Have you ever experienced that feeling of excitement when you believe you’ve stumbled upon a groundbreaking idea, only to discover, through a quick Google search, that it’s already been explored extensively? That happened to me recently with the term “intent marketing.” It turns out I wasn’t the first to coin it, not even close. But that’s perfectly fine. Let’s call it a case of parallel thinking.

Regardless of its origin, “intent marketing” has become increasingly relevant for a good reason. In this article, I’ll delve into what intent marketing entails and why I believe it holds immense significance in today’s digital landscape.

Understanding Intent Marketing

Intent marketing revolves around tailoring your marketing efforts to align with the specific intentions of your target audience - what they genuinely desire or require at a particular moment.

Intent marketing proves particularly effective in search marketing, encompassing both paid and organic strategies. This is because content often revolves around keywords, which, when chosen strategically (avoiding overly broad terms), provide valuable insights into user intent.

While well-defined audiences offer some indication of intent, the timing might not always be ideal. For instance, new mothers often need diapers, strollers, and other baby essentials, but not all new mothers require them constantly. On the other hand, individuals actively searching for “diaper delivery” demonstrate a clear and present need. This distinction highlights the essence of intent.

However, as marketers, our focus shouldn’t solely be on purchase intent. Effectively addressing audience intent at every stage of their “buyer journey” is what fosters brand affinity and loyalty.

Now, let’s explore three compelling reasons why intent marketing has become more crucial than ever before.

In a Hyper-Competitive Landscape, Content Marketers Must Prioritize “Deep Intent”

In his 10 predictions for digital marketing in 2016, Rand Fishkin predicted the decline of normal distributions and the rise of a winner-takes-all dynamic.

Rand argues that content is becoming “so pervasive and challenging to monetize that only the most successful players will be able to sustain their efforts.”

I frequently observe evidence of this “winner-takes-all” phenomenon when analyzing our website’s rankings and corresponding click-through rates (CTRs). When we secure the top position or, even better, the coveted featured snippet (position zero), our CTR can skyrocket, sometimes exceeding 50%:

However, even a slight dip in average position results in a dramatic CTR decline.

Securing the top ranking for a sufficient number of related and relevant queries creates a snowball effect. As your authority and trustworthiness grow within your niche, ranking for new keywords within that semantic domain becomes progressively easier, while simultaneously posing a greater challenge for newcomers. This perpetuates a cycle where the winners continue to thrive, and the laggards fall behind.

Therefore, achieving success in content marketing hinges on providing the most relevant and comprehensive response to user intent on the first page of search results. Failure to satisfy user intent will lead to a quick return to the search engine results page (SERP). And remember, all indications suggest that Google considers engagement metrics like bounce rate as ranking signals! But even if this weren’t the case, similar outcomes would likely prevail. Websites that excel at intent marketing also tend to attract more backlinks, social shares, and other forms of engagement. It’s natural to want to share valuable tools, products, or services with friends and colleagues who often share similar interests and intentions. Clicks, links, referrals, repeat visits, and other engagement signals serve as “votes” that Google likely considers when determining SERP winners.

Moreover, consistency is key. Continuously striving to be the best response to user intent across numerous related queries is essential. This is how you establish yourself as the go-to resource in your field.

Distinguishing Between Deep and Shallow Intent

In a recent blog post titled “Revisiting ‘Navigational,’ ‘Informational,’ & ‘Transactional’ Searches in a Post-PageRank World,” Tom Anthony presented a helpful visual representation:

Google has become increasingly adept at directly answering the types of questions represented in the red box (lower right corner) - straightforward questions with static answers - directly on the SERP. It’s not worthwhile to target these simple questions with thin or superficial content, as there’s little incentive for users to click through to your website.

The upper right corner (yellow-orange) box represents the sweet spot for your organic content marketing endeavors - informational queries with deep intent. These are complex questions that require substantial effort and expertise to answer accurately and comprehensively. Exceptional content, or what we might refer to internally as “unicorn content,” provides the definitive response to the deep intent driving the query.

