“SEO” is one of those acronyms that tends to either excite or exhaust people. If you're a business owner, you've probably heard it pitched to you at some point—with promises of first-page rankings, web traffic goldmines, and endless leads. But unless you live in the digital trenches every day, SEO can feel like some mystical art: confusing, cluttered, and honestly, like a bunch of guesswork. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. SEO, especially for local businesses, is less about gaming Google and more about creating clarity—for both humans and search engines.
In this post, we’re going to unpack one of SEO’s most critical (and often misunderstood) elements: search intent. Or more plainly, understanding why someone is searching for something—and how your business can show up with exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.
This topic matters whether you're building your website in Webflow (which I do love), WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. It affects businesses of all types, from the local bakery down the street to a niche B2B software startup. And at the heart of it all is this simple truth: Google's ultimate goal is to serve the best possible answer to the searcher. That means your website—and your content—needs to be the best answer. Let's dive into what that really looks like in practice.
Search intent refers to the underlying motivation someone has when they type a query into Google. Before designing anything—from a homepage layout to a FAQ section—it's mission-critical to understand this. Because algorithms aside, if you're not serving search intent, you're missing the whole point of SEO.
There are four main categories of search intent:
If you're wondering what this looks like in real life, let's say you run a boutique fitness studio in Franklin. Someone googling "HIIT workouts benefits" is expressing informational intent. Somebody searching "best fitness studios in Franklin TN" is doing a commercial investigation. But if they type in "Zach Sean Fitness Franklin class schedule," they’re exhibiting navigational intent and likely ready to act.
Understanding intent lets you design experiences and content that fit where someone is in their journey. Just like you wouldn't propose on a first date, you wouldn't pitch your pricing or ask for a form fill when someone is still gathering information.
I've seen beautifully designed websites fail to rank, convert, or engage—and often, it isn't a technical issue. It's an intent issue. Many businesses create content or design pages solely based on what they want the user to do, rather than what the user is trying to accomplish.
Here’s a quick example. A custom cabinet maker in Tennessee had a picture-perfect homepage. It opened with a dramatic call to action: “Become the Envy of Your Neighborhood – Book Your Free Design Call Now.” Bold, maybe even a little sexy. The problem? Most of her traffic came from people searching "best wood for custom cabinets" or “cost to build custom cabinets.” These were people in research mode—not ready to hop on a call. They bounced straight off the site.
This disconnect doesn't just affect rankings, it affects conversion, trust, and ultimately your revenue. You're showing up at the wrong time with the wrong message—no matter how slick your site looks.
So instead of optimizing for keywords alone, optimize for the intent those keywords represent.
One way I guide clients through SEO is by mapping website content to buyer stages—not just generic marketing funnels, but real emotional states people are in. Think less about “cold vs warm traffic,” and more about “confused vs ready buyers.”
Examples: Queries like “how much does a small business website cost?” or “what is SEO for local businesses?”
If you’re targeting informational intent, you need:
One local law firm I've worked with launched a mini-blog series breaking down common legal myths specific to Tennessee law. Not only did that content rank high for terms with informational intent like “is verbal contract binding in TN,” it built trust. The result? A 36% uptick in consultations over the next three months.
Examples: “Best web designers in Franklin,” or “Squarespace vs WordPress for small business.”
Here’s where content like comparison pages, pricing breakdowns, and testimonials shine. You want to help visitors decide—not just about the type of solution, but why they should choose you.
At Zach Sean Web Design, I created a transparent visual comparison of Webflow, WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace—ranking them by flexibility, cost, ease of use, scalability, and SEO potential. While I’m partial to Webflow, I didn’t fudge the numbers. What mattered was building trust through honest education. Clients frequently reference that page during discovery calls.
Examples: “Schedule web design consultation Franklin” or “buy business website package.”
These pages are action-oriented. Think services pages, contact pages, pricing tables, booking tools. But again, alignment is everything.
One client—a med spa—had a gorgeous website, but hid their “Book Now” function three pages deep. Once we moved it front and center with clearer language (and made it mobile-optimized), booking conversions jumped by 48% in six weeks.
Often when people think keyword research, they think “what has the most searches.” But savvy SEO work reverses this equation: “What searches fit what I offer, and what is the person behind this search really trying to do?”
But more than tools, it's about common sense. Ask yourself: “What would I be feeling or trying to solve if I typed in this search?”
If the answer leads you to confusion, doubt, curiosity, urgency, or frustration—tailor your content to resolve those states. That’s more powerful than any keyword ratio you can calculate.
A restaurant group in Nashville came to me after their new site was tanking in search results. They had great reviews, strong local presence, but weren’t appearing for “best brunch Nashville” or “private dining Music City.”
Here’s what the diagnosis revealed:
After reworking their site to match search intent from Google’s perspective, we saw a 214% increase in organic sessions over 12 weeks. And bookings went up—even on weekdays.
This wasn’t from hacking Google. It was from listening to what people really wanted—and answering them with relevance and empathy.
As a web designer in Franklin, I’ve had to walk this walk myself. Most of my clients aren’t searching for me by name. They’re searching “Franklin web designer” or “affordable websites for small businesses near me.”
To capture these searches, you’ve got to think hybrid: intent + location.
Adding actual location cues—photos, testimonials mentioning nearby spots like Westhaven or The Factory, embedded maps—helps Google and users alike know you’re not just generic, you’re here.
And real-world proof? After I added localized schema markup, structured content, and photo captions tailored to Franklin language, my own rankings for local terms jumped significantly, despite stiff competition. Not by luck—by precise alignment of intention and deliverables.
Let’s finish this off with a few repeat offenses I see regularly. If any of these sound familiar… don’t stress. Every one of them is fixable.
Ranking for a high-volume keyword doesn’t matter if the people behind those searches don’t convert. Focus on quality traffic, not volume.
If someone is browsing, educate. Don’t hit them with “Buy Now” if they haven’t even decided what they need yet.
“Our Services” is not an intent-optimized title. Neither is “About Us” with three vague paragraphs. Get specific. Get useful. Get real.
When someone searches on Google, they’re expressing need. Sometimes that need is urgent, sometimes casual, sometimes curious. Your role—whether you're a dentist, a wedding photographer, or a web designer—is to stand at that digital intersection with clarity, care, and the right offer at the right moment.
Search intent isn’t just about rankings. It’s about understanding the psychology of your audience. It’s empathy at scale.
As someone who’s worked with a range of clients—from established brands to startups still figuring out their elevator pitch—I see search intent as a truth-teller. When your website speaks to your client’s head and heart, search engines will reward you. But more importantly, your users will trust you.
If you're designing a new site or optimizing an old one, ask yourself at every turn: “Who is this for? What do they want right now? Can we guide them—or are we blocking them?”
Get it right, and your website stops being a billboard and starts becoming a bridge.
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