In more detail
The same words can carry different intent. "Running shoes" might mean "show me shoes to buy". "How to choose running shoes" means "teach me". "Nike running shoes" may mean "take me to Nike". Search engines work hard to understand intent, and the results page is the best clue to how they've interpreted a query. If the top results are all product category pages, a blog post is unlikely to compete, however good it is.
A common way to group intent:
| Intent | Example search | Page that tends to fit |
|---|---|---|
| Informational | "what is crawl budget" | Explainer or guide |
| Commercial | "best accounting software for freelancers" | Comparison or review |
| Transactional | "book dentist Wellington Saturday" | Service, booking or product page |
| Navigational | "findseo glossary" | The specific site or page |
Real searches often mix intents, and intent can shift over time, for example around seasonal events or news.
Google's guidance on helpful, people-first content asks whether someone leaves a page feeling they've achieved their goal. That's intent matching in practice.
Why it matters when hiring an agency
Intent determines which page should target which search, and whether traffic will turn into business. Ask agencies how they classify intent in keyword research and how it shapes their plan. A good plan puts transactional and commercial searches on service and product pages, and informational searches on guides that link to them.
Mismatched intent is a common reason pages don't rank, and a common reason traffic doesn't convert. If a proposal promises traffic growth, ask what intent that traffic will have.