You’ve joined the gym. You’ve kept up the routine and now you want to invest in better gear. When you Google ‘running shoes,’ are you researching injury prevention or are you ready to buy? That distinction changes everything about which content wins your click. Really understanding the search intent will help you get better results for your content, reach more people where they are, and help you leverage large language models (LLMs) like Claude and ChatGPT.
While it can be easy to get swept up in the wave of the shiny new way to be found through LLMs, which may seem like the answer to the chaos of Google results, it’s important to remember that it is all built on the same foundation of good quality content. Plus, most folks are still using Google to find their answers. Or they’re looking to places they already know and trust, including friend recommendations. However, you still need to have a good understanding of the search intent for content that you’re creating so that you can bring people along in the right way.
Understanding search intent
We would love for people to always be thinking about buying when they’re searching. It would make marketers’ lives much easier. But people search for a multitude of reasons, including to get information, to find a specific site or webpage, to compare options, and of course, to buy.
Knowing that lots of people are hitting your webpage as a result of a search query means that part of your SEO is working. However, if they are not taking action once they hit that page, then it is likely that their search intent on the keyword driving the traffic is either not being met by the page or that you need to do work on the page to help them get to the next step.
When you’re looking at the keywords you’re hoping to rank for, consider what’s going on for your audience when they’re putting that into a search engine or LLM. Are they at the curious start of their journey? Are they researching for something else, much like I do when I write blogs for clients? Or have they got some information and need to go a lot deeper?
You may have 10 keywords that you’re aiming to rank for. How did you decide on these particular keywords? Was it because they had low search competition and enough monthly search traffic? If so, did you look further into the other results for that keyword? And do those results match the search intent you’re hoping to have?
These are important questions to ask before you invest in the content or if your webpage isn’t performing, because it’s going to help you get better results.
Why is AI Optimisation so Important for a Business?
AI can risk wiping out your business. One independent, specialist travel agent posted that their business risks being wiped out after AI platforms don’t cite them and ranking on Google is harder than ever. So when people are looking for tours, they are giving only the big names.
It’s heartbreaking that this is happening, and also a warning that small, independent businesses need to start getting this right now so that they can avoid being invisible online. Again, this comes back to having more than one channel so that you can adjust to the changes in behaviour.
Yes, it’s gutting that bigger budgets mean more brand awareness, but there is always a way to find your audience, who would prefer more specialist knowledge.
We cannot fight this behaviour change, but we do have the benefit of the change being in its infancy. Think back to when search engines first appeared, the businesses that stuck tight to the Yellow Pages probably felt their businesses were being wiped out by a technology they were not yet ready to invest in. We need small businesses to thrive, and that means using the benefits of being able to adapt at speed for behavioural shifts. This includes getting your website content updated.
Do You Always Need To Focus on the Bottom-of-Funnel?
It might be tempting to always concentrate on the people who are ready to buy. They already know what they want; they are just looking for the best option. In reality, you need a good mix of all different kinds of search intent content because you want to build awareness and trust in your brand. All of your content should be working together to take people through every different kind of intent behind their search.
Transactional Search
This is when you’re looking for something specific that you want to buy. Ideally, e-commerce stores want to concentrate heavily on transactional searches (although that doesn’t mean you should completely ignore other search intents).
Think about it this way, you’re looking for a low-price item like clothing or speciality coffee, and you get a list of options on your first page of search. Chances are, you’re going to head straight to Google Shopping for your first results on this to see if there is anything that looks about right.
So, if you have this kind of business, your focus needs to be on the likes of Google Search, TikTok shop, Amazon or eBay (if you use them), and so on. If you’re a small independent store, then you have a bigger challenge, but it’s one that can be navigated through smart marketing and clever investment in user-generated content, which I’ll come to in a bit.
Here, you want to get people to see it, buy it as fast as possible, so as well as understanding the search intent and getting the right keywords, you also need a good customer experience (UX – sorry, I’m not using the word “user”), so that they don’t get tripped up at checkout.
There can be a low level of trust needed at this point, depending on your product. Many people have been tricked into buying from what looks like an independent UK brand, only to find it’s a ghost shop that uses drop shipping from far-flung places. I’ll not get into the ethics of this, but it’s worth noting that you can easily navigate this by having clear customer reviews and putting your contact details to add assurance.
