Search intents : maximise your conversions at every stage

Search intent: understanding and leveraging this key concept for SEO

Search intent is now the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. It refers to the real motivation that drives an internet user to enter a query into a search engine. Understanding and leveraging this concept allows you to align your content with your prospects' expectations, optimise the buying journey, and significantly increase conversion rates. Incremys, a 360° SEO SaaS platform, integrates search intent analysis at the core of its modules to help businesses maximise their visibility and digital performance. This reference guide reveals how to identify, categorise, and leverage each intent to transform your content strategy into a sustainable growth driver.

What is search intent?

Definition and importance in SEO

Search intent corresponds to the underlying reason that motivates a user to perform an online search. It is not just about keywords but about the need, question, or action the user wants to accomplish. Search engines, through artificial intelligence, aim to interpret this intent to deliver the most relevant results.

In SEO, understanding search intent is fundamental to producing content that precisely meets users' expectations. This increases visibility, attracts qualified traffic, and improves conversion rates. Businesses that neglect this analysis risk creating misaligned, underperforming content and missing opportunities to generate leads.

Differences between query intent, user intent, and intent behind a query

There are several nuances around search intent:

• Query intent: the intent inferred from the words used in the query. For example, "buy CRM software" indicates a purchase intent.
• User intent: the user's real motivation, which may sometimes differ from the query's wording. For example, "best SEO solution" may indicate an intent to compare or seek reviews.
• Intent behind a query: the contextual analysis of the query, considering the user's history, location, and behaviour.

To delve deeper into these concepts, check out our articles on query intent and user intent.

Why is it essential in an SEO strategy?

Impact on the buying journey

Whether in B2B or B2C, the buying journey is often complex and involves several stages: discovery, comparison, decision, and loyalty. Search intent plays a role at each phase and allows content to be tailored to guide the prospect throughout their journey. Content aligned with the user's intent facilitates progression through the conversion funnel and increases the likelihood of transformation.

Improving conversion rates and user experience

Precisely addressing search intent enhances the perceived relevance for the user, reduces bounce rates, and encourages engagement. A user who quickly finds the answer to their question or the solution to their need is more likely to take action. This alignment between content and intent translates into higher conversion rates and an optimised user experience.

Adapting content production to address different intents and increase efficiency

Adapting content production involves segmenting your topics based on the type of search intent detected. This means varying formats (guides, comparisons, product pages, FAQs, videos) and prioritising editorial efforts according to the stages of the buying journey. With the automation and intelligence of the Incremys platform, it becomes possible to manage this segmentation at scale and automate the creation of content tailored to each intent while measuring its impact on conversion.

The types of intents and their link to the buying journey

Informational: learning and researching

Examples and strategies to address prospects' questions

Informational intent occurs at the beginning of the buying journey. The prospect seeks to understand a topic, solve a problem, or deepen their knowledge. Queries are often phrased as questions: "What is SEO?", "How to optimise an e-commerce site?".

• Offer comprehensive guides, tutorials, in-depth articles, FAQs, and explanatory videos.
• Provide clear, structured, and educational answers to demonstrate your expertise.
• Use data, concrete examples, and in-depth analyses to reinforce credibility.

To learn more, visit our page dedicated to informational search intent.

Accurately identifying what lies behind users' queries

To understand the real expectation behind a query, analyse the SERP (Google's search results page): what types of content are highlighted (articles, videos, infographics)? Associated questions and Google suggestions also provide valuable clues. Survey or interview your target audience to validate that your content addresses their concerns. Data analysis from Google Search Console and Google Analytics, integrated into Incremys, helps identify high-potential queries and adjust content production accordingly.

Commercial: comparing options

Guiding prospects in their decision-making process

At this stage, the prospect compares available offers before making a decision. Queries include terms like "best", "comparison", "reviews on", "versus". Commercial intent is central to guiding the user in their choice and moving them closer to purchase.

• Provide detailed comparisons, benchmarks, customer review studies, and buying guides.
• Emphasise transparency, objectivity, and clarity of information to build trust.
• Facilitate the comparison of your offers against competitors.

To explore further, visit the page dedicated to commercial search intent.

Which types should you prioritise based on your marketing objectives?

Prioritise commercial and transactional intents to capture high-value traffic. Comparative content, case studies, customer reviews, and buying guides are particularly effective in guiding prospects through their decision-making process. Informational intents should be addressed to strengthen your position as an expert and attract an audience in the discovery phase, while navigational intents serve to retain and support existing customers.

Transactional: taking action

Optimising product pages and content to facilitate purchases

Transactional intent is expressed when the user is ready to act: buy, request a quote, subscribe, download a white paper. Keywords associated include "buy", "order", "price", "quote", "sign up".

• Optimise product pages with comprehensive descriptions, high-quality visuals, and demonstration videos.
• Add visible and compelling calls to action, reassurance elements (customer reviews, guarantees, transaction security).
• Ensure a smooth purchasing process and simplified forms.

