How to Choose Keywords That Consistently Connect with Your Audience
You’ve got a pretty good knowledge of keywords. You completely understand how important they are for SEO. You’ve heard about short-tail, long-tail, and maybe even LSI keywords. But still, you need an answer to the question – what types of keywords should I use? And that’s often the hardest part. Working out how to combine different keywords to attract and engage your ideal customers can feel ridiculously hard.
Here at Outsource Your Marketing, our SEO team lives and breathes this stuff. With over 10 years of hands-on experience, we’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to keywords. In this blog we’re going to show you a specific way to choose and use keywords to make your content more effective and connect better with your readers.
The Perfect Pair – Understanding Search Intent to Choose Your Keywords
A big problem with choosing the right kind of keyword is not having a context with which to work. Here’s a way to solve that: Strong keyword selection is deeply connected to search intent.
Truth is – you can’t know what keywords will connect with your audience unless you understand what they’re trying to achieve with their search. And conversely, it’s hard to effectively target people with a specific goal if you’re not using the language (the keywords!) they use to express that goal.
What is search intent? It’s simply the purpose or reason why a user carries out a specific search. Are they looking to learn something new, navigate to a particular site, make a purchase, or investigate before buying?
In this blog we’ll show you how to use search intent to help you find the right types of keywords. And don’t worry, this isn’t a one-trick pony – you can use this approach for blogs, social media content, PPC targeting, and even your core website copy.
Understanding User Needs – The 4 Types of Search Intent
Broadly speaking – and that’s all we need right now – there are four main categories of search intent. We’ll look at each one together, starting with the most common: informational intent. We’ll make sure you feel confident about each one before moving to the next.
1. Informational Search Intent Keywords
As the name suggests, this is all about users seeking information. They’ve got a question, want to learn more about a topic, or need a problem solved. They’re not wanting to buy anything at this stage. Think of searches like: “how to get fit fast,” “what can I cook in 30 minutes,” or “latest accessory trends.”
Now, let’s say you’re building a detailed webpage to capture people with informational intent. You’ll want to anchor your content with a seed keyword. This is your primary keyword, usually a short phrase that sums up the page’s core topic – for instance, “Approaches to Fitness” This would feature prominently, often in your main title.
To provide real depth and attract users with very specific informational needs, you’ll rely heavily on long-tail keywords. These are longer, more conversational phrases that pinpoint a user’s exact query, such as “What kind of accessories should I focus on?” or “examples of 30-minute meals.” Why use them? They target users who are further along in their information journey and often face less keyword competition. You’ll naturally incorporate these into your headings, paragraphs, and even when naming images.
Beyond these, add the following into your toolkit. You don’t have to use them all, but they may be useful:
• Question Keywords – Directly use the questions people type, like “What are the benefits of regular training?”
• Niche-Specific Terms – Keywords that resonate with a very particular segment of your audience, establishing your expertise.
• Localised Information (if relevant): Terms like “cooking workshops in Belfast” if your information caters to a specific area.
• Reviewing Competitor Content – See what informational topics competitors cover to ensure your content adds unique value or covers common ground thoroughly.
Combining these keyword types helps you build a valuable, authoritative page that directly answers your audience’s questions.
2. Commercial Search Intent Keywords
Now that your potential customer has gathered some initial information, they often move into what we call Commercial Search Intent. They’re not quite ready to hit ‘buy’ yet, but they are researching specific solutions, comparing products or services, and trying to work out which option is best for them. They are narrowing down their choices.
Think about your ideal customers:
- Someone looking for training programmes might search for “best online yoga courses for beginners,” “compare weight training programmes,” or “[Your Training Company] reviews.”
- A home cook interested in your recipes and cookery tips might look for “top rated stand mixers 2025,” “Top 10 food processors” or “best meal kit delivery service for families.”
- An accessory retailer might see searches like “leather handbag brands comparison,” “reviews for [Your Brand] watches,” or “most durable phone cases for iPhone 15.”
