Why search intent optimization beats keyword optimization

Have you heard that you should optimize for search intent in your SEO content instead of keywords?

If so, it’s sound advice.

And if you’ve talked with anyone on our Clearscope team, you know we’re all about optimizing for search intent instead of keywords.

(In fact, Clearscope is a content-first SEO tool built to do just that.)

However, in our conversations with SEO pros and content marketers across the globe, these two separate concepts can get a bit tangled up.

So let’s discuss.

What's the difference between optimizing for search intent vs. optimizing for keywords?

Here are the high notes:

• SEO keyword optimization targets specific terms to improve search engine ranking. This is the classic way of thinking about SEO strategy. And for those who don’t have much experience in search engine optimization or have been relying on classic or outdated content strategy practices, this is what many people assume SEO and content strategists do—simply optimize for keywords in content.

• Search intent optimization goes beyond keywords to ensure that the content produced aligns with the broader goals and motivations of users performing those searches. This is the kind of content creation that search engines reward. SEO is no longer a game of keywords, but of high-quality, thoughtfully developed content that provides an excellent user experience.

We'll dig a bit deeper below—but first, I’ll show you how this concept works with Clearscope specifically.

Clearscope is designed to optimize for search intent—here’s how:

This is going to be… a little detailed. But stick with me here.

You may have heard about Clearscope’s industry-famous Content Reports and Content Grade system.

But Clearscope is not a “keyword-stuffing tool” or a generic “push button” AI-generated SEO content optimizer—and this is often easily misunderstood.

Our technology works best when you’re running Clearscope Content Reports for super-specific search intents instead of basic, targeted keywords.

If you’re a current customer and you’re only using Clearcope Reports to optimize for basic keywords instead of deeper or more specific search intents, it’s like having a Ferrari and keeping it parked in the driveway, never taking it out on the open road.

In other words, that would be silly… ridiculous even.

If you have access to a powerfully engineered machine (like a Ferrari), you should use it to its full potential.

Here’s an example using an article I wrote recently for the Clearscope blog:

Do I want this article to show up in the top 3 for [AI assisted content] or [AI generated content]?

Sure. In theory, that would be great.

But I’m actually targeting a more specific search intent in this piece—and I need to let the Clearscope tool know that accordingly.

I want people to find the above article when they’re struggling with the concepts of AI assisted vs AI generated content and knowing which one is better for SEO.

So I let the Clearscope Report tool know.

While I want to rank for keywords like [AI assisted content] or [AI generated content], the person who I want to find this article actually wants to know what is the difference between the two concepts.

Not only do I use the exact pain point and search intent that I’m targeting to build the Clearscope report, but it’s also the specific intent I’ll want to monitor this page for in my Clearscope Content Inventory.

As the Content Report runs, Clearscope is analyzing the top 30 ranking pages in Google’s search results for the query I’m targeting along with the location or language I’m optimizing for.

It uses three—not one, but three!—of the top large language models (LLMs) to create the best recommendations possible to best meet the search intent and compete with other pages that appear in the SERP.

And traditional SEO tools that focus on keywords or AI-generated, “push-button” SEO don’t do this well—if at all.

We’d argue that Google has the most data for understanding search intent, which is why Google SERPs can change regularly for the same query.

Google is always aiming to provide better results that more accurately meet actual search intent.

And that’s why our tool analyzes—in real time—your target search query, and then:

• Builds a report to guide you to sharply meet search intent

• Grades your content to illustrate how well Google might read your content as meeting search intent

• Monitors your content and it’s targeted query intents via Google Search Console data and real Google SERPs; that way, you can quickly refresh and rework content if user intent changes

Want to see how Clearscope works for yourself? Schedule a demo.

Monitored queries: How you keep track of meeting search intent with Clearscope

Let’s go back to that article I’m using as an example: What is the difference between AI-assisted and AI-generated content?

To make sure this page is always well-optimized for meeting the target search intent, I need to pair it with a Monitored Query that is the search intent I’m targeting.

In this case, I’ll monitor this particular page in my Clearscope Content Inventory for [ai assisted vs ai generated] and [ai generated vs ai assisted].

That may sound intuitive, but what we often see is a Clearscope user adding Monitored Queries like the following:

• [AI generated content]

• [AI content]

• [AI content generation tools]

• [AI generated content definition]

• [Is AI good to use for SEO?]

These queries are related to the topic at hand, but they aren’t the specific intent or topic I’m targeting in my article.

• I don’t want to be alerted if my article no longer meets the search intent for [AI content] or [AI generated content].

• I do want to be alerted if my page no longer meets the user intent for [ai generated vs ai assisted content], so that’s the query I need to monitor.

And if I monitor that particular article page in Clearscope for a query or SEO keyword that does not sharply meet the intent of the article page content, I’m not going to get accurate notifications if it experiences content decay for the original intent I targeted.

If you need more convincing, here’s a deeper look at why optimizing your content for search intent (and then monitoring it’s performance for that intent) vs. monitoring for basic or generic SEO keywords is important.

Optimizing for search intent: It’s more than focusing on relevant keywords

Optimizing for search intent involves aligning your content with the underlying motivation behind a user's search query.

It focuses on understanding what the user is looking to achieve or find when they enter a specific search term into a search engine.

To optimize for intent effectively, you must craft content that directly addresses the user's needs, whether they're seeking information, looking to make a purchase, or trying to find a specific website or product.

And as a content strategist or SEO pro, you should create relevant content or a webpage that fulfills what the user is looking for:

• Are they seeking visual aids, like photos and videos?

• Is the searcher looking to make an immediate purchase and would prefer scrolling through e-commerce product pages?

• Will your target user expect a how-to article or step-by-step guide?

On the other hand, optimizing for keywords involves identifying specific words or phrases that users are likely to enter into the search bar of a search engine.

