The four types of search intent
| Intent | The searcher wants to | Typical signals | Content that fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Informational | Learn something or answer a question. | what, how to, why, guide, tutorial, examples, meaning | Guides, explainers, how-tos, glossaries |
| Commercial | Research options before deciding. | best, top, review, vs, alternatives, compare, worth it | Comparisons, reviews, best-of lists, case studies |
| Reach a specific site, brand or page. | brand names, login, official site, .com, contact | Homepage, brand pages, login and support pages | |
| Transactional | Buy, book, sign up or download now. | buy, price, coupon, book, hire, free trial, near me | Product, pricing, service and booking pages |
How to use it
- In Search Console, open
Performance → Search results → Queriesand export to CSV. A keyword export from Ahrefs, Semrush or Keyword Planner works too. - Load the CSV, then add your brand spellings so branded queries are counted as navigational.
- Read the intent mix. With Search Console data you'll see clicks, impressions, CTR and average position for each intent.
- Filter to one intent and check that each query lands on a page built for that intent. An informational query ranking with a product page, or a "best" query ranking with a blog post, is usually the gap.
- Download the classified list to use in your content plan or keyword map.
How the classifier decides
Each query is scored against weighted word patterns for every intent. A query starting with "how to" scores strongly informational; "vs" or "best" scores commercial; a brand name or "login" scores navigational; "buy", "price" or "book" scores transactional. The highest score sets the label. If another intent scores at least half as high, it appears as a secondary label, and confidence is marked as mixed.
Queries with no recognisable signal, often short topic phrases like "email marketing", are marked unclear rather than guessed. Google tends to show mixed results for these, so check the live results page before deciding what to build.
Limits worth knowing
- It reads English queries only.
- It works from the words in the query. The results page Google shows is the final judge of intent, especially for head terms.
- It only knows the brands you list, plus a handful of large platforms.
Once you know which intent group you want to track, build a filter for it with the Search Console Regex Builder. For why matching intent matters more than most ranking factors, read What Is Search Intent Satisfaction?
Common questions
What are the four types of search intent?
Informational (the searcher wants to learn something), commercial (they are comparing options before deciding), navigational (they want a specific site or page) and transactional (they are ready to buy, book, sign up or download).
How does this tool classify search intent?
It scores each query against weighted keyword signals for each intent, such as question words for informational, "best" and "vs" for commercial, brand names and "login" for navigational, and "buy" and "price" for transactional. The highest score wins. When a second intent scores at least half as high, it is shown as a secondary intent.
Can a keyword have more than one search intent?
Yes. "how to buy a domain" is informational with a transactional undertone, and a bare head term like "crm software" can be commercial or transactional depending on the searcher. The tool flags these as mixed. For important keywords, check what Google actually ranks on page one.
Is my keyword or Search Console data uploaded anywhere?
No. The CSV is read by your browser with the File API and every query is classified locally in the page. Nothing is sent to a server.
Built by C. Sivaraj. More tools on the tools page, and the reasoning behind them in the blog.