Whether you’re running an organic search or PPC campaign, it all starts with keyword research. Keyword research is usually the first step you undertake when planning how to bring in customers to your website – because the terms they’re searching for will determine the kind of content you will create and the way you will optimize it.
Behind every search, however, is an intent – a need or want – whether it be for a product, service, solution, or simply more information. Intent is one of the most significant variables in marketing. All customer journeys, brand engagement, and sales funnels begin with intent.
Brands that use data to uncover the context and motivation behind every search that lead users to their website will be able to deliver an experience that eventually translates to revenue for them. How, then, can you go about capturing customer intent, and influence the decisions that they make and the actions that they take?
Match keywords with intent
All marketers know about the customer journey and the sales funnel. We know about the different touchpoints where customers interact with our brands and we spend hours planning how to interact with them at each of those touchpoints.
However, we frequently overlook the baggage (context) that customers carry when they type in those search queries. The three types of search queries – informational, navigational, and transactional – only clarify top level intent.
Under each of those umbrella categories, you can find a variety of subtypes of keywords that reveal a whole lot about the intent of the searcher.
- Branded: Searchers show a preference for your brand.
- Non-branded: No brand preference yet.
- Product: Interested in a product or service