The best way to increase your organic SEO conversion rate is with high intent keywords.
People use high intent keywords when they are ready to buy or make a decision.
There are two types of high intent keywords, commercial and transactional. Words like buy, price, find, vs., for sale, deliver, free, etc. signal a high intent to act.
Typically people start at the top of the funnel using informational and navigational keywords in their search queries. This returns content that helps people gather information, learn about new domains, and do product research.
Once people know what they want to buy, they use high intent keywords in their search queries to ask Google to find products for them. Google looks for content that sells – feature lists, product comparison charts, customer reviews and testimonials, price guides/charts, etc. and then ranks this content at the top of the organic search results.
Companies with a high organic SEO conversion rate use their high intent keywords to tell Google and you that they have exactly what you need and want to buy. Google loves this type of content because it makes their job easier…
And now it’s time for you to make Google’s job easier and to increase your conversion rate.
In this blog, I explain:
- What conversion rate is
- Examples of high intent keywords and the differences between commercial and transactional keywords
- How to find your high intent keywords
- How to use your high intent keywords on your website for higher SEO conversion rates
What is Conversion Rate?
Conversion rate tells you how many website visitors responded to your call to action. This number is calculated by dividing the number of people who interact with a piece of content by the number of people who completed the call to action.
Your call to action can be anything you want people to do. For example, clicking buy and checking out, filling out a form for more information, or signing up for your newsletter. The key is that people did what you wanted them to do.
A strong organic search conversion rate ranges from 2% to 5%.
Your conversion rate tells you 6 key things:
- Your content effectiveness
- How well you understand search intent
- How well you know your target audience
- If you’re using the right keywords
- If you’re using the right type of content on the right channel at the right time
- If your call to action aligns with search intent
Tracking conversion rate is important for developing marketing campaigns, shaping product strategy, and in evaluating content strategy and quality.
Ultimately, you want people to convert – you want them to do the thing you’re asking them to do. This comes down to language and page design. Make it easy for people to fulfill your call to action.
What are High Intent Keywords?
High intent keywords indicate that someone is ready to buy or is deciding which product to buy. The search intent behind high intent keywords tells you the searcher is at the bottom of the sales funnel and does not need (or want) to do exhaustive product research.
Commercial and transactional keywords are high intent keywords:
- Commercial keywords indicate the person wants to buy but is looking for extra information. They want product reviews, price guides, feature lists, and product comparison charts.Examples of commercial keywords:
Type of vitamin D
Best ultrasonic cleaner
RecVue vs Billing Platform - Transactional keywords indicate the person is ready to act. They are looking for a way to buy or act. These people want product and landing pages and blogs that make it easy for them to complete their desired action.Examples of transactional keywords:
New houses for sale near me
Retail installers in New York City
Buy ultrasonic cleaner today
The challenge for many companies is focusing too much on informational and navigational keywords. This results in website content that talks about your industry and niche but doesn’t tell people specifically why you are the best choice for them.
Yes, people want information – but they also want to know why they should buy from and trust you. When you give people helpful content, you validate their challenges and help them solve them.
If you have a lot of website visitors but a low conversion rate, it’s very likely you need more content that says “Yes, we have what you want and here is how you can get it.”
How To Find High Intent Keywords for SEO
To find your high intent keywords, do this:
- Use a keyword research tool such as SEMrush and filter your keywords by commercial and transactional search intent.
- Use your keyword research tool to tell you what your competitors are and aren’t ranking for. You need to know which high intent keywords they rank for and which ones they’re not targeting or ranking for.
- Use Google Search Console to find search queries that contain commercial and transactional keywords.
- Use Google’s autocomplete function to learn how people are using keywords and see what is returned in the search results. Go to Google and type a query such as: best organic greens powder and look at the additional keywords people are using.
- Use Google’s People Also Ask questions to understand the questions people are asking about your keywords. This is useful for writing content that helps people make a final buying decision.
- Talk to your customers and ask them how they search for your products, their buying barriers, and their questions about your products.
Once you know your high intent keywords, you need to find out your conversion rate.
The best way to do this is to configure Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for conversion tracking.
Use this Google procedure: How To Set Up A Conversion in Google Analytics 4.
Ideally, you want to know your conversion rate for specific keywords – this tells you if your content is working, if your call to action is correct, and if you’re satisfying search intent.
How to Use High Intent Keywords to Increase Your SEO Conversion Rate
To use your high intent keywords to increase your SEO conversion rate, you need to use them on your home, about us, and product pages, and in your blogs.
Think about why your website exists. It exists to sell your products. The best way to do this is to tell people why you are their best choice and why they should buy from you.
To do this you need to create content that sells:
- Use your home page to tell people why you are an expert at what you do. Use a call to action that compels people to provide their contact information, download a pricing guide, or makes it easy for them to click buy.Tell people what you do, why you do it, and why they should trust you.
- Create product pages that sell. Use easy-to-read feature lists, comparison charts, pricing guides, and product benefits to tell people why your product is the best choice for them. Remember to answer all the questions people have about the product.Your goal is to remove barriers to buying – you do not want people to feel like they need to do one more Google search.Identify one high intent keyword for each product page and use this keyword in your product page title, headings, meta description, and the page content.
- Use your blogs to sell products. In your informational/educational blog content, include high intent keywords. Write blogs that address challenges, questions, needs, wants, and tell people why your products and company are the right choice for them.Don’t be shy about including sections with headings that explicitly tell people why you are their best choice: Why Our Product Is The Best Choice For You or Why You Should Buy This Product From Us.
For example, if someone is searching for the best SaaS billing platform, we would include a section in a blog about SaaS billing platforms titled: Why RecVue Is the Best SaaS Billing Platform. This section might be a list of features that solve SaaS enterprise billing challenges or it could include a product comparison chart with RecVue’s top competitors.
Or you can follow the model Tovatech uses and include easy to access pricing information and product guides in the sidebar blog content. These make it easy for people to get the last piece of information they need to make a buying decision and the company collects their information for follow-up emails.
- Remember your About Us page. Depending on what you’re selling, people may visit your About Us page to learn why they should trust you and to validate their purchase decision.You need to tell people why they can trust you and why they should buy from you. Include testimonials, reviews, and a link to your pricing guide on your about page.
Conversions happen when your call to action aligns with search intent.
Use your high intent keywords in your call to action. Know what people need and write your call to action buttons and links to satisfy this need.
There is a fine line between being too salesy and just right. When you’re writing content, think about the type of content that compels you to buy. Study your competitors and understand why their content is converting better than yours. And then write this content on your website.
Contact us with your questions about conversion rates, keyword strategy, and content. We specialize in getting brands like yours at the top of the search engine results page.
About the author
Vicki Thomas has over 25 years of professional writing experience and a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. After a 15-year career as a technical writer, Vicki transitioned to content marketing. She has worked with Jane since 2009, using her professional research, writing, and editing skills to help clients connect and communicate with readers. Vicki’s experience with Google Search, SEO, and research skills positions her as highly skilled at identifying information gaps and writing content that people want to read and share.
