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What is transactional search intent content writing and how does it affect your SEO?

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Content writing for transactional search intent to improve SEO

Content writing for transactional search intent to improve SEO.

When you Google something, you have an intention. What information you find on Google depends on your intention. The intention is reflected through the query that you submit to Google.

In this post you will learn how to write content targeting transactional search intent to improve your SEO.

A quick summary of the entire blog post:

  • Transactional search intent is the intention behind a user’s Google search when they are ready to make a purchase.
  • It affects your SEO because it helps you create targeted content for users who are ready to buy.
  • Understanding transactional search intent allows you to optimize your keywords and phrases.
  • Optimizing your content with transactional keywords increases your conversion rates.
  • Transactional search intent helps you optimize your product or service pages.
  • By aligning your content with transactional search intent, you enhance the user experience.
  • Analyzing transactional search intent helps you identify and compete with your competitors.
  • Focusing on transactional search intent maximizes your ROI.
  • Transactional search intent attracts users who are ready to make a purchase.
  • It allows you to tailor your content to address the needs of potential buyers.
  • Understanding transactional search intent enables you to optimize your website and content.
  • By catering to transactional search intent, you guide users towards completing a purchase.
  • Transactional search intent improves the visibility of your product or service pages.
  • It prioritizes user experience by providing a seamless journey from search to purchase.
  • Analyzing transactional search intent helps you identify your competitors in the transactional space.
  • It allows you to position yourself competitively and capture ready-to-buy customers.
  • Focusing on transactional search intent reduces wasted resources.
  • It drives qualified traffic to your website, increasing your chances of conversion.
  • Understanding transactional search intent is essential for effective SEO and content writing.
  • It maximizes the effectiveness of your SEO efforts and drives higher ROI.

Google uses search intent to find the best possible answer. It is your main goal. You don’t use Google just for the heck of it. You want to find something.

For example, you search for “best guinea pig food” on Google.

You want to know what the best food for a guinea pig is and this is your intention of searching on Google. Google assumes that after searching for the best food for your guinea pig, you would like to buy it. Hence, Google categorises such a query as “commercial intent”.

But this blog post is about transactional intent and how to write content for Google’s transactional intent.

Google’s transactional intent refers to the type of online search conducted by users when they are looking to make a purchase or engage in a specific transaction.

It’s when someone is actively seeking to buy a product or service, sign up for a subscription, make a reservation, or perform any other action that involves a monetary transaction.

Examples of transactional intent search queries on Google

Transactional search intent content writing examples

Transactional search intent content writing examples.

Here are seven examples of transactional intent search queries on Google, along with explanations of the transactional intent they represent:

“Buy Nike Air Max shoes online”

This query indicates the user’s intention to make a specific purchase of Nike Air Max shoes online.

They are actively looking for an online platform or store where they can buy these shoes.

“Best laptop deals near me”

This query shows the user’s intention to find the best deals on laptops available in their local area.

They are interested in purchasing a laptop and want to explore options that offer competitive prices.

“Order pizza delivery in [city name]”

This query expresses the user’s desire to order a pizza for delivery in a specific city.

They are looking for local pizza places or online platforms where they can place an order and have it delivered to their location.

“Book a hotel room in [destination]”

This query signifies the user’s intent to book a hotel room in a particular destination.

They are actively seeking accommodation options and are interested in making a reservation for their upcoming trip or stay.

“Purchase concert tickets for [artist/band name]”

This query demonstrates the user’s intention to buy tickets for a specific concert featuring their favorite artist or band.

They are looking for platforms or websites where they can purchase these tickets online.

“Where can I find a local car rental service?”

This query indicates the user’s intention to find a car rental service in their local area.

They are interested in renting a car for a specific purpose, such as travel or transportation needs.

“Buy a digital camera with 4K video recording”

This query showcases the user’s intent to purchase a digital camera that offers 4K video recording capabilities.

They are actively searching for options to buy a camera that meets their specific requirements and preferences.

These examples illustrate how users express their transactional intent when searching on Google, indicating their readiness to engage in a commercial transaction or make a purchase.

