One of the most important parts of an SEO-driven marketing campaign is creating content that meets your target audience's needs.
Content that ignores what people want won't rank as well as content that respects search intent. It defeats the purpose of law firm website SEO. Figuring out what people want can be difficult, but a few tricks can make it simple.
What Is Search Intent?
When people search on Google, they want answers. Google wants to ensure that people get those answers quickly without having to refine their search over and over (that's why so many people use Google and not Bing…or Yahoo).
If you want to rank well, you have to understand what people want and give it to them.
The best way to do that is by seeing what Google thinks is worth ranking. If you see Google ranking a bunch of pages explaining how to hire a lawyer, you'll know people aren't looking for a landing page with an attorney pitching their services.
Spotting the search intent for a keyword isn't hard once you know what to look for. First, you'll need to assess the reasons why someone searches for a topic. Then, you need to figure out what they want to find when they search.
Why Is Search Intent Important?
Many law firms may only scratch the surface with their SEO strategies, targeting broad or generic keywords. By delving deep into search intent, you can uncover niche queries and long-tail keywords that your competitors might overlook. This allows you to dominate specific areas of search, driving targeted traffic and establishing your firm as a leader in those niches.
Here’s why search intent is fundamental for your law firm’s success online:
Enhanced Relevance Leads to Better Experiences
By understanding the specific needs and motivations behind users' searches, you can create content that directly addresses their queries. For instance, someone searching for “What to do after a car accident?” versus “Best car accident lawyer in [City]” has different needs.
Tailored content that resonates with these different levels of intent ensures that you provide valuable information, building trust and authority.
When your website provides content that matches visitors' search intent, it enhances their experience. Visitors are more likely to find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently, which decreases bounce rates and increases time spent on your site.
This positive user experience signals to search engines that your site is valuable and relevant, boosting your SEO rankings.
Higher Conversion Rates
Content optimized for search intent is more likely to convert visitors into clients. Someone searching “hire a personal injury lawyer” is likely ready to engage your legal services immediately. By understanding this high-intent query, you can craft compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) and landing pages that facilitate quick conversions, turning searchers into clients.
Cost Efficiency
By focusing on creating content that aligns with high-intent search queries, you can reduce the need for expensive PPC campaigns. Organic search traffic that converts well due to high relevance provides a better return on investment. This means you get more value from your marketing budget by investing in content that meets your clients' needs.
Strategic Content Planning
Understanding your audience's search intent helps you plan your content strategy more effectively. By grouping keywords into informational, navigational, and transactional intents, you can create a balanced mix of blog posts, service pages, and landing pages. This comprehensive approach ensures you attract visitors at all stages of their journey, from initial research to final decision-making.
Strengthened Client Relationships
When potential clients feel that your website “gets” them and their concerns, they are more likely to trust your firm. Content that acknowledges their specific situation and provides tailored advice fosters a connection. This trust differentiates your firm from competitors who might not offer the same level of personalized insight.
Search intent is the foundation of modern digital marketing and SEO strategies for law firms. By prioritizing search intent, you ensure that your content aligns with your target audience, enhances their experience, and ultimately drives better results for your firm.
This client-first approach not only aligns with best practices for SEO but also strengthens your firm’s reputation and credibility in a competitive market.
Understanding The Four Broad Types of User Intent
People's reasons for typing in a keyword or keyword phrase will fall into one of four broad categories. These categories help uncover the searcher's basic motivation.
Informational Search Intent
Informational searches are one of the most common types of search intent. People with an informational intent want to learn or find information about a topic.
Some examples of informational intent queries are:
- “how to become a lawyer”
- “how to file an accident claim with my insurance”
- “nausea after car accident”
- “car accident settlement calculator”
- “average settlement for car accident”
- “can i sue for pain and suffering”
- “car accident injuries”
Applications for Law Firms
- Blog Posts: Craft comprehensive articles addressing common questions within your practice areas. For example, a personal injury lawyer could write a guide on “Steps to Take After a Car Accident.”
- FAQ Sections: Include frequently asked questions on your website to provide quick answers and improve user experience.
- Educational Resources: Use infographics, videos, and eBooks to explain complex legal concepts in an easily digestible format.
