Since 2019 Google has rolled out multiple core algorithm updates, which have radically affected the SEO industry and how websites are created and optimized for search.
While there have been multiple technical analyses of each of the updates, in this article, we take a holistic look into all of these updates and deeply understand the trend where the search is moving. Also, we will do all of this by simply looking into the Google SERP.
Search Intent and Relevance
Time and time again, Google has released multiple articles and tweets about its various algorithm updates. In most of these so-called “explanations,” Google never really explained the exact details of their updates, instead of their classic statement, “To create helpful and informative content that satisfies the user search.”
After analyzing most of these tweets and blogs, we find two words that particularly surface very often. One is “search intent,” and another is “relevance”.
What is Search Intent?
In the most layman’s terms possible, search intent is just that… the intent of the search query or, better yet, the particular requirement of the user behind a search query in Google.
Regarding search queries and keywords, there are only two metrics that are fundamental in any kind of keyword research tool, i.e., Search demand and CPC. However, many SEO Experts and tools have created a metric called “Keyword difficulty” for far too long. Perhaps the most hyper term in the SEO community.
What is Keyword Difficulty?
Keyword difficulty measures the apparent ranking difficulty of a search query.
Why is Keyword Difficulty unreliable?
As a metric keyword, the difficulty does not have a clear and unified measurement procedure in the SEO community. Various organizations have defined separate measuring criteria. However, in our experience working for 500+ SEO projects, we have found this metric to be explicit jargon.
Look at these examples below:
The word “classiest watch” is not even present in the title or description of the top-ranking results.
Also, the most interesting fact is that the focus keyword is not present on the top-ranking page. Also, the word “classy” is not present.
Also, it has been said that keyword difficulty depends on the referring domains and domain authority of the top-ranking websites. Here’s an example contrary to it.
As seen above, the page from allied.com with only a few backlinks outranks highly authoritative pages with many backlinks and referring domains. Also, the SEMRush authority score is less than the competing pages.
This is because Google relies heavily on satisfying the Search intent. The rest of the article will explore how to analyze Search Intent using the SERP.
How to Analyse Search Intent using the SERP
What to Look for in the Google SERP?
While analyzing any search query to determine its intent, we are basically trying to determine the below-mentioned points.
- What Kind of content is writing?
- Why is it ranking?
- What kind of websites is Google choosing to rank?
What are the different types of Search Intent?
After analyzing thousands of search results pages, we have determined the following broad classification of Search Intent:
- Commercial/Investigative.
- Informational
- Transactional
- Navigational
What are different Classifications of Content used to satisfy the search
- Content-Type
This refers to the overall “type” of content in the search results and is usually one of the following:
- Blog post
- Product page
- Category page
- Landing page
- Content Format
This refers to the “format” of the top-ranking pages. Some common formats include:
- “How-to” guides
- Step-by-step tutorials
- List posts
- Opinion pieces
- Reviews
- Comparisons
How to Analyse the SERP?
- Make a list of a few Seed Keywords. Search one of the target keyphrases.
We have experimented with the phrase “rotating proxy manage”
- Create a Spreadsheet with the following columns: Position, Ranking URL, Intent Classification, Source Type Classification.
- Continue filling in the information for the top 5 ranking results.
With the above basic analysis of the SERP, we now understand that landing pages with commercial content with little information are performing well in search.
Hence we have understood most search intent for a person looking for a rotating proxy management tool.
A Few Additional Checks
- Check for the presence of the focus keyword in the Title, Body, Meta Description and H1 Tags.
- Check for the Schema Markup types used in the Top 5 Search Results.
- Check the Readability of the top 5 ranking results.
Creating your Own Content
We have analysed the SERP for gathering competitor data and determined the target keywords’ primary search intent.
Now comes the hard part. Creating content that will outrank the top-ranking pages.
Here are some best practices to keep in mind while creating the content.
Make sure the content itself satisfies the search intent
This means including all features that we just researched. In the above example for “rotating proxy manage”, we determined the majority of the top ranking pages are “Landing pages with Commercial Nature”.
So it should have features like > Product info, CTA, Testimonials, USPs,etc.
Make sure the keyword is present in Title, Body, Meta Description and H1
Pretty self-explanatory. However, make sure to include the keywords in a natural flow. Synonyms can also be used. Just make sure they are semantically relevant.
Readability Score
Make sure you run readability tests on the content created and compare it to the top-ranking pages.
Include appropriate Schema Markups
You can check the type of schema used by simply reviewing the source code of the top-ranking pages.
- Open a competitor’s page
- Press Ctrl + U
- Search for “schema.org”.
Here’s what it looks like:
We can understand the web page uses the “WebPage” Schema.
Give Proper Sub Heading Distribution
Make sure to use proper subheadings from H1 to H6 if required.
Build some Backlinks
Although search intent is the number 1 ranking factor, backlinks are still the second most important. Build some backlinks to the recently published page from authoritative sources to help it rank.
