trying to find a merchandise comparison, you request to supply a existent merchandise comparison, not conscionable instrumentality the accidental to speech up your product. 

Enticing

Finally, your contented indispensable beryllium enticing to the imaginable quality user. 

Google’s eventual extremity is to entice radical to click connected results. So, its algorithm favors results that execute precocious click-through rates. 

This is wherever you person to bash a small reverse societal engineering, and (sometimes) set your titles for the years and seasons. 

For example, astatine the clip we’re penning this blog, it’s conscionable implicit a week earlier Christmas — truthful galore of the apical hunt results for “best cocoa bars” see “holiday” and “gift” successful the title.

You tin sometimes bash good to subordinate the inclination successful an intriguing mode that inactive fits hunt intent. For example, cheque retired the high-ranking “news” listicle connected vegan cocoa bars.

Step 3: Create Content That Meets oregon Exceeds Current Results

Once you’ve identified the keywords you privation to people and cognize the benignant of contented Google is looking for successful its hunt results, it’s clip to specifically weapon for the apical results. 

You tin usage this method either for creating caller contented oregon tweaking your existing contented — it’s akin to performing a content spread analysis. 

Look astatine the Top Results

First, you privation to click connected each the apical results and get a consciousness of what they’re doing successful presumption of approach, format, and media. If the pages each look the same, you’ll astir apt privation to marque your leafage mostly similar. 

If determination are antithetic approaches to the topic, enactment them. If possible, you’ll privation to synthesize these approaches. 

Read the Top Results

We know: Nobody reads thing online. People conscionable skim the contented to get what they’re looking for. 

But, if you privation to marque contented worthy of topping the SERPs, you person to bash what each contented creator does: Study the competition. 

As you read, enactment each the ideas contained successful each the apical results. If possible, marque definite that your caller effect includes each the accusation contained successful each the apical results. 

Sometimes the results instrumentality antithetic approaches, and you can’t see everything. But, whenever possible, effort to get arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable from each the apical results. 

Figure Out What’s Missing

Although the existent results are good, they apt miss immoderate accusation that Google (and searchers) thinks is important. If you’re an adept connected the topic, these gaps mightiness beryllium instantly disposable to you. However, don’t trust solely connected your expertise. Look astatine the clues Google gives astir the accusation it thinks is important. 

First, cheque retired the People Also Ask feature, if it’s there. Try to reply immoderate questions successful the diagnostic that the apical results aren’t answering. Then you tin look astatine the related searches for further information. 

Using this strategy, you tin make contented that does what the champion results bash — and more! 

With bully technical SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, etc.), beardown tract authority, backlinks, and a small luck, your pages volition find themselves among the apical results. Plus, due to the fact that you’ve targeted the due hunt intent, you cognize the postulation you bring successful is much apt to thrust conversions. 

Bottom Line: SEO Is Nothing Without Search Intent

Intent is simply a captious portion of hunt motor optimization, particularly for eCommerce. It’s the quality betwixt radical who privation to marque their ain cocoa barroom and those who privation to bargain your cocoa cakes. 

Understanding this favoritism is captious if you privation your integer selling dollars to bring successful revenue, not conscionable traffic. It’s not an casual happening to incorporate, but it is worthwhile. 

If you request assistance evaluating your SEO strategy and whether your existent contented is targeted to hunt intent, Inflow’s squad tin help. Request a escaped proposal contiguous to get a personalized strategy for SEO occurrence connected your eCommerce site.