Direct Answer
Search intent is what a user actually wants when they type a query — the four types are informational (learn), navigational (find a brand), transactional (buy or hire), and commercial (compare). Pages must match the dominant intent of the keyword they target. Mismatched intent is the #1 reason content fails to rank.
Voice answer (≤30 words)
“Search intent is what the user wants from a query. The four types are informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial.”
Check intent by Googling the keyword and looking at what's already ranking. If the top 10 are blog posts, a product page won't break in.
For service businesses, transactional and commercial-investigation queries (like 'best plumber near me' or 'Lennox AC vs Trane cost') deliver the highest-converting traffic.
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