For this intent, you’re creating content like blogs offering detailed comparison guides, in-depth reviews, or category pages showcasing specific features. Your seed keyword (that main topic term we discussed) is still important – perhaps “online courses” or “stand mixers” or “leather handbags.”
But for commercial intent, your keyword strategy will also use:
• Long-tail keywords with commercial modifiers – These are phrases like “best [product type] under £100,” “top [service type] for small business,” or “[product A] vs [product B].”
• Review keywords – “review of [your product/service],” “[competitor product] customer reviews.”
• Comparison keywords – Using terms like “compare,” “versus (vs),” “alternative to,” “pros and cons of.”
• Keywords with specific features or benefits – “digital camera with longest battery life,” “eco-friendly running shoes.”
• Brand + product/service type – “[Your Brand] leadership training,” “[Competitor Brand] baking subscription box.”
• Local commercial keywords – If you have a physical presence or serve a specific area, “best restaurants in Birmingham.”
• Investigative questions: “Is [Brand X] worth the money?” “What to look for when buying a [product]?”
By targeting these keywords, you position your business as a knowledgeable guide, helping users make an informed decision – and hopefully, choose you when they’re ready for the next step!
3. Transactional Search Intent
Your potential customer has done their research (informational intent) and weighed their options (commercial intent). Now, they may be ready for transactional search intent. This is when they’ve made a decision and are looking to complete an action – buy a product, sign up for a service, book a course, or get a quote. They have their metaphorical wallet out!
Imagine these searches from your customers:
- Training provider – “apply for [Your Course Name] now,” or “[Training Programme] pricing plans.”
- Recipe/cookery business – “order weekly organic veg box,” “subscribe to [Specific Food Magazine].”
- Accessory retailer – “[Your Brand] [Product Name] checkout,” “promo code for [Accessory Type],” or “buy ethical diamond earrings UK.”
This is where your product detail pages, direct sales pages, service sign-up forms, and pricing tables need to know exactly what keywords to use.
The keywords for transactional intent are your most direct conversion drivers:
• Keywords with strong purchase verbs – “buy,” “shop,” “order,” “purchase,” “checkout,” “enrol,” “book,” “subscribe.”
• Specific product or service names combined with action words: -“[Your Product X] buy online,” “[Your Service Y] book appointment.”
• Discount, offer, and pricing term – “[Product Category] sale,” “best deals on [Service],” “[Product Name] coupon code.”
• Localised buying keywords – “order [product] for delivery in Bedford,” “find [service provider type] near me.”
• Keywords indicating immediate need or special offers – “next day delivery [product],” “limited offer [service].”
• Branded searches with transactional terms – “[Your Company Name] shop,” “[Your Product Line] prices.”
By using these keywords on the right pages, you make it easy for customers to take that final step with you, turning their intent into a successful transaction.
4. Local Search Intent
The final search intent we’ll be considering is one that’s vital for businesses targeting a specific area – Local Search Intent. This is where users are actively seeking solutions close to them. They might need a product today, a service provider nearby, or simply want to support local businesses.
To connect with these local searchers, your keywords will often include:
- Geographic terms – City names, town names, postcodes, county names.
- Proximity phrases – “near me,” “nearby,” “close by.”
- Specific local queries – “find a [service] in [town],” “where to buy [product] locally.”
Effectively targeting local intent involves ensuring your Google Business Profile is accurate and engaging, building local citations (mentions of your business on other local websites), and weaving your location naturally into your website’s content and meta descriptions. This makes it easy for local searchers to find you first.
For a more detailed exploration of the use of keywords with local search intent, take a look at our guide: Local SEO Explained
Outsource Your Marketing for More Keyword Insights
Hopefully, this guide has clarified the different types of keywords and the importance of aligning them with user search intent. Knowing what to do is powerful, but effectively implementing these techniques to get your website noticed by the right people requires ongoing expertise and effort.
The SEO specialists at Outsource Your Marketing work to achieve exactly this. We use our understanding of keyword types and search intent to make your web content highly effective. Our approach ensures search engines can easily interpret what you offer, which directly translates to higher visibility in search results and, ultimately, more of your target customers finding their way to you.
