Today, 8.5 billion searches are conducted every day. It’s now second nature for consumers to turn to Google to find the answers to their questions. Sadly, 91 percent of content gets no organic traffic from Google, according to Ahrefs, which speaks to how competitive the fight for content visibility is. Search is a constantly evolving landscape with no plans of slowing down soon.
Understanding how to reach audiences on search starts with understanding why they are searching. Search behavior starts and ends with intent. There are three broad search intent types — transactional, navigational and informational.
Transactional searches are lower funnel. Once you accomplish the task of building brand awareness and trust with your audience, these searches typically have the highest probability of conversion. In other words, they are most closely aligned with business objectives.
Navigational searches encompass search queries where users are trying to find a place, business, or organization and typically contain branded search terms.
Informational search queries occur when a user wants to know something. A full 14% of Google searches are in the form of a complete question.
By understanding search intent, you gain valuable insight into your audience and can serve up content types tailored to each stage of their buyer journey.
Top funnel: Audience is looking for information; likely discovered via SEO or social. Content should be educational, brand building and about developing trust with prospects with the goal of further content engagement.
Mid funnel: Content is more specific, in-depth and/or technical, and begins to highlight products/services when relevant.
Bottom funnel: Content built for conversions and is highly specific in nature, featuring a product-heavy focus. Content should feel audience-first that provides solutions to pain points and your value proposition.
By strategically investing in an SEO strategy, brands can successfully position their content in search results up and down the entire sales funnel.
Once you understand what your audience is searching for and why, you can position your content to meet their needs, convert leads and generate measurable results that impact your business.
