By Jayne Schultheis — Keyword research is a fundamental part of search engine optimization, but there's a crucial piece of the process that's often overlooked: user intent. In this article, we'll look at how keyword research and consideration of user intent can intersect to help you build the perfect content strategy. Let's dive in!

What is keyword research?

If you've spent any time writing SEO-optimized blogs, you've probably done some keyword research. Keyword research is the process of identifying and analyzing the terms and phrases that users enter into search engines when they are looking for information, products, or services. The goal is to understand what keywords are most relevant to your audience and to optimize your content so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for those keywords and gets more organic traffic.

Tools for keyword research

Fortunately, it's not too difficult to find keywords — lots of tools are built specifically to help content marketers find words and phrases that boost your chances of ranking on SERPs for certain topics, including:

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• Google Keyword Planner
• Semrush
• Ahrefs
• Moz Keyword Explorer
• Rellify

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But Rellify isn't your run-of-the-mill keyword research tool. Our magic starts with content strategy itself. With a Relliverse™, a custom-AI subject-matter expert trained on your relevant focus topics, you can make data-driven strategic decisions about which topics and keywords are exactly right for your brand's content. Then, after writing and publishing, you can have Google Analytics and insights pulled directly into the platform, where you watch your optimized content climb the search engine rankings.

What is user intent?

In the context of SEO, "user intent" refers to the underlying purpose or motivation behind a user's search query. Understanding user intent helps in creating content and optimizing websites in a way that aligns with what users are actually looking for when they perform a search.

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There are a few different user search intent categories:

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• Informational intent. The user is looking for information or answers to a question. This can include how-to guides, definitions, or explanations. For example, a search query like “how to bake a pie” indicates the user is seeking a recipe or baking instructions.
• Navigational intent. The user intends to find a specific website or web page. For example, “Instagram login” suggests the user wants to navigate directly to Instagram’s login page. Why didn't they just type it into the URL? We don't know, that's none of our business.
• Transactional intent. The user is ready to make a purchase or complete a transaction. This could be indicated by queries like “where to buy the newest iphone.”
• Commercial investigation. The user is in the research phase before making a purchase decision. Queries like “best keyboards for gaming” or “top-rated Korean skincare products” show that the user is comparing options and seeking reviews or comparisons.

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Categorizing query type is easy enough, but understanding and mastering the match between your keywords and user intent can be more challenging. You're competing with other high-quality content that also aligns with the same (or at least, similar) user intent, and uses the same keywords. Differentiating your own content with long-tail keywords, unique insights, added value can be a tough, but necessary task.

How should keyword research and user intent work together?

Keyword research and user intent are interrelated components of an effective SEO strategy. When combined thoughtfully, they help your content rank well in search engine results while also meeting the needs of your audience. They work together to create a fuller, clearer picture of the different "buyer personas" you should be targeting with your content.

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Here’s how keyword research and user intent should work together to optimize your SEO efforts:

Use keyword tools to analyze the data

Use keyword research tools to gather data on keyword difficulty, search volume, competition, and variations. This type of SERP analysis helps you understand the types of queries users are entering and what information or actions they are seeking.

Categorize keywords by intent, then create content accordingly

Group keywords based on their user intent — informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial investigation. This helps you target content more effectively. For example:

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• Informational keywords might include “how to clean a white sneakers.”
• Transactional keywords might include “buy shoe cleaner.”

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Develop content that directly addresses the intent behind the keywords. For example, informational queries lend themselves to detailed guides, how-to articles, and tutorials. Transactional queries are a better fit for product pages, reviews, or buying guides that facilitate purchase decisions.

Optimize the content

Pay attention to keyword placement throughout your optimization process. Make sure that the content structure — headings, subheadings, and formatting — aligns with the intent behind the keywords, too. Use clear, concise headings for informational content and persuasive language for transactional content. You can even use specific questions that users are typing into search engines as headers.

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The keywords that are most relevant to the user intent should also be incorporated in title tags and meta descriptions. For example:

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• An informational title could be “How to Clean White Sneakers: A Step-by-Step Guide.”
• A transactional title might be “Top 10 Sneaker Cleaners for 2024: Reviews and Buying Guide.”

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Backlinking and internal linking are also factors that signal to search engines you understand the user intent behind the queries you're hoping to rank for. When you're linking, whether externally or internally, choose to link with anchor text that reflects that intent.

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Let's use our "sneaker" example from above, assuming we are a luxury shoe company. If we wrote the article, "Top 10 Sneaker Cleaners for 2024: Reviews and Buying Guide," then we would select the keyword phrase "sneaker care" to anchor a link to our other blog article about how to correctly care for shoes.

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Assuming that your target audience is stylish, image-conscious, young professionals who take a lot of pride in their appearance, this would be a way to signal to search engines that you're in-step with your buyer persona and user intent, a true expert in the industry who deserves the subsequent domain authority status.

Adapt to trends and changes

Search trends and user behavior can change over time, in addition to ranking factors and algorithms set by search engines. Keep an eye on your click-through rate and bounce rate. Regularly update your keyword research and content strategy to stay aligned with what's current. With the continued advancements in voice search and AI, how users express intent and search for information is ever-changing, too. Adjust your content optimization strategy to accommodate these changes. It can seem tedious, but it's the only way to make sure you can stay on top of your audience's shifting semantic searches and google algorithm updates.

Address multi-intent queries

For queries with multiple intents, develop content that addresses different aspects of the user’s needs. For example, a query like “best budget smartphones” could be addressed with a guide that includes buying tips, product reviews, and comparisons.

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You can also address this issue by guiding users to relevant content within your site that meets different aspects of their intent, like the "shoe cleaner" example we mentioned above. This helps provide a more complete answer to their queries and improving overall user experience.

Rellify: Search engine optimization experts

Rellify doesn't just guess about user intent — our state-of-the-art Relliverse™ is customized content intelligence — AI that deeply analysis and understands your company, topics, and keywords. With our competitive analysis, we provide insights beyond your typical keyword research tools. Our platform can guide your content creation every step of the way with SEO tips and suggestions. Ready to maximize your conversion rates with top-notch content? Hop on a call with one of our experts to find out exactly how Rellify can super-charge your content marketing returns with just a fraction of the effort.