Connection between effective content writing and searcher intent.
There is a direct connection between effective content writing and searcher intent whether you factor in search engine traffic or not.
Normally, searcher intent is always talked about when you want to improve your search engine rankings meaningfully.
Whenever someone searches for your content (whether that person is aware of your website or not) she has an intention. It is very important to know what that intention is because even slight differences in the search queries change the intention. I explain below.
Suppose, you go to Google and search for content writer. There might be different intentions or reasons for looking for a content writer:
- You want to know what a content writer does.
- You are looking for a content writer job.
- You want to read some content writing tips because you yourself are writing content for websites.
- You are working on a blog post or an article and you want to know what the others have written about the query “content writer”.
- You want to hire a content writer.
Now, the example that I have taken above, though, is not an appropriate example because it is a vague term, many people may use this search term while having different intentions.
The problem is, Google knows that even if people use a wrong query, if they don’t find the right information they are looking for, they are going to blame Google and may end up trying out another search engine.
Hence, Google is constantly working at knowing, in best possible manner, what is the searcher intent. What is the intention of the searcher when she is googling something?
Even when a searcher is using a vague query, Google considers the other search terms used by the user.
For example, she first searches for how to improve my SEO. While reading a blog post on “How to improve your SEO”, she finds out that she needs a content writer or a content writing service to improve her search engine rankings.
Then, she looks up the term content writer. Now, Google knows that she is looking for a content writer who can help her improve her SEO, and shows her the results accordingly.
This is her searcher intent: she is looking for a content writer to improve her SEO.
A blog post or a web page titled SEO content writer or Content writer to improve your SEO, will be written targeting that user, or that searcher intent.
The searcher intent can be categorized in the following manner:
Informational search intent
When someone has informational search intent when googling, the person is simply looking for information. Examples:
- Where can I bump into Bigfoot?
- How can I grow my muscles fast?
- What is a Java SDK?
- Is it safe to invest in cryptocurrency?
As you can see, in these queries, the person is just looking for information. At least of now, she has no intention of buying something.
Navigational search intent
You do navigational search when you don’t know the exact URL. You know the name of the company or you know the name of the service, but you don’t want to either type the long URL or you don’t know it. Examples:
- Credible Content Writing Services
- Google Analytics
- Huffington Post
- The SETI project
You search for the company name and among the search results, you find the URL and you click it.
Commercial search intent
In this type of searcher intent, although the user wants to buy, she is comparing between different products and services. Examples:
- Best content writing service
- Handy Cam reviews
- Top-rated sitcoms on Netflix
- Top luxury resorts in Punjab
Anyway, in these type of search intents, you can see that the person wants to compare various products and services so that she can make a better buying decision.
Transactional search intent
This is where the real business happens. Examples:
- Hire an efficient content writing service
- Buy OnePlus 50t (just in case)
- MailChimp prices
- Grammarly cheapest package
Identifying searcher intent.
How does efficient content writing help you target searcher intent better?
I have briefly written above that through efficient content writing you target searcher intent not just for better search engine rankings, but also to improve your overall conversion rate.
In terms of writing content, on what does your conversion rate depend?
Primarily, on what you have written on your website.
That very first headline.
That very first sentence.
The very first paragraph.
The way your writing transitions from one sentence to another and one paragraph to another.
The way you use headlines to highlight the most compelling portions of your message.
The way you organize your information flow.
Your writing style.
The emotional connection that your writing makes with the visitors/readers.
All these things, and some, combined, contribute towards your conversion rate.
Writing content for searcher intent makes effective content writing
People are becoming savvy when it comes to using Google (or any other search engine). They know that vague terms don’t bring up the right results.
Almost 50% searches are voice searches: this means, people speak into their devices when they are looking for information.
One thing about voice search is, people don’t speak like robots when they are searching.
So, when someone is searching for a content writer to improve SEO, she is unlikely to speak into her mobile phone something like, “Hey Google, content writer”.
She is more likely to say, “Hey Google, find me the best content writer for my business,”, or something like, “Hey Google, who is the best content writer for my business consulting services?”
Voice search example-find me the best content writer for my business.
When people are searching using voice, they speak longer sentences because they are talking like human beings and not like robots. In most of the cases, they use conversational expressions and they use lots of extra information which they avoid when they are typing.
Another interesting and worth observing aspect about voice search is that people are mostly asking questions when searching.
They avoid monosyllables. And since they are finding information, they find information in the form of asking questions.
Hence, most of the search queries begin with “what”, “where”, “how”, “when” and “who”. They also use “find” or “which” a lot.
Knowing these terms can help you a lot in deciding what sort of content you must write for efficient content writing.
For example, “what is a content writer” simply means that a person wants to know what a content writer does, but, if someone searches for “where can I find a good content writer” or “which is the best content writing service”, the person means business.
Effective content writing involves knowing searcher intent and then writing content for it.
Content writing for searcher intent is good for humans as well as SEO
Efficient content writing based on searcher intent saves you from publishing lots of unnecessary content.
You want to educate people, undoubtedly. Hence, I’m writing this blog post that explains how efficient content writing and knowing searcher intent are interrelated. This is mostly educational post. I’m not exhorting you to hire my content writing services.
A big part of my traffic comes from my blog posts that inform and educate. This helps me in brand building. When search engine rankings of these blog posts improve, since they are also linking to my main website, the rankings of my business pages also get a boost.
But, if I get traffic just for informational and educational purposes, I won’t get clients. I get clients when they search for a professional content writer who can write for their websites, blogs and email marketing campaigns. They land on my relevant business pages through search engines.
Having said that, you need to carefully draw a line between creating content that gets you business and creating content that simply informs and educates your visitors.
Above, in the section where I have explained various searcher intents you read that the searcher intents can be of the following types:
- Informational
- Navigational
- Commercial
- Transactional
You need to decide what type of audience your content must draw to your website. The differences can be subtle and big depending upon the approach you take.
For a business website, two categories of searcher intent are important: commercial intent and transactional intent.
For brand awareness, you can also write content about informational intent but maintain a balance.
On my website, I maintain a balance of 60:40 – 60% informational content and 40% commercial & transactional content.
There is a reason why I publish more informational content.
It is easier to rank well for informational content providing answers to questions. Google gives preference to those blog posts and webpages that provide answers to queries beginning with “how”, “why”, “what”, and such.
Informational content encourages people to link to my website.
It also acts as a showcase because my target clients are interested in such type of content for their own website.
When they see that I publish lots of informational content on my own blog, they feel reassured that I am experienced in writing informational content.
Informational content is also important for people providing technical services such as programming, online education, and mobile app development. They want to convince their clients that they are knowledgeable.
They also help consulting services.
Above I wrote that writing efficient content according to the right searcher intent isn’t just good for your search engine rankings, but also from the perspective of usability and readability.
When you focus your content writing on searcher intent, you provide content that is needed by your human visitors. They get the right information because you’re not wasting your time and their time, and publishing content that your target audience is looking for.
Hence, a big part of efficient content writing involves knowing which searcher intent to target, how to strike the perfect balance between different searcher intent types, and then write compelling content.