To learn more, read the article on transactional search intent.

Navigational: loyalty and engagement

Enhancing the user experience for returning visitors

Navigational intent arises when the user wants to access a specific site or page directly (examples: "Incremys login", "Client dashboard"). This often indicates loyalty or the continuation of an initiated process.

• Optimise the site structure and internal links to facilitate navigation.
• Create clear landing pages for key services or products.
• Ensure strategic pages (home, contact, client area, FAQ) are well-referenced.

Discover techniques dedicated to navigational search intent to strengthen loyalty and engagement.

Adapting your SEO strategy to intents

How to accurately identify the intents behind users' queries?

Data analysis with Google Search Console and Google Analytics via Incremys

Accurate intent identification involves cross-analysing data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics, integrated and enriched within the Incremys platform. This approach enables:

• Identifying keywords generating the most clicks, impressions, and the best conversion rates.
• Automatically categorising queries by intent using Incremys' semantic AI.
• Visualising user journeys, the pages that engage them, and those where they drop off.
• Adjusting editorial strategy in real-time to meet new expectations.

Through these analyses, Incremys prioritises high-impact actions and aligns produced content with the true needs detected in your target audience.

Producing content tailored to each type

Examples of strategies for a targeted and effective approach

The success of a content strategy lies in finely adapting to each intent:

• Informational: guides, thematic dossiers, in-depth articles, FAQs, tutorial videos.
• Commercial: comparisons, benchmarks, customer review studies, buying guides, testimonials.
• Transactional: product pages, subscription pages, quote pages, conversion landing pages.
• Navigational: home pages, client areas, contact pages, login pages.

Each format should be designed to specifically address the user's intent, both in content and presentation. To explore further, visit our page on examples of search intents and their classification.

Optimising high-intent keywords

Working on high-intent keywords is essential to maximise the profitability of your SEO. This involves identifying expressions that reveal a high probability of conversion (e.g., "buy CRM software", "request a quote for marketing automation"). The Incremys platform automates this sorting and provides prioritisation recommendations based on traffic potential, competition level, and expected ROI.

Structuring content to meet user expectations

Optimal content structuring improves both search engine understanding and user satisfaction. Best practices include:

• Using a clear title hierarchy (h2, h3, h4) that reflects the logical progression of information.
• Integrating internal links between content within the same semantic universe (semantic cluster).
• Prioritising clarity, conciseness, and readability.
• Incorporating visual elements (diagrams, videos, infographics) to enhance engagement.

The Incremys methodology: a 3-step approach to capture all your traffic and reach your full online sales potential

Step 1: Prioritise transactional and commercial intents

Creating semantic clusters to capture purchase traffic

The first phase of the Incremys methodology focuses on transactional and commercial search queries. These queries are at the heart of conversion and generate high-value traffic. For each category in your e-commerce catalogue, identify the main keyword ("garden furniture") and all secondary keywords for subcategories ("2-person garden furniture", "aluminium garden furniture", "wooden garden furniture", etc.).

• Build a semantic cluster around each category, with a pillar page worked on in-depth and child pages dedicated to variations.
• The main page is written in the text editor module by a writer.
• Subcategory content is automatically generated using the automation module.

This organisation covers all purchase-related queries and optimises visibility across all market segments.

Using Incremys automation and text editor modules

The creation of this content is managed by Incremys modules, enabling the rapid production of optimised, coherent texts tailored to each intent. Automation reduces production time while ensuring editorial quality and large-scale personalisation.

Step 2: Optimise product pages to maximise conversions

Writing unique descriptions with the Incremys automation module

Once the transactional/commercial cluster is in place, the Incremys methodology recommends optimising each product page:

• Generate unique and personalised descriptions for each reference using the automation module.
• Highlight differentiating benefits, customer reviews, rich visuals, and clear calls to action.
• Optimise SEO tags (title, meta description, alt attribute).
• Ensure semantic consistency with category and subcategory pages.

This meticulous work boosts conversion and contributes to the continuous improvement of product page visibility. Find all the features on the content production page.

Step 3: Develop informational content

Improving existing texts and creating new content with predictive AI

After capturing purchase traffic, it's time to work on the upstream part of the customer journey by producing informational content:

• Use the text editor and automation modules to enrich or improve all your existing texts with one click.
• Create new content on keywords with the highest probability of visit gains, identified by Incremys predictive AI.

This step generates qualified traffic, strengthens your position as an expert, and broadens the base of prospects to convert.

Analysing SEO opportunities with Incremys modules

The platform offers an opportunity analysis module to prioritise actions based on business potential. Through automation, reports are updated in real-time to continuously adapt the strategy.

What to do for a deep understanding and to strengthen alignment between your content and your prospects' buying journey?

