Why Is User Intent Important for Future SEO Strategies?

A few years ago, SEO was all about doing whatever it took to get that coveted first-page placement. The goal was sometimes achieved with tactics like keyword stuffing and link buying. While such tactics haven’t completely disappeared, they’re not likely to be effective in present day SEO. The future of SEO is centered around what people looking for your products and services online actually have in mind, or their intent. Here’s why one of the leading SEO companies in San Diego believes user intent is the future of SEO.

Semantics Matter

Someone searching for “best pizza places in Chicago” is gathering information before making a decision while people searching for “pizza places near Wicker Park” are likely ready to make their purchase. When planning your keyword strategy, think about where you want someone to be within the decision-making process when they see your content. There are three basic types of intent to consider when planning your SEO strategy:

• Navigational: Users are looking for a specific site but don’t know the URL. This form of intent doesn’t matter as much unless it’s your brand that someone is seeking.

• Informational: Users are actively searching for the information needed to make a decision. Marketing to these people could establish your brand as an authority within your specific niche.

• Transactional: Users are weighing their options and getting ready to make a decision, but they can still be persuaded with compelling content. Optimizing content for these users often leads to conversions.

Content Diversity Provides Clarity

It’s not always easy to tell what a searcher has in mind, but you can provide some clarity on intent for Google by producing content that’s diverse. For instance, videos, local maps, relevant graphics, and images are all forms of searchable content that can suggest a searcher’s intent better than text alone. If all of that content is properly optimized, the potential value for a searcher can be further clarified.

Intent Works Both Ways

Producing content based on what someone is likely searching is important, but you also want content that makes it clear what you are offering and what your intent is. Providing real answers within your online content with naturally used keywords and helpful internal and external links is good for your brand as well as for the people looking for your offer. For SEO purposes, this means optimizing your webpages for intent and producing content with real people in mind, not search engines.

As a reputed SEO agency in San Diego, Saba SEO assists businesses with designing strategies based on relevance and what the user has in mind. Our team uses a variety of tools such as long-tail keywords and high-quality backlinks to help clients embrace intent marketing and boost online visibility. Call us at 858-951-1717 to create a customized SEO plan for your business.