How to Write Engaging Content According to User Intent

You’re probably wondering why your content isn’t ranking on Google despite writing content that aligns with your target audience. Well, the truth is, the days of creating content focusing only on keyword usage and readability are far gone. The way we search for information has evolved over the years, and Google is now focused more on how we ask specific questions—or, in other words, user intent.

Google aims to improve the quality of what we search online by showing content that people find genuinely useful. The whole idea behind this is to eliminate content that feels like it was made just to perform well on search. So, in order to achieve this, Google urges you to write engaging content according to user intent.

This write-up will help you understand how people search on the internet and how to write engaging content according to the user intent so you can focus your site’s content based on that. Read on!

What Does Engaging Content Mean?

Simply put, engaging content refers to the content that captures your attention and entices you to take some kind of action. It offers something that’s seemingly new but relatable in some way.

This could be a new perspective, something helpful, or bits of knowledge. Ideally, engaging content must be relevant to the target audience the moment they come across it.

Here are some tips to help you boost the appeal of your content:

1.    Using Catchy Headlines

Using exciting headlines is among the best ways to improve the appeal of your content. Catchy headlines coupled with hot topics help grab your audience’s attention and entice them to consume more.

2.    Tell Good Stories in Your Content

Still, on the subject of hot topics, a piece of engaging content should start and end with a good story. Good stories are memorable.

3.    Provide Value to the Reader

Last but not least, engaging content must provide value to the reader. That’s where user intent comes into play when creating and sharing content.

You see, great content does not necessarily have to be elaborate all the time. It simply needs to be genuinely valuable.

Why is Engaging Content Important?

To begin with, engaging content helps cultivate meaningful relationships with your audience. The moment you start giving customers something interesting, evoking an emotional response, you’re on your way to building meaningful relationships with them. You’ll find that they’re liking and sharing your content more, which translates to more exposure for your business.

Engaging content can also help enhance your brand’s awareness and reputation. It’s what the majority of your target audience will remember long after clicking away. That means content is a very powerful tool when it comes to building brand reputation in your SEO campaign management.

Lastly, engaging content will help you drive leads and website traffic. You can view it as a sustainable way to generate leads without breaking the bank. Essentially, it helps you build trust with prospects and encourages them to do business with you.

What is User Intent?

User intent refers to the objective you have in mind when feeding your query on search engines like Google. Search intent drives relevant search results and improves the overall experience of users.

In order to discover user intent, below are some of the resources you can rely on:

1.    People Also Ask (PAA) Section

The People Also Ask section usually appears the moment you finish performing a search query on Google. It provides top questions about the topic you’ve searched, allowing you to dig deeper into the related question.

2.    Searches Related To

This feature appears at the bottom of the search engine results page (SERP). It provides more insights about user intent on the related topics or terms that you’re searching for.

3.    Answer the Public

Answer the Public is a keyword research and content planning tool that gives you insight into what people in your industry are searching for on Google. That is the who, when, what, and how questions.

4.    Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console is a free tool designed to help you monitor your website’s performance. It provides valuable insights such as clicks, impressions, indexations, links, and manual actions. With that information, you can align your content with user intent to improve your organic search rankings.

5.    Social Listening Tools

Social listening tools help you monitor online conversations, allowing you to discover what topics within your industry are of interest to your target audience. Once you tap into such conversations, you’re on your way to creating content that the target audience resonates with.

What are the Types of User Intent?

Here are the different types of user intent:

• Informational intent: As the name suggests, visitors with informational intent are looking for more information on a specific topic. At this point, the user wants to solve a problem. Informational search intent is usually question-based— i.e. how, where, when, who, and what. At this stage, the user is already somewhat familiar with what they’re looking for and is trying to better understand more details.
• Navigational intent: This is the point in the buyer’s journey where users are looking for a specific page, resource, or website. It’s also known as the “Go queries”, and brings users to your online sales funnel by giving them the information they need.
• Transactional intent: At this stage, the user is looking to make a purchase. They have the motivation to complete a transaction since they’re already interested in what you have to offer.

How can User Intent Improve Conversion Rate? 

One of the best ways to use user intent to improve conversion rate is to align your content with what visitors are actively seeking. In most cases, a user’s journey changes throughout the sales funnel. The key stages of a sales funnel are:

1. Awareness: The user is aware of the problem they want to solve.
2. Interest: The user is actively searching for a solution to their problem.
3. Decision: The user is ready to make a purchase.
4. Retention: The user has completed a purchase and is now looking for ongoing value or support.