Difference between commercial search intent and transactional search intent

Difference – commercial and transactional search intent

Difference – commercial and transactional search intent.

Sometimes it doesn’t seem to be much different between commercial search intent and transactional search intent because in both the intents, a person intends to buy something.

Nonetheless, there are some major differences.

Commercial search intent

Users are in the research phase of their buying journey and are looking for information about products or services.

They may be comparing prices, reading reviews, or learning about different features.

Transactional search intent

Users are ready to buy and are looking for a specific product or service.

They may be using keywords like “buy,” “price,” or “deals.”

Commercial search intent

Users are more likely to use long-tail keywords, while transactional search intent users are more likely to use short-tail keywords.

Some examples of commercial search intent keywords:

  • Best laptop
  • Cheap flights to Paris
  • SEO services
  • Wedding dresses
  • Used cars

Some examples of transactional search intent keywords:

  • Buy a laptop
  • Book a flight to Paris
  • Hire an SEO company
  • Buy a wedding dress
  • Sell my car

A big difference between commercial and transactional search intent is that the search terms for commercial search intent mostly contain adverbs and adjectives, such as “best”, “cheap”, and “used” whereas, search terms for transactional search intent contain action words such as “find”, “buy”, and “hirer”.

A list of different search intents used by Google

Different searcher intents used by Google algorithm

Different searcher intents used by Google algorithm.

1. Informational Intent

  • You’re seeking information or answers to your questions.
  • For example, you might ask, “Who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2021?”

2. Navigational Intent:

  • You’re looking for a specific website or webpage.
  • You want to navigate directly to a particular online destination.
  • For instance, you might search for “Facebook login page.”

3. Transactional Intent

  • You have the intention to make a purchase or engage in online transactions.
  • You might be searching for products, services, or deals.
  • An example query could be “Buy iPhone 12 online.”

4. Commercial Intent

  • You’re researching products or services with the intention of making a purchase in the future.
  • You may compare options, read reviews, or seek recommendations.
  • For example, you could search for “Best DSLR cameras for beginners.”

5. Local Intent

  • You’re looking for information about businesses or places in a specific location.
  • You may search for nearby restaurants, stores, or services.
  • An example query might be “Coffee shops near me.”

6. Transactional Local Intent

  • You intend to engage in a local transaction, such as finding a local store to buy a specific product.
  • You might search for “Buy running shoes in San Francisco.”

7. Navigational Local Intent

  • You’re seeking specific local businesses or locations.
  • You want directions or contact information for a particular place.
  • For instance, you might search for “Starbucks near Times Square.”

8. Branding Intent

  • You’re specifically searching for a particular brand or organization.
  • You want to visit the official website or learn more about the brand.
  • An example query could be “Nike official website.”

Now that we are clear about the transactional search intent, let’s find out how to write content that targets individuals using transactional search queries.

Tips on writing content for transactional search intent to improve SEO

Transactional search intent content writing to improve your SEO

Transactional search intent content writing to improve your SEO.

Certainly! Here are 20 tips to improve SEO for transactional search intent content writing, presented in a conversational style using “you” and “I,” written in easy English. I’ll make sure to repeat the keywords “transactional search intent,” “content writing,” and “SEO” throughout. Let’s dive in:

Conduct keyword research

When focusing on transactional search intent content writing for SEO, you should identify relevant keywords that align with your offerings and audience.

Optimize your content for target keywords

I recommend incorporating your target keywords naturally throughout your transactional search intent content to improve SEO visibility.

Write compelling meta titles and descriptions

Craft enticing meta titles and descriptions that include your target keywords to increase click-through rates and improve SEO for transactional search intent.

Ensure fast page loading speed

You should optimize your website’s loading speed for a smooth user experience and to satisfy search engines’ ranking algorithms for transactional search intent content writing and SEO.

Make your content mobile-friendly

With the increasing use of mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure your content is responsive and provides a seamless experience for users with transactional search intent, which positively impacts SEO.

