How to get search intent right
The version of this that works is simpler than the version most people imagine. The short answer to search intent is that it is mostly a sequence of small decisions, not one big one.
Technical fixes remove obstacles; content earns the position. Both are needed and they are not interchangeable. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.
Why it matters
Match the format people expect for that query. None of that requires a large budget, only a decision and someone to own it. It is the sort of thing that looks like polish right up until it costs you an enquiry.
The steps
- Establish what you have today before changing anything
- Informational queries rarely convert directly, and that is fine
- Look at the current results to see what the engine rewards
- Write down the decision so the next person does not re-litigate it
Look at the current results to see what the engine rewards. This is the sort of thing that compounds, quietly, in both directions. Write the reasoning down alongside the decision, because the reasoning is what changes first.
What to do next
In practice
Search work compounds slowly, which is why it gets abandoned about two months before it would have paid off. Three things worth confirming about search intent before you move on:
- Someone can say what the current setup is without going to look
- Match the format people expect for that query — and you know whether that is true here
- There is a way to tell whether the last change to this helped
Most of the value here comes from doing the first two things, not all of them.