With the above information, it’s easier to apply user intent to your content strategy and improve your conversion rate. This is because you’ll be aware of the type of content to deliver to the user based on their position in the sales funnel.

The trick is to find out where your content is failing to provide the right answers to the target audience. You can use Google Analytics to evaluate the top-performing keywords that lead to information about your website’s content.

For instance, when selling something, ensure the keywords you use are transactional. Such keywords include words like buy, order, discount, etc.

So, if you want to help the reader learn about a certain topic, ensure your keywords are informational or navigational.

Why Should You Write Content Following User Intent?

Back in the day, we would go through several pages of search results to find specific information. Nowadays, users rarely go beyond two pages to find what they’re looking for because it’s placed on Google’s first page as a result of user intent.

In that case, including user intent in your strategy will see you reap the following benefits:

• Increased SEO rankings: Google prioritizes content that is relevant to search queries. So, if your content aligns with user intent (what users are actively looking for), Google will perceive your website as a trusted source of information, increasing your site’s authority and organic traffic.
• Boosted awareness: Once your brand’s SEO rankings improve, you’ll increase awareness among users.
• Improved website traffic: Creating content according to search intent makes you more relevant among users. As a result, your website starts getting organic traffic.
• Increased revenue: When a website is posting quality, relevant content, people will choose you over your competitors.

Tips to Writing Engaging Content According to User Intent

It can be very frustrating to click a link that takes you to completely unrelated content to what you’re looking for. Below are the best practices for crafting content that matches user intent:

1.    Creating Content Based on Informational Intent

At this stage, the user is looking for more information on a specific topic. So, ensure you focus on providing relevant and valuable information. This includes detailed blog posts, how-to guides, and step-by-step tutorials.

This is the stage where you double down on providing honest, expert information with the goal of answering common queries in your industry. At the end of each piece of content, you can add a call to action, such as find more, learn more, or discover more, to introduce users to your products, services, or brand.

Remember, you shouldn’t be too salesy when targeting users at this stage because it can turn them off. Simply focus on showing them why they should care about what you’re sharing.

Ideally, you want to be very specific and, at the same time, include as much information as possible. A minimum of 1000-1500 for a blog post is enough to cover all the essential details in a given topic.

Also, remember to link to other relevant sources. It gives your visitors the opportunity to explore more helpful information.

2.    Creating Content Based on Navigational Intent

When creating content for navigational purposes, focus on making your website easy to navigate in order to help the user find what they’re looking for.

At this stage, the user is looking for a specific resource, page, or website, making it the ideal stage to bring high-value traffic to your website.

Organize content to make it accessible. For instance, if it’s a search bar, you can place it at the top right-hand corner. If it’s the contact information, you can place it at the footer or in the menu.

Organizing content helps eliminate confusion. You can rely on tools like HotJar to help you know if visitors are getting lost along the way. Such tools help you make informed, data-driven decisions where users are getting lost.

3.    Creating Content Based on Transactional Intent

At this stage, the user is motivated to make a purchase. This is the right time to shift from informing to harder selling.

However, don’t try to push products on them. Instead, focus on answering the questions that may be getting in their way of making a purchase.

This is where you create content that emphasizes the strengths of your products.

Since the target user is at the end of the sales funnel and is likely to be converted into buyers, try addressing the following queries:

• What is included in your service package
• Cost comparison of your packages
• Cost tiers of your services

4.    Optimize Meta Descriptions and Title Tags

A meta description is the brief summary or the little snippet of information that appears below the title in search results. It helps the visitor understand what the page is about.

The good news is that Google expanded how much can fit in the meta description. As a result, you can now write up to 300 characters in your meta descriptions as opposed to the previous maximum of 160 characters.

That said, ensure you fit all the information necessary to reach the target audience. This is where you’d focus on showing the user you understand what they are looking for.

When it comes to titles, ensure you write relevant titles. Ideally, your titles should be eye-catching and clearly address the search intent.

It’s worth noting that the title might be slightly different from the tags for the sake of matching user intent. Therefore, you can include physical stores or locations in your title tags to attract specific customers. Don’t click bait. Ensure your titles deliver what they promise.

Conclusion

User intent is a sustainable marketing strategy that can bolster your SEO and boost your revenue. For the most part, high-quality content that matches your users’ intent hinges on the best SEO practices. So, it’ll take time, research, and effort to optimize your content for use intent. But in the end, it’ll be worth all the time and effort you put in when you start building stronger connections with customers.

Contact our SEO expert to find out more about our approach regarding SEO and content marketing strategy, including content analysis, user behavior, and demographics. You can also get in touch with us via Facebook, X (Twitter), or LinkedIn.