Example:
“How does bankruptcy affect credit scores?” — A bankruptcy law firm could create a detailed blog post or video explaining the impact of filing for bankruptcy on a person's credit rating.
Investigational Search Intent
Investigational queries are ones where someone is looking to do something with the information they've learned.
This type of user intent also includes commercial investigation; users who are researching products, services, or providers before making a decision. These searches indicate that the user is comparing options and gathering information to make an informed purchasing decision. For example, “best personal injury lawyers in Atlanta” or “reviews of top family law firms.”
Some examples of investigational searches include:
- “hiring a lawyer vs doing it yourself”
- “morgan and morgan reviews”
- “top attorney in boston”
- “best car accident lawyers”
- “personal injury attorney”
Applications for Law Firms
- Comparative Content: Write articles comparing different legal services, such as “Top 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer.”
- Client Testimonials and Reviews: Showcase positive reviews and testimonials prominently on your site to build credibility.
- Case Studies: Publish case studies detailing successful outcomes to demonstrate your firm’s expertise and effectiveness.
Example:
“Best divorce lawyer near me” — A family law firm can create content featuring client testimonials, success stories, and detailed attorney profiles to appeal to users comparing their options.
Transactional Search Intent
Transactional intent, or commercial intent, searches occur when someone is looking to buy a product or service.
Some examples of searches using transactional intent keywords are:
- “buy new iphone”
- “hire morgan and morgan”
- “microsoft office business price”
- “brioni polo”
- “clio pricing”
Applications for Law Firms
- Clear CTAs (Calls to Action): Ensure your website has strategically placed buttons and forms encouraging users to contact you, book consultations, or download resources.
- Service Pages: Optimize service pages with highly relevant keywords and detailed information to convert visitors into clients.
- Landing Pages: Create targeted landing pages for PPC campaigns to capture high-intent traffic.
Example:
“Hire a DUI lawyer in Dallas” – A criminal defense attorney specializing in DUI cases can create a compelling landing page optimized for this query with a strong call to action to schedule consultations.
Navigational Search Intent
Navigational intent searches are the least complicated. People have a navigational keyword intent when they use Google to find a specific website.
Navigational queries can look like:
- “linkedIn”
- “westlaw”
- “california state bar association”
- “google”
Applications for Law Firms
- Optimized Homepages: Ensure your homepage ranks well for your brand name and commonly associated terms.
- Clear Navigation: Make it easy for users to find important sections of your website, such as practice areas, attorney profiles, and contact information.
- Branded Content: Create content featuring your law firm’s name to dominate search results and ensure users land on your desired pages.
Example:
“Jones and Associates Law Firm” — An attorney or law firm with a strong brand presence should ensure its website ranks at the top when users type its firm’s name.
Determining a keyword's intent type helps you understand the underlying reason for the search. But it's only the first part of figuring out what the searcher wants.
How to Check Search Intent with Google
Finding the intent type shows you why someone searches for a topic. Now, you need to determine what kind of content they want to find to solve their need.
You can figure out what people want by just looking at Google's search results.
When looking at a keyword's search results, there are three factors to consider. Identifying the ranking page's content type, format, and angle will show you what Google thinks the searcher wants.
The first factor to consider is the content type. This refers to the overall type of page that Google wants to rank for a topic. For example, some searches are better suited to blog posts, while others would rather see a landing page for a service.
Content types can be any one of the following:
- Article
- Video
- Product
- Product Category Page
- Service/Feature Page
- Other
Here's how you can check a Google results page to determine the content type.
When you review the ranking pages for intent, it's usually best to look at the first three or four results. These are the pages that Google's algorithm thinks are doing the best job of hitting the intent. Pages and posts tend to be less true to the intent as you scroll down the search results.
The next search intent factor to look for is the content format. You can think of formats as subtypes. For example, a guide and a list are different subtypes of articles.
Content types can be any of the following.
- Guide
- List
- Roundup
- Opinion
- Tool
- Report
- eBook
- Commercial
- Other
Note that not all formats will go with all content types. For example, you won't see any service pages with the format of a guide.
Check out the walkthrough below to see how content formats build on types. For these examples, we'll use results where the intent is for an article.
The last search intent factor to analyze is the content angle. You can think of this as the direction to take with your content.
