So far, we assess all the keywords the same……only as a “word”. This is not the case. We must assess the keyword according to intents from the seeker. Not all keywords have the same value.
There are keywords that many people are looking for, but are completely useless. There are also keywords that have little volume but high value. In this chapter, we will learn to evaluate keywords based on search intent.
Example…
…there are people doing searches on Google with the following keywords:
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- “asus laptops”
- “buy asus laptops”
- “best asus laptop under 5 million”
What search results do they want for each of these keywords?
Try to imagine.
Naturally like this (numbered in order above):
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- Want to know the type of laptop from the official ASUS website
- Want to buy an ASUS laptop
- Want to find posts suggestions of ASUS laptops by price
Reasonable right? By recognizing this intent, we can imagine what content the searcher is expecting. This is how Google works.
Google understands that people who use the keyword “buy an asus laptop” will want to buy, and therefore the product page of the online shop will get a top ranking.
While the post content may not be able to receive page 1 for these keywords. What about the first keyword (“asus laptop”)? Google understands that users need official/trusted information. Therefore, it will be very difficult for new websites to compete on these keywords.
That’s search intent.
More details, we can divide search intent into 4 classifications.
Search intent #1 – Informational
As the name suggests, people who use informational keywords definitely need information quickly.
For example:
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- “tempeh calories”
- “Who was the first president of Indonesia?”
- “the value of the american dollar today”
- “how to create a blog”
- “signs of scarlet fever”
Therefore, the content we provide must be in the form of information. Informational intent is a keyword that has the most volume compared to other intents. Because of this, many websites containing information are scattered on the internet.
But there is something to observe.
Google understands that users want to get information fast. So sometimes for informational keywords, Google has shown exclusive answers.
Like this:
This is the name quick answer box .
Because of this feature from Google, people who search on Google don’t need to visit any website. In English keywords, a quick answer box like this will make the number of visitors drop dramatically compared to before. In Indonesia it is still rare now, but in the future it will be more frequent.
So, choose keywords carefully.
Even though the volume is high, it is not certain that it will be able to show many visitors.
Search intent #2 – Navigational
This type of keyword generally has a large volume, but there are no benefits. Usually the reason is that the searcher wants to immediately visit a website when carrying out a search, therefore other websites will not get visitors.
For example:
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- “Garuda Indonesia”
- “chassis lounge”
- “facebook login”
Those who write down these keywords definitely want to go directly to the official website, they only use Google as a means of ‘passing through’.
So, avoid this keyword.
Search intent #3 – Commercial Investigation
When we are going to shop for a product, especially one with a high price, we usually don’t just buy it right away. We will search on Google first. We will read it first so we know exactly which one is the best, where to buy it, at what price, whether there is a promo or not.
This is the keyword commercial investigation. Keywords that we use when we want to learn about a particular product/service before buying.
Example:
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- “Android cellphones under 5 million”
- “canon d330 camera price”
- “english course area in bandung”
- “the best web hosting in Indonesia”
This third type of keyword has the potential to generate buyers.
Even though they may not want to buy an exclusive right away, at least they have thought about it. Our job is to convince them. If you want to sell products/services, look for as many commercial investigation keywords that relate to your business. Then prepare quality content and be on target.
Search intent #4 – Transactional
This is the highest level. People who search on Google using transactional keywords mean they are ready to buy a product/service.
Example:
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- “buy batik clothes online”
- “sell nike futsal shoes”
- “cheap used iphones”
If you sell products or services, you must have these keywords. Even though the search volume is small, the conversion rate is huge. Compared to informational keywords, large volume but small conversions.
But unfortunately, keyword competition like this is really heavy…
…especially if you sell popular products. Usually there are giant e-commerce sites like Lazada, MatahariMall, Zalora, etc.
The new website will have a hard time beating these giants. For that reason, next we will discuss what strategy you should work on.
Understanding keyword tactics
We have studied 4 types of keywords. There are those whose volumes are large but the value is small (informational), there are also those whose volume is small but the value is large (transactional).
Then which keywords do we use?
Before that, I need to tell you 1 of the most common mistakes in SEO and online marketing in general: Too focused on transactional keywords. That is, all the content on their website pages only targets keywords that are transactional in nature. Other keywords are ignored.
Don’t do it like that.
As a result:
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- Website visitors do not get satisfactory information
- Your website looks suspicious/untrusted
- It’s hard to get a high ranking because the content is thin
Therefore, you must have 3 types of keywords: informational, commercial investigation, and transactional.
The amount?
Depends.
If you are able to create a lot of content, then informational should be more than commercial investigation and transactional. If you can’t, then there will be more commercial investigations.
Most importantly, observe these 2 things:
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- Don’t create too much content with transactional keywords. Focus on quality, not quantity
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- Informational keywords must still relate to the type of product being sold