Utilize structured data markup

Implement structured data markup to help search engines understand and display relevant information from your transactional search intent content in search results, ultimately enhancing SEO.

Create unique and persuasive product/service descriptions

Write compelling, unique, and keyword-rich descriptions for your products or services to attract users with transactional search intent and improve SEO rankings.

Optimize product images

By optimizing product images with descriptive file names and alt tags containing relevant keywords, you can improve SEO for transactional search intent content writing.

Include customer reviews and ratings

Incorporate genuine customer reviews and ratings on your transactional search intent content to build trust and enhance SEO performance.

Improve internal linking

Implement strategic internal linking within your transactional search intent content to guide users to related products, services, or relevant information, benefiting SEO.

Optimize your website’s navigation

Streamline your website’s navigation to provide a user-friendly experience, making it easy for users with transactional search intent to find the desired products or services, thereby improving SEO.

Leverage social proof

Showcase social proof elements such as the number of customers served, testimonials, or social media engagement to build credibility and improve SEO for transactional search intent content writing.

Monitor and analyze user behavior

Use tools like Google Analytics to track user behavior, identify patterns, and make data-driven optimizations to improve SEO performance for transactional search intent content.

Implement a secure and trustworthy payment process

Ensure a secure and trustworthy payment process on your website, reassuring users with transactional search intent, and improving their experience and SEO rankings.

Encourage user-generated content

Engage your customers and encourage them to share their experiences through reviews, ratings, and testimonials, which not only builds trust but also contributes to improved SEO for transactional search intent content writing.

Optimize for local SEO

If you have a physical store or serve specific regions, optimize your transactional search intent content for local SEO by including location-specific keywords and accurate business information.

Continuously monitor and improve page performance

Regularly assess your transactional search intent content’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and make necessary optimizations to maintain and enhance SEO rankings.

Utilize schema markup for products

Implement schema markup specifically designed for products to provide additional information to search engines, improving visibility and SEO for transactional search intent content writing.

Optimize your website for voice search

With the rise of voice assistants, optimize your transactional search intent content for voice search by using conversational language and incorporating long-tail keywords and natural language phrases.

Stay updated with SEO trends and algorithm changes:

Stay informed about the latest SEO trends, algorithm changes, and best practices to adapt your transactional search intent content writing and maintain strong SEO performance.

Remember, applying these tips consistently and monitoring their impact will help you improve SEO for your transactional search intent content writing over time.

Why is it important to understand transactional search intent content writing for better SEO?

The importance of understanding transactional search intent for the purpose of writing content

The importance of understanding transactional search intent for the purpose of writing content.

Understanding transactional search intent is crucial for your SEO efforts and content writing. Let me share with you seven reasons why it’s important:

It helps you create targeted content

When you understand transactional search intent, you can tailor your content to directly address the needs and desires of users who are ready to make a purchase.

By doing so, you increase the chances of attracting the right audience and driving conversions.

You can optimize your keywords

By analyzing transactional search intent, you gain insights into the specific keywords and phrases that users are using when they’re ready to buy.

This knowledge allows you to optimize your website and content with relevant transactional keywords, improving your visibility in search engine results.

It increases your conversion rates

When you align your content with transactional search intent, you’re more likely to attract users who are already in the buying mindset.

By providing the information and solutions they’re looking for, you can guide them towards completing a purchase, leading to higher conversion rates.

You can optimize your product or service pages

Understanding transactional search intent enables you to optimize your product or service pages by incorporating transactional keywords, clear calls-to-action, and compelling product descriptions.

This optimization helps search engines recognize the transactional nature of your pages, making them more visible to potential buyers.

It enhances your user experience

By catering to transactional search intent, you prioritize user experience by providing a seamless journey from search to purchase.

When users find exactly what they’re looking for quickly and easily, they’re more likely to have a positive experience and become repeat customers.

You can compete effectively

Analyzing transactional search intent allows you to identify your competitors in the transactional space.

By understanding their strategies and optimizing your content accordingly, you can position yourself competitively and increase your chances of capturing customers who are ready to buy.