Optimizing for SEO keywords focuses on incorporating these phrases strategically into your content to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Does optimizing for intent eliminate the need to consider incorporating relevant phrases into your body copy of landing pages and headings?

Nope.

But it does involve thinking differently about SEO keywords and phrases that you’re optimizing for.

For example:

Instead of simply optimizing for [search intent] via incorporating keywords and phrases you’ve analyzed from competing content, you’ll want to pay attention to what kind of content Google serves searchers.

In this case, we see plenty of fundamental “What is search intent” guides.

But if you look again at the top of the SERP, you’ll see Google itself is attempting to narrow down the user’s intent to provide better results.

Search engines recognize there are different types of search intent behind a quick search using these specific keywords.

If you drill down a bit more and optimize for specific search intents around a more specific query and incorporate new perspectives, you’ll create content that is more likely to:

• Provide a good user experience

• Sharply meet user needs, and

• Be prioritized by Google

Reasons to optimize for intent vs. keywords

Feel free to skip ahead if you’re already bought-in to the concept of optimizing for user intent instead of simply targeting SEO keywords.

But if you’re skeptical, here are my top 3 reasons you should make the switch:

1. Optimizing for search intent is good UX

2. It’s likely you’ll decrease your bounce rate while increasing engagement rates

3. Search engines optimize for intent—and so should you

Let’s look at each of these reasons below.

1. Optimizing for search intent vs. SEO keywords is good UX

Have you ever clicked on a result, thinking it would solve your issue or answer your question—and then were met with 3K words about the entire history of the topic you were searching for?

And then you’re left digging around through content to find what you need?

That’s no good.

Sharply optimizing for user search intent—rather than crafting content that targets as many SEO keywords or the highest keyword search volumes as possible—is a better user experience for all (including your writers).

Focusing on the search intent of your potential customers is a smart marketing strategy that enhances the user experience throughout their journey. This approach can be applied across various marketing channels, including social media, specific product pages, and even YouTube tutorials.

LEARN MORE: Why is search intent important? It's your key to boosting rankings, leads, and conversions—that’s why. Check out What is user intent? for further guidance.

2. Optimizing for search intent vs. SEO keywords can reduce bounce rates

Engagement and bounce rate are important metrics you’ll want to keep an eye on for top digital marketing performance.

Bounce rate is defined as when a percentage of visitors leave a webpage without taking action, or “bouncing” off your page back to the search results pages. Google doesn’t want to see users “pogo-sticking” around to find the best search results for their queries.

This means that users shouldn’t land on a page and then have to backtrack and perform additional online search queries related to the subject.

When this happens, it reveals to Google that your page did not satisfy the original user intent—which could lessen your chances of ranking well and harm your organic traffic growth potential.

Therefore, you should work hard to eliminate your target audience’s need to bounce by closely fulfilling search intent in the content you provide.

• If your target user is performing an informational search, then provide high-quality educational content.

• If your ideal customer is doing a commercial investigation of different products (ie, a commercial search), then provide reviews, demos, and pros and cons of alternatives.

• If a person has a navigational search intent and you aren’t that specific brand or webpage they’re looking for, well, then don’t put your precious seo efforts to create content for that keyword intent.

• If your ideal customer profile is seeking to purchase specific products via a transactional search, well, you better optimize your top-ranking pages in your store to resolve that need.

LEARN MORE: You’re likely familiar with the concepts of navigational intent, transactional intent, informational intent, and commercial intent. But it’s a common myth that there are only 4 types of search intent. We’ve outlined 11 in our guide.

Additionally, when developing your content, always think through what the “next click” might be for the person that landed on that page via organic search.

Providing people with information geared toward the likely next need in their search journey can help increase those engagement metrics in Google Analytics.

Here’s an example of thinking about the “next click” in your user’s search journey.

Example of reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement with sharply met search intent

Let’s say you sell custom adult tricycles.

A person lands on your site for their search query [are adult tricycles easy to ride?] because you created a piece of high-quality content that answers this question, including an expert demonstration via video visuals.

On this page, you include links to additional content pieces that answer follow-up questions like:

• Can you install a second seat on adult tricycles?

• Are adult tricycles safe?

• Can an adult tricycle fit in the trunk of a car?

Eventually, this user has explored several pages of your content and has gotten to know your brand—and how cool your adult trikes are—so they sign up for the newsletter to be notified of your next sale.

Creating content like this has an added benefit: It can help you earn featured snippets, features in People Also Ask sections, and organic backlinks, which will boost your brand visibility over time.

(Hooray for more qualified leads that lead to better conversion rates! Go you!)

3. Search engines optimize for intent instead of keywords—and you should, too

Google’s search experience is optimized for user intent not SEO keywords. Therefore, it rewards content that is optimized for the same.

For example, if you run a Google search for the keyword [best expense tracker], you'd be able to see the type of content Google likes to provide to solve the query.

Google favors the listicle type of content for this particular search query. After reviewing the SERP, you could create a blog post on the top # expense trackers on the market to maximize tax deductions based on your 90-day tests of each of the tools.

Google’s algorithms are smart enough to understand that for some search terms, it may be beneficial to include images and videos at the top of the SERP.

Observe the types of format and multimedia Google likes to serve along with a particular search query so you can include those formats, along with relevant keywords, in your content.

Does focusing on search intent optimization (and its benefits) mean you need to throw out optimizing for long-tail keywords or give up using traditional keyword research tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz?

Not exactly.

Those classic SEO tools can be helpful for the initial stages of developing your SEO strategy.

But you would also benefit from using a tool that guides you to sharply meet search intent in the content you create.

Clearscope does just that—and better than any other tools in the industry. If you’re ready to learn how, schedule a demo.