If you’ve ever wondered why your website isn't getting found online, or why it gets traffic but no conversions, chances are it has something to do with how search engines understand your website. That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in — but under the SEO umbrella, one important concept ties messaging, design, and visibility together: search intent.
Understanding search intent is more than just a technical exercise. It’s about getting into the mindset of your potential customers, anticipating their needs, and positioning your brand to deliver the right answer at the right moment. This topic frequently comes up in my work as I guide clients through not just designing their websites, but aligning their entire digital strategy to how people actually search and think online.
Let’s unpack what search intent really is, how it works, and why your business might be missing the mark without even realizing it.
Search intent (sometimes called “user intent”) is the why behind a person’s search query. It's the motivation that drives someone to type something into Google, Bing, or wherever they search. Are they looking to buy something? Learn how something works? Compare services? Each intention demands a different response from your website, both in terms of content and structure.
Understanding which type of search intent you're targeting helps guide how you write copy, structure landing pages, and even title your blog posts.
One client I worked with — a family-run HVAC company — had their homepage optimized around the keyword “best HVAC systems.” But that’s an upper-funnel informational search, not a transactional one. They weren't selling HVAC systems online; they were offering installation and repair. We shifted their keyword strategy to focus more on “HVAC installation Franklin TN” and “AC repair near me.” Their inquiries doubled within months because we stopped answering questions they couldn’t satisfy and leaned into the ones they could.
There’s a disconnect I see often between how a website looks and what it communicates. Businesses sometimes want sleek design with punchy headlines or abstract slogans, without realizing that people who land on their site might not know what the business even does yet.
This is where understanding intent matters. If the primary traffic coming to your site is from transactional or investigative searches, your homepage needs to answer basic questions quickly: what you do, who you serve, what the next step is. If people instead land on your blog from an informational search, the article needs to feel educational—with gentle guidance toward becoming a client down the road.
I once helped a boutique interior designer based in Nashville revamp her Squarespace website. Her previous homepage led with a poetic line: “Where your space meets your soul.” Beautiful, but that kind of messaging works best for returning visitors. For someone who found her via Google searching “interior designers near Nashville,” it created uncertainty.
We added a simple header right below that line: “Award-winning residential interior design in Nashville & Franklin.” Bounce rate dropped by nearly 40% in three months because newcomers knew immediately they were in the right place. Design stayed beautiful, now paired with clarity that matched intent.
Most business websites serve multiple purposes, which means your website likely serves multiple intents. The trick is recognizing which pages should match which kinds of intent, and designing from there.
These typically include blog posts, FAQs, and resource libraries. Aim to educate. Think “value-first” content with no hard sells.
Example: I wrote an article for a Webflow-focused client titled “How Webflow Compares to WordPress: Pros, Cons, and Use Cases.” The search intent was clearly investigative or informational. But by ending the piece with a case study on how they transitioned a client from WordPress to Webflow, we naturally captured leads who weren’t just curious — they were almost ready to make a change.
These are your service pages, booking forms, pricing breakdowns. Visitors with transactional intent don’t need hand-holding. They need quick answers. Your design should support clarity and urgency.
This is where brand consistency matters. People with navigational intent already know (or think they know) what they’re looking for. Make sure your navigation is lean and frictionless.
Google’s algorithms have grown smarter over the years. They don’t just look at keywords anymore — they try to interpret the intent behind those keywords. This is powered by machine learning systems like RankBrain and BERT. These systems analyze patterns between queries and behavior to determine what kind of result will satisfy the user.
Say you search: “best treadmill for small apartments.” Google doesn’t just look for pages with that exact phrase. It looks for:
Websites that keyword-stuffed without matching true intent don’t get the top spots. In fact, research from Moz shows that pages offering the best user satisfaction — which includes intent alignment — perform better long-term than those simply optimized for keywords.
Local service providers (which includes many of my clients here in Franklin, TN) often miss the opportunity to tailor content to location-specific intent.
If someone searches “Franklin TN web designer,” they’re not looking for general theory, they’re likely ready to reach out. I’ve seen local sites rank better when we add intent signals like neighborhood names, reviews from local clients, and even driving directions.
I worked briefly with a restaurant that wanted their homepage to “rank for takeout near me.” But they only offered dine-in. Every bounce from someone looking for delivery hurt their engagement signals, which told Google they weren’t a good match. Fixing that meant being honest in their content — “We focus on an intimate in-restaurant experience, not delivery” — and redirecting their SEO strategy around “best date night spots in Franklin.” That one repositioning earned them more visibility with the right audience.
Understanding intent doesn’t have to be a guessing game. There are tools that help you reverse engineer it from actual data.
Start by checking what queries are already bringing traffic to your site. Go to the “Performance” report and look at “Queries.” For each one, ask yourself: What was this user probably trying to accomplish?
Both platforms now offer intent classification in their keyword research tools. They’ll label keywords as having “informational,” “navigational,” or “transactional” intent. This can guide what kinds of content you should be creating next.
Google’s little dropdown questions give you real-time windows into informational intent. Write content that answers those questions thoroughly, maybe even developing an entire blog post around one if it’s trending.
In my work as a Webflow designer, every site I build starts with a conversation that goes beyond aesthetics. I ask clients: what are your customers Googling? What are they trying to solve? The more specific we get here, the better the outcome.
If you build your homepage assuming visitors already trust you, but they’ve never heard of you, you risk losing people. Instead, stack your content like this:
This kind of hierarchy works for layered intent signals. Some people land on your homepage unsure. Others are ready to act. Make room for both.
Search intent is the brain behind every successful digital experience. When we ignore it, we risk wasting time, money, and consumer trust. But when we build around it — with our websites, content, and messaging — we create alignment that feels natural for the user and profitable for the business.
I’ve seen clients go from “I don’t even know why we have a website” to “We’re getting weekly leads now” by shifting how they think about SEO. Not as a checklist, but as a process of deeply understanding their audience’s questions — and answering them before anyone else can.
Driven by empathy and logic, honestly, it’s a lot like therapy. But for your marketing.
If there's one takeaway here, it's this: Don't just optimize your site for traffic. Optimize it for the right kind of traffic, coming from the right intent. That’s where the real wins happen.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