It maximizes your ROI

When you focus on transactional search intent, you optimize your SEO efforts to target users who are more likely to convert.

This targeted approach reduces wasted resources and increases your return on investment (ROI) by driving qualified traffic to your website.

Understanding transactional search intent is essential for your SEO and content writing.

By aligning your strategies with users who are ready to make a purchase, you can attract the right audience, increase conversions, and maximize the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

In conclusion, understanding transactional search intent is crucial for effective SEO and content writing.

You can create targeted content, optimize keywords, increase conversion rates, enhance the user experience, compete effectively, and maximize your ROI.

Transactional search intent content writing allows you to attract the right audience, optimize your website and content, guide users towards completing a purchase, and drive qualified traffic.

By prioritizing transactional search intent in your content writing, you can optimize your SEO efforts and achieve better results for your business.

What are the benefits of writing content for informational search intent?

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The benefits of writing content for informational search intent

The benefits of writing content for informational search intent.

Most of the people on the Internet are searching for information. This is their search intent.

Broadly, there are four categories of user intent or searcher intent, namely

  1. Informational search intent
  2. Navigational search intent
  3. Commercial search intent
  4. Transactional search intent

To better understand these categories of searcher intent or search intent, you may like to read How effective content writing and searcher intent are interrelated.

But the focus of this blog post is informational search intent.

There are benefits of content writing for all Google searcher intent in varying degrees, but you will be surprised to know that 50-80% of the search that happens in Google originates from informational search intent.

As explained in this detailed Moz post on the “People Also Ask” section on Google, most of the suggested queries in this section are from informational search intent.

These queries are normally in the form of

  • What is content writing?
  • Why is SEO content writing important for search engine rankings?
  • How to improve your copywriting skills?
  • How can I hire the best content writer for my business?
  • A guide to creating the perfect content publishing calendar for your content marketing campaign.
  • Tutorial on copywriting best practices.

and so on.

Of course, I have given you these examples from my business, but you can apply the same on your business, for example:

  • Which is the best project management tool online?
  • What are the mobile app development trends during the Covid-19 pandemic?

You can easily make out that these searches are to gain some information. They are longer. They are also precise.

These are longtail keywords in their purest definition.

Does content writing for informational keyword intent translate into more sales

Does content writing for informational search intent increase sales

Does content writing for informational search intent increase sales?

Indirectly, yes. Directly, maybe not. I will explain.

It is like your sales funnel. Your customers and clients are often at different stages of your sales funnel.

You don’t want to just target people who are ready to buy from you. In most of the cases they don’t need targeting. They are already about to buy from you.

To generate more leads, to get more customers and clients, you want to target people who may want to purchase from you.

There are clients who immediately need my content writing services.

Then there are clients who know that an efficient content writing service can help them, but they haven’t yet made up their minds.

Then, there are clients who are struggling with all the difficulties that businesses normally have due to the lack of quality content, but they don’t know why they are having these difficulties.

They need to be educated.

They need to be enlightened.

For example, if someone is unable to improve his search engine rankings, he may search for “How can I improve my search engine rankings?”

When he uses this query on Google, if he comes across What is the importance of content writing in SEO?, this will be a revelation for him.

He learns that it is the lack of good content that is holding him back.

Whether he decides to hire my content writing services or goes with another service, is another matter, but I have educated him.

There is a great chance that he is going to hire my content writing services.

This is informational content that he found. This was informational search intent.

Nonetheless, it ends of generating business for me.

For every business it is very important to give the right information to customers and clients.

These days I’m writing for an accounting service that wants to help people reduce their taxable income.

They need to target people who are looking for such a service, and they are also targeting people who yet don’t know that their taxable income can be reduced through legal accounting and other procedures.

Hence, a searcher intent query such as, “How can I reduce my taxable income?” can bring such people to the website of this accounting service and this can result in more clients.

The SEO benefits of writing content for Google query intent

SEO benefits of writing content for informational search intent

SEO benefits of writing content for informational search intent.