The key lies in perfect alignment between each encountered intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational) and the type of content offered at each stage of the funnel. Incremys provides personalised recommendations to ensure that each produced page meets a specific intent, accelerating the user's progression from one stage to the next in the buying journey.

Best practices for integrating this concept into an e-commerce strategy

Optimising keywords to maximise ROI

Keyword optimisation is a key lever for making your SEO strategy profitable. It involves:

• Segmenting keywords by intent (informational, commercial, transactional, navigational).
• Prioritising those with the highest conversion potential and business value.
• Exploiting long-tail keywords and hybrid queries to cover all user needs.

The Incremys platform automates this segmentation work and provides optimisation recommendations based on expected ROI, ensuring maximum efficiency at each stage of the funnel.

Structuring and enriching your content

Exploiting a rich and varied semantic field

High-performing content leverages an extensive semantic field around each main keyword. This involves:

• Integrating synonyms, co-occurrences, variants, and associated questions.
• Creating internal links between pages within the same universe (semantic cluster).
• Enriching content with varied formats (videos, infographics, podcasts, case studies, testimonials).

This semantic richness improves positioning on a maximum number of relevant queries and strengthens your site's credibility with search engines. For more information on structuring intents, read our page on marketing search intent.

Creating engaging content tailored to the customer journey

Each piece of content should be designed to engage the user at the precise stage of their buying journey:

• Educational blog articles for inspiration and discovery.
• Comparisons, white papers, webinars for the selection phase.
• Product pages, technical sheets, demos for conversion.
• Support pages, advanced FAQs, resources for loyalty.

Content personalisation, enabled by Incremys AI, increases engagement and encourages the transformation of visitors into customers.

Case studies: client successes with Incremys

Client testimonial: Accor and large-scale content production

The Accor group entrusted Incremys with SEO content production for several hundred international sites. Thanks to automation and AI, Accor was able to generate unique, localised, and optimised descriptions for each establishment while maintaining brand consistency. This project significantly increased organic visibility and strengthened the group's digital presence in highly competitive markets.

Client testimonial: Maison Berger Paris and the impact on visibility

Maison Berger Paris used the Incremys platform to optimise its content strategy and strengthen its positioning on key queries with high transactional and commercial intent. Through editorial automation, the company improved the quality and quantity of its produced content in record time, generating a notable increase in qualified traffic and conversions.

Client testimonial: La Martiniquaise Bardinet and personalisation through AI

La Martiniquaise Bardinet turned to Incremys to personalise its content at scale while respecting the DNA of each of its brands. Using AI, unique texts were generated for each product, tailored to the local target audience and optimised for SEO. This approach saved valuable time while ensuring impeccable editorial quality.

Frequently asked questions

How can you align your content with user expectations?

Alignment involves a deep understanding of needs at each stage of the buying journey and adapting content to the intent of each query. This includes analysing the SERP, using behavioural data integrated into Incremys, involving your sales and marketing teams to identify frequent customer questions. Semantic clustering and semantic enrichment are two major levers for covering all detected expectations.

Which types should you prioritise based on your objectives?

The choice depends on the funnel stage you want to target. To generate traffic and raise awareness (TOFU), prioritise informational content. To convert (MOFU/BOFU), focus on transactional and commercial content. Navigational intents are strategic for retaining and supporting existing customers.

How does a strategy based on this concept improve your SEO performance?

A strategy that finely integrates intent analysis generates more qualified traffic, responds more precisely to user needs, reduces bounce rates, and increases conversions. It also positions you as an expert in your field, anticipates SERP changes, and strengthens customer loyalty.

How can you accurately identify what lies behind your users' queries to maximise the effectiveness of your content strategy?

Combine SERP analysis, data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics (via Incremys), active listening to customers, and AI for automatic query categorisation. This holistic approach detects weak signals and adjusts content production in real-time.

Resources for further exploration

Incremys modules to optimise your SEO strategy

360° SEO SaaS solution

Centralise all stages of your SEO strategy, from audit tocontent production, with an all-in-one platform integrating AI, data, and automation.

Content production

Automate the creation of SEO content, guides, product descriptions, category pages, and blog articles while ensuring editorial quality and large-scale personalisation.

Predictive AI

Identify high-potential keywords, prioritise your actions, and anticipate market trends with unique predictive artificial intelligence.

Opportunity analysis

Identify the most profitable market segments, measure the performance of your actions, and continuously optimise your editorial strategy.

Videos to deepen your knowledge

SEO content strategy using AI

Large-scale content creation through automation

Client testimonial: Maison Berger Paris

Client testimonial: La Martiniquaise Bardinet

Understanding LLMs and their usage

Content creation by humans vs generative AI

Digital transformation through generative AI

For regular and in-depth updates on natural referencing trends, also explore the webmarketing, SEO, content strategy, and automation blog by Incremys.com.

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