Every search has a goal behind it. Someone who types "heat pump" might want to know how the device works, what it costs, which brands exist or who can install one nearby. Search intent is that underlying goal: what the searcher actually wants to achieve. If you understand it, you can create pages that genuinely match what people are looking for.
Search engines have become much better at reading intent in recent years. They no longer look only at the words, but at the meaning behind them. As a result, a page that contains the right keyword but serves the wrong intent often doesn't stand a chance.
In practice, these types sometimes overlap. A search can be informational and local at the same time.
The simplest method: search for the term yourself and look at the SERP. If Google mainly shows guides and explainer pages, the intent is informational. If you see product pages and a map with local businesses, the searcher probably wants to buy something or find a service. Also look out for signal words such as "how", "what is", "price", "best", "buy" or a place name.
Also look at the format of the results at the top. Are they mostly lists, step-by-step guides, comparisons or videos? That tells you not only what people want to know, but also in what form they expect the answer. A page that matches that format has a better chance of convincing them. Repeat this check now and then, because the results for the same search term can shift over time.
A bakery wants to be found for "birthday cake". It writes a long blog post about the history of birthday cakes. But someone in Leeds searching for "birthday cake" usually wants to order a cake, not read about one. A better approach is a clear order page with photos, prices, delivery times and an order form. The blog post can still exist separately for people looking for tips, with a link to the order page. That way the bakery serves two intents with two pages, instead of one page that doesn't really help anyone.
With AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, users often phrase their questions in a longer and more specific way, like a real conversation. That makes the intent more explicit: "I'm looking for an affordable plumber in Manchester who can come out on a Saturday." AI systems sometimes split a question like that into several sub-questions. Content that gives a clear answer for each intent has a better chance of being used in those answers. So when you write, think about the concrete prompt a customer would type.
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