This is a very, very, very old post from Search Engine Land that says that 80% of searches are informational searches on Google.

Even if in the past decade this number has changed, there is a great possibility that it hasn’t changed much, although, another website claims that in 2018, 37% searches were informational searches. I’m not citing the source because I couldn’t find one.

The point is, Google gives preference to question-based queries rather than business type queries.

It is easier to get higher search engine rankings for informational search intent content rather than commercial or transactional search intent content.

It is also easier to write content with informational search intent.

You know the question. Once you know the question, you can write the answer.

Since, in your answer, both the question and the answer get covered, you get highly optimized content.

This content gets higher search engine rankings.

Since most probably, this content may also contain links to your main website content, the higher search engine rankings of this content also have a positive impact on your main website content.

You develop readership.

You educate and inform your visitors.

This tells Google that your content is worth ranking higher.

Your overall SEO gets better.

The brand building benefits of publishing educational and informative content

Content writing for informational search intent helps you build your brand

Content writing for informational search intent helps you build your brand.

To build your brand you need authoritative, informative content.

Brand building includes recognition, presence, and authority. All these attributes can be generated when you publish lots of informational content.

High-quality, informational content gives you

  1. Audience retention: More people come to your website and stay longer to educate themselves and be more informed.
  2. Better social media traction: Your social visibility is important for brand building. Social visibility isn’t just about Facebook and Twitter. Most of your clients are on LinkedIn.
  3. Trust among your audience: It is very difficult to distrust a coach who shares lots of insights and good information with his or her visitors.
  4. Higher conversion rate: People who are familiar to your presence are more likely to hire you as their business coach.
  5. More leads: Even if right now they don’t want to hire you as their business coach, they would like to keep in touch with you and hence, leave their email ID or phone number with you.

Suppose you are looking for a business coach. You come across two websites.

One simply states the name of the business coach, his qualifications and what sort of coaching he can provide you.

There is a contact form in case you want to contact him.

The other has lots of information about not just the coach, but also other aspects of business coaching.

She’s continuously writing and publishing useful business coaching tips.

You want to closely follow her blog for the great advice she is giving on it.

This is an incentive for you to visit her website regularly and retain the maximum amount of information about her.

She publishes a newsletter through which she broadcasts highly valuable information people can use.

She also has some e-books for you that you can download and apply the advice to immediately experience improvements in the way you do your business.

People share her content on their social media timelines. They discuss her methods and unique ways of providing business coaching.

For many search queries related to business coaching her name comes up on Google.

You begin to relate good advice and good content with her name.

This is brand building through writing content for informational search intent.

Who are you going to hire as your business coach if you really want to hire one?

Obviously the one who publishes lots of information on her website.

How can you write content for informational search intent?

Now we come to the meatier part. What sort of content writing qualifies as informational content?

As described above, the informational search intent is for gathering information, education and insight.

In fact, this is my favorite form of content writing. It is based on solving particular problems.

When writing content for informational search intent you need to keep in mind that you are providing valuable information to your visitors.

Don’t mislead them.

Don’t write content just to get them to your website.

People are way too smart for such shenanigans.

This is a sure shot way of sending them away and helping them remember never to come back to your website.

Even the Google search algorithm can make out if you are tricking people into visiting your website.

When people don’t find valuable information on your website or blog but nonetheless, they find your content on the SERPs, they immediately leave your website, indicating to Google that your content doesn’t deserve the rankings it is currently having.

Anyway, the best way of writing content for informational search intent for your industry is build a long list of questions that people may have about your industry.

I will give you my own examples to start with:

  • How much does content writing cost?
  • In what different ways content writing improves search engine rankings?
  • Why does Google prefer high quality content?
  • What is the difference between SEO copywriting and normal copywriting?

See the pattern? This sound like the FAQs section. In fact, your FAQs section is a good example of informational search intent content.

Conclusion

You cannot do without high quality content on your website or blog.

Whether you realize it today, tomorrow or after having spent lots of money and many months, ultimately, your online presence depends on high quality content.

