Search intent is what the user is actually trying to do when they type a query. A search engine has one job: infer that intent and show the page that best serves it. Miss the intent and content quality will not save you.
Four types of intent
Informational
The user wants to learn. Patterns like "what is", "how to", "why". Expected page: a guide, an explanation, a walkthrough. Showing a product page here does not work.
Navigational
The user wants to reach a specific destination. Contains a brand or product name. Targeting a competitor’s brand terms is usually wasted effort.
Commercial investigation
Close to buying but not decided. "Best", "comparison", "alternative", "reviews". Expected page: a comparison table, a review, a ranked list. This is the highest commercial value category and the most neglected.
Transactional
Ready to buy. "Price", "buy", "order", "cost". Expected page: product, service or pricing.
How to identify intent
Do not guess — look. Search in a private window and classify the top ten:
- Mostly blog posts → informational
- Mostly category or product pages → transactional
- Mostly "best X" lists → commercial investigation
- Mixed → ambiguous intent, try a page that combines two formats
Also read the SERP components: a shopping carousel means transactional intent dominates; a dense People Also Ask block means informational.
Intent shifts over time
A term’s intent is not fixed. When a product is new, "what is X" is informational; once it becomes mainstream, the same query drifts commercial. If your ranking dropped and you changed nothing on the page, the first thing to check is whether the results page changed format.
Handling mixed intent
Some queries return a mixed page: three blog posts, three product pages, two lists. You have two options:
- Pick the dominant format and execute it better than anyone
- Build a hybrid page: a short explanation on top, products or comparison below
The second usually performs better because it serves both the learner and the decider.
A practical check
Before writing any page, answer three questions: What is the searcher trying to do? What format do the top ten use to serve that? Is my page the same format but better, or a different format? If the answer is "different", you need a strong reason to be different.