Consumer behavior has evolved. People have much more control over the content with which they engage, and the media they use to make connections with brands. While consumers want simple, and instant, access to products and services, they want this on their own terms, and this has a lot to do with something called “intent.”
As voice search and natural language processing continue to advance, search engines are turning their attention from keywords to intent. What must brands do to step up their intent research and marketing to ride this trend?
Why Intent Matters
As soon as your business updates its SEO marketing strategy, Google is bound to make some radical changes to its algorithm. This has happened time and again, and the search engine now has a new focus - intent.
In short, Google is now giving priority to pages that align with searcher’s intent. For example, a search for “Starbucks” is more likely to return the closest stores near the searcher instead of a New York Times article about the company, no matter how well written. The idea is that the searcher probably just wants a latte and isn’t interested in the latest news.
The way that consumers solve their problems and get their needs met online has changed. People surf social media, read blog posts, and conduct voice searches. And the intent of a search can slowly evolve from a search about foot pain to one searching for the right shoe inserts.
However, just getting close with intent isn’t going to be enough. Assuming you get the top spot in Google with a featured snippet, you might get over 50 percent of the traffic. Anything below that and your results will begin to drop significantly. This is why it’s vital that your content has the best response to the searcher’s intent.
Having the best response is going to get your page more clicks, shares, and links. These “votes” will keep it at the top spot in Google for your term and possibly some related terms.
What Is Intent Marketing?
Intent marketing is any type of digital marketing that aims to help a searcher get what they want or need in a given moment. Whether organic or paid, intent marketing is powerful because content often targets specific keywords and phrases that align perfectly with intent.
When your audience is defined, their intent might be simple to identify. For example, a new parent is often in need of baby clothes, diapers, and tons of other products. Someone that Googles “flights to Paris” is also probably going to be in the market for hotel accommodations and tours. Marketing to these groups is essential, but you’ll need to take the right approach.
How to Focus Your Digital Marketing on Intent
In SEO marketing, not all intent is the same. There’s shallow intent and deep intent, and you don’t necessarily want to target both. For example, queries like, “how deep is Lake Huron?” and “can I switch buses for free in Los Angeles?” are likely to get answers right on the search page. They represent shallow intent and won’t be worth your time as digital marketing targets.
But, queries that ask for more meaty information are the ones that you’ll want target. These have deep intent, or are questions that will take more time and effort to respond to thoroughly. They call for a great piece of content that provides the best answer to the question.
If you want to focus your digital marketing on intent, you need to:
1. Choose Your Keywords
As a business owner or digital market, you should have a solid understanding of your target audience. You may already have a list of keywords that you want to target, but this is a good time to give that list another look from a fresh perspective.
Which of those keywords represents deep intent? If the searches result in simple answers, you might want to pass them over for now. Choose the ones that require deeper explanation.
2. Consider the Intent of the Keywords
Now that you have a list of keywords and questions, expand on them a bit. Think about the intent of the searcher. For example, maybe the phrase you want to target is “apartments in Seattle.” Do you think that the intent of the searcher, or your target audience, is to find affordable apartments? Apartments that allow pets? Apartments in a certain area of town?
3. Create Content that Matches the Intent
Once you’ve identified the intent of the searcher, map out and create content that will answer all questions from every possible angle. You might want to consider a tiered content structure so that your piece can be read by deep readers and content scanners.
4. Share and Promote Your Content
Publishing your content is an excellent first step. But be sure to share it on social media and promote it as well to get some traction and engagement.
5. Analyze Your Results and Make Adjustments
Not every piece of content is going to hit the mark. Monitor your results and take another look at your assumptions if you’re not getting the results you want. You can always go back and edit your content down the road for another try.
Is Your Inbound Strategy Optimized for Intent?
When you formulate your digital marketing strategy for the coming year, it’s essential that you consider the intent of your target audience. Fortunately, there are some effective strategies for reaching this audience with the right content and website design.
If you haven’t invested in a digital marketing and inbound strategy yet, it’s time to start. Contact us now to start a conversation about how Connection Model’s results-driven solutions can help your business engage customers and achieve its goals.
Written By: Doug Milnor