But, beginning to publish high-quality content, in the beginning, can be puzzling, even intimidating.

The best way forward is, begin with informational search intent.

Start publishing content for people looking for information.

Once you have made a presence for yourself you can start pitching your products and services.

Writing content for emotional intelligence – understanding your customers

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Content writing for emotional intelligence – understanding customers

Content writing for emotional intelligence – understanding customers

Every piece of content that you write for your blog or website should be based on thorough understanding of your customers. You must use emotional intelligence for content writing.

Here is a nice blog post on How to use emotional intelligence marketing to better understand your customers.

For meaningful content writing, it is very important to know what your customers are looking for.

You need to understand their emotional intelligence: figure out what moves them emotionally and then write content.

Remember that ultimately every buying decision is based on emotions and not logical thinking although, in the beginning, it may seem that you are acting logically.

Of course, it is understood that your target customers and clients must be looking for products and services that you offer.

For example, I know that my clients are looking for high-quality content writing to improve their conversion rate and SEO.

They are looking for a content writer they can depend on for ongoing content.

But, there are many content writing services on the web. How do I convince people to hire my services rather than someone else’s services?

For this, I need to understand what problems my clients face and how I can solve those problems.

Through my blog posts and webpages, I address those problems and explain how and why I have the solutions that my prospective clients need.

What are the problems faced by my prospective content writing clients?

Understanding problems being faced by my content writing clients

Understanding problems being faced by my content writing clients

This varies from client to client.

A non-English-speaking client needs someone who can write well without grammar and spelling mistakes.

I’m not saying this is the only problem faced by the non-English-speaking clients, but this is one of the major concerns.

What about people who know how to write well but are still looking for a content writer?

They are looking for quality.

They are looking for a web writer who can write convincingly, in a conversational manner, but still, maintaining a professional tone.

After quality, it is consistency and regularity people want the most.

Even when they can get good content writers from other content writing services, they can’t get consistency and regularity.

Through my blog I convey to my prospective clients that when they work with me, they will get quality content consistently and if I cannot deliver consistently, I won’t commit just for the sake of getting the project.

Many clients suffer from bad SEO and they know that SEO can be improved with better content writing.

They also understand that SEO content writing doesn’t mean simply using keywords.

Importance of content marketing in SEO

Importance of content marketing in SEO

Keywords are important, but what’s more important is the quality and relevance.

When they check out my website, they know that I can deliver SEO content without compromising on quality.

Why it is important to understand your customers when writing content?

Importance of understanding your customer before writing content

Importance of understanding your customer before writing content

Simply focusing on search engine rankings is of no use.

Even if you can improve your SEO in the beginning, it begins to deteriorate if your visitors don’t respond favorably to your content.

How do you know people are responding favorably to your content? The following traits help you know that:

  • Your visitors spend more time on your website or blog.
  • They don’t leave immediately after arriving through a particular blog post or webpage – they also check out other webpages and blog posts on your website.
  • Their search intent is satisfied when they find your link on Google and come to your website – they don’t come back to Google and then use the same search string.
  • They share your links on their own social media and social networking timelines.
  • Your content triggers conversations, even controversies and debates.

About conversations and controversies, it is better to rake up such states of affairs through your blog.

On your blog you can go on a different tangent and people will still read it, enjoy it and share it.

But, on your business website you need to be very focused on solving people’s problems.

You want to improve your SEO through SEO content writing? You should feel reassured when you visit my website.

You want to improve your conversion rate? You should feel convinced that I can help you with that with my content writing services.

How do I achieve that?

Instead of telling you how great a writer I am I should be able to explain to you how I can improve your search engine rankings.

This is where I need to use emotional intelligence to know my audience and then write my content accordingly.

In the same manner, before I write content for your business, I should use emotional intelligence to know YOUR audience and then I should write.

I often tell my clients that the primary focus of their content must be helping their prospective customers and clients.

The enthusiasm in the writing must jump out of the screen.

And this enthusiasm can only manifest if you truly understand customers and their problems and really believe that you can solve those problems.