Search intent is the reason behind a search query: wanting to know something, reach a specific company, compare offers or place an order. Google shows a different page type for each intent, which is why a sales page rarely ranks for a knowledge question. If you read the intent from the results list and build the matching page, you save yourself most wasted posts.
Someone typing "heat pump costs" wants something different from someone typing "heat pump installation Frauenfeld". Both queries contain the same word, but Google shows different pages for them. The reason is search intent, that is, the purpose behind the query. If you ignore it when planning a page, you write past the results list and later wonder why a well-written text can't be found.
The four intentions in everyday SME life
The SEO industry distinguishes four intentions. Google itself doesn't officially use this classification, but it has proven useful because it can be traced in any results list. The English terms have also become standard in German.
| Intent | Typical query | What the person wants | Matching page type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informational (wanting to know) | "Build a built-in wardrobe yourself", "heat pump costs for a detached house" | To get a question answered | Guide, blog post, answer page |
| Navigational (destination known) | "Muster Joinery Weinfelden", "Migros opening hours" | To reach a specific website or company | Homepage, contact page, company profile |
| Commercial (comparing) | "Heat pump or gas heating", "best driving school Thurgau" | Weighing up options before spending money | Comparison page, guide with a recommendation, references |
| Transactional (taking action) | "Get a heat pump installed Frauenfeld", "book driving lessons Kreuzlingen" | To hire a provider or buy something | Service page, product page, quote form |
The boundaries aren't sharp. "Trustee Kreuzlingen" could mean: I'm looking for one (transactional), I want to see who's out there (commercial), or I'm looking for the address of a specific office (navigational). Google resolves such mixed cases by combining different page types on one results list: the map with three businesses at the top, directories below that, and a guide further down.
How to read the intent from the results list
You don't have to guess the intent. Google has learned it from click behaviour and shows it in the results list. Enter your search term, ideally in a private window, and look at what's on the first page:
- Guides, instructions, the "People also ask" box, videos: the intent is informational. A service page has little chance here.
- A map section with businesses, reviews, opening hours: local, mostly transactional intent. Here, a company profile and a location page count.
- Comparisons, "test", "reviews", lists with several providers: commercial. Google expects weighing up, not selling.
- Shops, price lists, quote forms, booking pages: transactional. This is where the service page belongs.
- Almost only one company and its subpages: navigational. If you're not that company, there's nothing to gain here.
Do this for the ten most important terms from your keyword research and note the intent in a separate column. Then you'll know, for each term, which page type you need to build before you write a single word.
The most common mistake: the sales page on the knowledge question
A plumbing business wants to be found for "heat pump costs" and puts the term on its "Heat pumps" service page. The page doesn't rank. A look at the results list shows why: it's full of guides with price ranges, funding tips and example calculations. Google has learned that searchers here want to read, not place an order. A service page with three sentences and a contact form doesn't answer the question.
The solution isn't to pad out the service page with more text. The solution is a dedicated guide post that honestly answers the question, with a link from there to the service page. That way, every intent gets its own page, and the reader finds their way to the offer once they're ready.
The same applies the other way round. If you serve "get a heat pump installed Frauenfeld" with a 2,000-word guide, you miss the intent just as much. This person wants to see the company, the region, references and a quick route to a quote.
The same question, three pages
That's why a topic often needs three pages instead of one. For the topic of heat pumps at a heating company in Thurgau, it looks like this:
- Guide (informational): "How much does a heat pump cost in a detached house?" with price factors, a sample calculation and a note on cantonal funding.
- Comparison (commercial): "Heat pump or replacing a gas boiler: what pays off" with an honest assessment, even against your own offering.
- Service page (transactional): "Heat pump installation in Thurgau" with the process, references and a quote form.
The three pages link to each other: the guide points to the comparison, the comparison points to the service page. Which other page types a SME website needs is covered in the overview of page types for SME websites.
What to do with this
- Before writing any new page: google the search term, read the intent, decide on the page type. It takes two minutes and saves weeks.
- Check existing pages: which service page is currently meant to answer a knowledge question? That's where a guide is missing.
- One intent per blog post. If you mix informing and selling in one text, you don't serve either properly. Answer pages show how it's done: one question, one answer.
- Intent can shift. Review key terms once a year, as Google adjusts the results list when click behaviour changes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I recognise search intent when the results list is mixed?
Count which page type dominates the first page and take that intent as the main intent. Serve the second most common intent with a linked additional page rather than the same text. For local terms, the map box at the top almost always shows that Google reads the query as a search for a provider.
Can one page serve two intents at once?
Rarely well. A service page with a guide tacked on loses to pure guides for knowledge questions and to clear offer pages for provider searches. Two pages that link to each other are cleaner. Exception: short, local terms like "joinery Weinfelden", where Google itself mixes map, profile and website.
Does search intent also apply to ChatGPT and other AI searches?
Yes, the logic is the same: someone asking a knowledge question gets an explanation with sources, someone asking about a provider gets recommendations. For knowledge questions, AI systems draw on pages that answer the question directly. The easiest way to check whether a page gets cited there is with an AI check of your website.
Is it enough to put the keyword in the title and text?
No. The term in the title only tells Google what it's about, not whether the page has the right format. If searchers expect a guide and get an offer page, they click back, and Google learns from that. Format and content need to match the intent, only then does the term in the title help.