About the Author
Corey is the owner and President/CEO of VOLTAGE. He is also founder and author of The Digital Marketing Success Plan™ and the START Planning Process. Corey has spent 20+ years working in strategic and leadership roles focused on growing national and local client brands with award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies. He's the recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award and his team at VOLTAGE has won nearly 100 local, national, and global awards for ROI-focused client work in the past decade.
If you’ve been involved with SEO for any length of time, you’ve likely heard about the “four types of search intent”: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. These categories have long served as a foundational framework for search marketers.
But here’s the reality: real people don’t fit neatly into four boxes—and neither do their searches.
As search behaviors evolve and user journeys become less linear, rigid classifications can oversimplify the complex reasons why people turn to search engines–and especially AI tools. Inspired a couple years ago by a Mozcon presentation by Lily Ray, I believe it’s time to stop treating search intent like a static checklist and start viewing it through a more dynamic, human lens.
Search Intent: Still Fundamental, But More Fluid Than Ever
Search intent remains a critical part of SEO. It helps us understand why someone conducts a search and what they hope to find on the other side. That insight informs everything from content strategy to keyword targeting to user experience.
But it’s also a concept that’s overdue for a refresh.
The traditional four categories still have value:
- Informational: Users seeking knowledge or answers
- Navigational: Users trying to reach a specific site or page
- Commercial: Pre-purchase research and comparisons
- Transactional: Ready-to-convert, often branded searches
The issue isn’t that these are wrong—it’s that they’re incomplete. They represent endpoints or simplified stages of intent. But the real world is more nuanced.
People Search for All Kinds of Reasons
Consider the difference between someone searching for “best noise-cancelling headphones” versus “Sony WH-1000XM5 vs. Bose 700.” Both queries are research-driven, but one is broader and exploratory while the other signals comparison-mode, likely closer to conversion.
Or think about users looking up “how to fix a leaky faucet” versus “plumbers near me.” One is DIY-focused, while the other indicates a need for professional help. Both reflect intent—but at very different stages of need and mindset.
At any given moment, people use search engines to:
- Troubleshoot problems
- Learn something new
- Plan a vacation
- Compare services
- Check the weather
- Translate a phrase
- Apply for jobs
- Watch a tutorial
- Shop for gifts
- Find a restaurant
- Research symptoms
That list could go on—and it shows just how expansive and varied search behavior really is. The same person might shift between multiple intents in a single session, or revisit a topic from a new angle weeks later.
The Role of AI and Evolving User Expectations
Search is also getting more interactive. With on-the-fly answers served up instantly like AI Overviews and conversational interfaces becoming more common, users now expect search engines to anticipate their needs and provide more context-aware results. That means intent detection is no longer just a backend function—it shapes the entire experience.
For marketers, this means we have to move beyond targeting keywords and start truly understanding the underlying motivation behind a query.
We need to ask:
- What prompted the search?
- What type of result will best meet the user’s expectations?
- How can our brand provide value in that moment?
Practical Impact: Content Strategy, SEO, and User Experience
When we expand our view of intent, we also improve our ability to map content across the full customer journey.
This means creating different types of content for different situations:
- Educational resources for learners
- Comparisons and reviews for evaluators
- Demos, pricing, and CTAs for buyers
- Support documentation for customers
It also means optimizing not just for keywords, but for context and clarity—ensuring your pages answer real questions, match real-world behaviors, and speak to the actual intent behind the query.
Don’t Oversimplify Human Behavior
Search intent isn’t just a technical SEO concept—it’s a window into how people think, decide, and act. And the more we understand that, the better we can meet them where they are.
By approaching intent with nuance and empathy, you don’t just improve rankings—you improve relevance, resonance, and results.
Want to explore the expanded perspective that inspired this post?
Check out the full refreshed article published by Search Engine Land: https://searchengineland.com/search-intent-more-types-430814.