User intent, as STAT explains, is ‘the new demographics’ - this being partly inspired by Google’s insight back in December 2015 and the way Google is rapidly tailoring its search results to user needs. It no longer matters who the searcher is; it only matters WHY they’re making the search.
Are they generally researching a product, or have they decided to make a purchase and want to know where to shop? Google decides which SERP features to serve to the user based on their intent.
To understand how they do this, and how it can help digital marketers, STAT researched 294 core retail product keywords in 14 product categories. Keyword modifiers were used to match the search term to four types of user intent:
– Informational intent (no modifier)
– Commercial intent (best, top, compare, etc)
– Transactional intent (buy, price, cheap, etc)
– Local intent (near me, Norwich, etc)
You can download the white paper here for the full results of STAT’s research. However, here are Further’s top four takeaways:
– Build your insights by segmenting your keyword lists by product, category, intent, location and device.
– Track SERP features and optimise your pages to those that are most relevant.
– Deliver content that matches the user’s end goal.
– Run a paid digital campaign that complements your SEO focus.
Keep up the good work, Rob and everyone at STAT!
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