Here are some examples of content angles:
- Definitional
- How to
- Top X
- Best X
- Year/Freshness
- Pros and Cons
- Benefits
- Versus
Here's how you can identify the angle that you should take by looking at Google search results:
You can look at almost any search results page through the lens of these factors. When you do, it's easy to tell what kind of content you should create.
How to Check Search Intent with Ahrefs
Looking at Google isn't the only way to check a keyword's search intent.
If you already use Ahrefs for rank tracking and keyword research, you can also use it to assess search intent. The walkthrough below will guide you through the process of using Ahrefs Keywords Explorer to determine what type of content to create when you want to rank for a keyword with a new piece of content.
Using Ahrefs to determine intent may not be the best decision in all cases. If your business handles a lot of local clients, for example, you should stick to checking Google. Some of the terms you want to target may be localized, and Ahrefs may not be able to pick that up.
In addition, tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can provide deep insights into the types of queries driving traffic. Google Analytics helps you track and analyze your website’s traffic and user behavior, while Google Search Console offers valuable data on how your website performs in search results and what type of search intent leads users to your site.
What If the Intent Isn't Clear?
A mixed intent happens when it's not clear exactly what the searcher is looking for.
This can happen for a few different reasons. Sometimes the search term is so broad that searchers could be looking for any number of things. Other times, people's shifting wants and needs mean the results are in flux.
A good example of a mixed intent results page is the keyword car accident settlement
These results clearly show the content type and format. People are looking for an article, and that article should be a guide. But the angle isn't clear at all.
Mixed intent results make it harder to decide what angle you should take to rank. In some cases, you might need to take your best shot, see how it pans out, and decide if an alternate angle is a better approach.
Doing that comes with some obvious opportunity costs.
Applying a strategic thinking framework that we adapted from Roger L. Martin's book Playing to Win can help you decide if chasing that target keyword is worth it. Ask yourself:
- Is this keyword worth competing over?
- Is this a keyword that I have a chance of ranking for?
- How could I create a piece of content that addresses the searchers' needs, or is there a need that isn't being met?
The keyword car accident settlement is probably still worth going after if you're a personal injury lawyer.
The term has a high search volume and traffic potential, so it's worth competing over. All of the ranking pages are law firms or related to the law, so another law firm stands a competitive chance. All that remains is to ask yourself what you can do to create high-quality content that stands out from the field.
Keyword Research with Search Intent in Mind
Once you have a clear understanding of search intent, your next step is to integrate this knowledge into your keyword research. The synergy between search intent and keyword research ensures that your content not only attracts traffic but also meets the needs of potential clients.
Here’s how you can use insights from search intent research to identify keyword search intent and create a balanced content strategy for your law firm.
Using Insights from Search Intent Research
1. Analyze Search Queries
Break down common queries by their search intents. Examining the language used in search terms can often help.
For instance, queries starting with "how" or "what" are typically informational, while “best” or “top” suggest commercial investigation, and “hire” or “contact” are indicative of transactional intent.
2. Utilize SEO Tools
Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can offer invaluable data on search volumes and keyword difficulty.
Focus on long-tail keywords that align with specific intents for more targeted traffic. For example, instead of "personal injury lawyer," consider "how to choose a personal injury lawyer in [city]."
3. Review SERPs
Study the top-ranking pages for your target keywords to understand what type of content fulfills the searcher's intent.
Adjust your content strategy to align with the successful elements of these pages, whether it's detailed guides, lists, or direct services.
Final Thoughts
Understanding search intent puts you in a position to create better SEO content.
When you understand what it is that people are looking for, you'll have an easier time creating relevant content that satisfies their needs. You'll also be able to look at your existing content to find opportunities to optimize it for intent after performing an SEO audit.
However, determining search intent is just one part of driving organic traffic to your website.
Pairing your newfound knowledge with other skills is a necessity. Knowing the intent won't help much without doing keyword research first. And you have to be able to bring great writing to the table to outrank entrenched competitors.
If you're interested in more DIY SEO tips, check out our free SEO checklist. We have more tips for creating content that nails intent and every other major aspect of SEO.
If that sounds like an uphill battle to do on your own, consider reaching out to a search engine optimization expert. At Rankings.io, we help lawyers get the most out of their websites. Contact us today to see how we can help you dominate Google's search engine results pages.