The Correlation Between Intent and Conversions

Naturally, the ultimate goal extends beyond rankings or even traffic. Reflecting on our blog content from 2015, I’ve identified several factors that contribute to high traffic volume and those that drive the most conversions.

Factors influencing high traffic include:

• Keyword volume: Ranking for an evergreen keyword with significant search volume naturally translates into substantial page views.
• Promotion: The extent of content promotion through channels beyond organic search (e.g., email, social media) plays a role.
• Clickability: Compelling headlines, engaging share images, and genuinely insightful analysis contribute significantly to attracting clicks.

However, when analyzing which blog posts generated the most direct conversions, one factor reigns supreme:

• Intent
• Intent
• Intent

When you can achieve all of the above for a keyword that clearly aligns with a product or service you offer, you’ve struck content marketing gold.

Key takeaways for content marketers:

• Prioritize deep-intent keywords during keyword research for content strategy development.
• Thoroughly consider the intent behind a keyword before creating content targeting it.
• Adopt a tiered content structure that caters to both content scanners and in-depth readers, as well as search engine crawlers.
• Don’t hesitate to revisit and revise content if you later realize you misjudged the intent. The web is dynamic and ever-evolving.

Google’s Algorithmic Updates: Prioritizing Searcher Intent

The new year often brings about new algorithm updates. Google recently confirmed a core algorithm update, which, surprisingly, negatively impacted several high-authority magazine domains, including The Atlantic and The New Yorker. However, the reasons behind their ranking drops become apparent when examining the specific content affected - older articles ranking for third-party brand searches:

As illustrated in this image from Searchmetrics (apologies for the low resolution), The Atlantic had pages ranking for keywords such as “Netflix” and “Pizza Hut.” It’s highly improbable that individuals searching for “Pizza Hut” are interested in reading an outdated think piece. Their intent is likely to locate the nearest store or order a pizza. By removing these results from prominent positions, Google acknowledges that intent carries more weight than domain authority.

Noah Lemas at Distilled also noted that this update specifically aims to address user intent. This explains why third-party lead generation websites also experienced ranking declines. These sites act as intermediaries between users and their desired destinations, such as car insurance providers. In essence, they create an unnecessary step, steering users away from solutions rather than towards them.

Key takeaways for SEOs:

• Don’t rely heavily on search traffic from low-intent keywords. Google is continuously improving its ability to identify and refine such results.
• Misleading users into clicking on pages that fail to meet their expectations is not a sustainable long-term strategy.

The Power of Intent in Paid Advertising

Our research consistently shows that paid ads capture approximately two-thirds of clicks on SERPs for high-intent commercial queries. Notably, Shopping ads (PLAs) dominate for e-commerce keywords because their visual nature and concise product information effectively target high-intent searchers.

The notion that people avoid clicking on search ads is a misconception. From a user’s perspective, the cost-per-click incurred by the advertiser is inconsequential. Their primary concern is finding the best coffee maker, for example. Let go of the idea that ads are inherently disliked or ineffective. Ads with emotional resonance can perform exceptionally well. In fact, two of the top ten most-viewed YouTube videos in 2015 were advertisements!

Key takeaways for advertisers leveraging intent marketing:

• As previously mentioned, intent marketing yields the best results when there’s strong evidence of user intent, such as through keyword searches. PPC excels in this area, allowing you to bid higher on high-intent keywords more likely to convert.
• Paid search and social advertising complement each other effectively. While paid search helps potential customers find your business, paid social helps your business find potential customers. Social media ads enable you to target audiences statistically more likely to exhibit your desired intent. This way, they’re already familiar with your brand when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Intent Marketing: More Straightforward Than You Think

If you’ve reached this point and think, “This all seems like a significant amount of work,” you’re approaching it from the wrong angle.

Intent marketing serves as a valuable prioritization heuristic, simplifying decision-making regarding time and budget allocation. While analyzing intent and formulating strategies might require more upfront effort, it ultimately reduces time spent targeting low-intent or irrelevant keywords and minimizes ad spend on low-intent audiences. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Embrace the power of intent and focus on what truly matters.