Don’t forget that adverts also fall into this transactional category, and while these are not necessarily going to impact your SEO or AI optimisation results, they can help protect keywords that you’re aiming for.
It can make sense to put your efforts into transactional search intent. You want to get leads for your business and sales off the back of your hard SEO work. But by doing this, you’re missing out on a more long-term strategy that can help increase this transactional intention.
Conversational Search Intent
When it comes to a conversational search, we need to be looking at the best way to engage with someone, rather than broadcasting at them. At this point, they are likely to be building up the know, like and trust factor and be interested in more of what’s out there.
Possible customers will want to know if what you offer is best for them and for their needs. It’s about showing what you can do, addressing these questions and marking yourself out as different to the rest for the best possible reasons.
The key to winning over conversational searches is to have a deep understanding of your audience. It’s also good to know where they are. People don’t just search on one channel. They are everywhere, much like you’re everywhere when you’re pootling about online.
Now, we know trying to be everywhere is a mammoth task that needs a significant resource behind it. However, the days of focusing on one single channel are now shifting. People will want to see you on a social media channel for the social proof and transparency. They will want to know what an LLM thinks of you versus other options. And to be cited on an LLM, you’ll need brand awareness so that either the LLM finds your content or someone specifically asks about your brand.
This comes down to picking your channels carefully, given the time you have available and what you know about your customers. When you do this, you’re helping open up the conversation with you as the brand or the founder, so that the potential customer can feel more confident in buying.
There are several ways you can do this. Let’s take a look at two options: comparison content and user-generated content.
The Value of Comparison Content
One of the ways to leverage LLM search and handle some of these search intent challenges is to have decent-quality comparison content. Do they pick this or that? What are the pros and cons of your service versus another? What features do you all offer, and what needs do they meet?
Someone might land on your website or be referred who is not an ideal customer. Giving them the information to make that decision is just as good for you as it is for them. So, having comparison content is essential for transparency and for getting found through search.
Have a look at this comparison content from ZoomInfo. It sets out who their software service is for and who their competitors or peers are best suited for. This is clear information for anyone looking at SaaS options to pick the right service for their needs.
Many businesses, especially service-based businesses, try to steer clear of comparing themselves to others. Yet, if it’s done in the right way, it can be incredibly helpful for the person reading it and help the business rank higher or be cited by LLMs.
Benefits of User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC is another way of having conversational content. If you’re selling a product, it’s pretty essential that someone can see themselves using the product. And this is done effectively with UGC. But that’s not to say it isn’t useful for service-based businesses as well. In fact, it’s probably highly overlooked for service businesses, when it could bring about some incredible results.
Start by thinking about how user-generated content will look for your business. It’s not all about hiring in influencers. Getting your existing customers on board can give you some useful content as well.
UGC also helps you hit other channels that you might not have time to cover. It fills that trench of doubt that some people might have when they see someone like them using your services.
Conversational Content is the Backbone of your Content Marketing
Opening up a dialogue with people and getting them to feel connected should be one of the goals of your content marketing. Especially in the age of AI search, because we want to give a personal experience that AI cannot.
It starts by directly answering the questions that your customers are already asking on the AI channels. Specific questions and direct answers are key. But knowing what those questions are involves talking to people. The more you do this, the more conversational content you’ll be able to create.
Where to Put Your Focus: Transactional or Conversational Search Intent?
Businesses need a bit of both. You’ll always have someone coming in and wanting to buy straight away. The chances are that when they do so, they’ve already heard of you from other sources, even if they seem new to you.
Opening up conversations and action within the search intent can help bring people into your brand awareness early and support that later transactional search. Having the right mix of content is vital here. And as we’ve already seen, responding to the behavioural shifts is vital.
4 Quick Things You Can Do:
- Audit your keywords for search intent – look at your top five keywords bringing traffic to your website and analyse if that content is converting. If not, look at the other search results and assess whether the keywords or content need adjusting.
- Create one piece of comparison content this month – even if you’re a service-based business. Look at why they should choose you over another option.
- Talk to your customers about what they used to find you – dig deep into the exact phrases they use and then use that within the appropriate content pages.
- Test your brand on an LLM – ask it for the best in category for your ideal audience and see what it comes up with. Then start building content around specific questions on how to choose your products or services.
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