SYS/DEF
Search intent
What the person wants to accomplish with the query: know, compare, do, go. The keyword is only the surface.
Definition
Search intent is the job-to-be-done behind the query. Classic grids: informational, navigational, transactional, commercial investigation. “best A/B tool” is not the same intent as “Evan Miller sample size” nor “Shamalo login”. SERP features, people-also-ask, and URLs already ranking tell intent better than a volume spreadsheet.
A page that answers the wrong intent can rank for a while (the word is there) and never convert. That is a CRO problem as much as SEO.
When it matters
Before you write the H1, before you choose the page type (guide, category, landing, tool), before a SEA brief (the landing must match the ad’s intent). It is criterion #1 of a cocoon: one URL, one intent.
It also matters when valuing SEO traffic: 10,000 informational visits at 0.2% CVR are not worth 1,000 transactional visits at 4%.
Pitfalls
Aligning a transactional landing on an informational query because volume is bigger. Merging two intents into one pillar. Taking the exact keyword as truth while the SERP has drifted to video or local. Ignoring intent in A/B: testing a “buy” CTA on a page whose SERP is “what is”.
Related terms
Related tool
Sessions × CVR × basket, or CPC proxy — the tool states which; intent says whether the CVR is credible: Open value of SEO traffic.