What are high intent keywords and how do they drive real growth?

Ever checked your analytics, seen a huge traffic spike, and felt that rush of excitement? And then the crash when you realize it didn't lead to a single new sale or sign-up? It's a classic marketing problem: lots of eyeballs, no actual growth.

The issue isn't the traffic; it's the intent behind it. This is where high intent keywords come into play. They act as a bridge between your business and the people who are ready to buy, sign up, or take action right now. A guide from WhatConverts says it well: these aren't just search terms; they're signals that someone is ready to make a move.

Focusing on these keywords helps you build an SEO strategy that prioritizes revenue and leads over vanity metrics like impressions. But finding them is only half the job. The real challenge is scaling up content to target them effectively. At eesel, we used our own eesel AI blog writer to transform high intent keywords into over 1,000 blog posts, taking our site from 700 to over 750,000 daily impressions in just three months.

Understanding high intent vs low intent keywords

So, what are we really talking about here? High intent keywords are search terms that show a user is close to the end of the buying cycle and ready to do something. They’re not just browsing; they’re shopping. These searches are one of the strongest signals of buyer readiness you can find.

On the other hand, low-intent keywords are what people use when they're just starting out. They're learning about a problem or just satisfying their curiosity. They might become a customer down the road, but they aren't there yet.

Here’s a simple breakdown of the difference:

Targeting low-intent keywords is fine for building brand awareness, but if you want to see a real impact on your revenue, high intent keywords are where you should focus.

The four types of search intent

To get good at finding these keywords, you have to understand the "why" behind every Google search. Marketing data experts usually break search intent into four main types. The last two, commercial and transactional, are where you’ll find your most valuable high intent keywords.

Informational intent

This is the most common kind of search. People are just looking for an answer to a question or information on a topic. Think "how-to" guides, definitions, or basic facts. These are almost always low-intent keywords.

• Examples: "how to create a content calendar," "what are the benefits of SEO."

Navigational intent

In this case, the user already knows where they want to go and is just using a search engine to get there faster. They're trying to find a specific website or page.

• Examples: "eesel AI login," "Google Search Console."

Commercial investigation intent

Now we're getting somewhere. With commercial intent, users have a problem and are actively looking at and comparing different solutions. They haven't decided what to buy yet, but they're seriously thinking about their options. These are high intent keywords that show strong interest.

• Examples: "Salesforce alternatives", "Jasper vs Copy.ai", "best AI blog writer."

Transactional intent

This is the jackpot. Users with transactional intent are ready to make a purchase or take action right now. Their search terms often include words like "buy," "price," "discount," "trial," or "sign up." These are the highest-intent keywords you can target.

• Examples: "eesel AI pricing," "sign up for a free trial," "buy organic coffee beans."

How to find high intent keywords

Okay, theory's done. Here’s how you can actually start finding these valuable keywords for your business. This part can involve some manual work, which really shows why having an automated tool to create content for them later is so helpful.

Mine your existing conversion data

Often, your best source of keywords is already in your own data.

• Google Ads: If you're running ads, check out your search term reports. Go to Campaigns → Insights and reports → Search terms. This report, as mentioned in a WhatConverts guide, shows you the exact queries people typed before they clicked your ad and converted. It’s a goldmine.
• Google Search Console (GSC): Find your highest-converting pages in Google Analytics (like your pricing or sign-up page). Then, head over to GSC's Performance → Search results report and filter for those pages. GSC will show you all the search queries that are already sending traffic to the pages where people take action.

Find your "striking distance" keywords

These are the keywords that are so close to bringing you good traffic. They’re terms where you're already ranking on the second or third page of Google (positions 11-30). Google already thinks your site is relevant for these terms; you just need a little boost to get to page one.

Why is page one so important? Because, as SEMrush points out, these keywords are low-hanging fruit. And since only a tiny 0.63% of searchers ever click past the first page, moving up can make a huge difference.

Listen to the voice of your customer

Sometimes the best keywords don't come from a tool; they come straight from your customers. The language they use right before they decide to buy is incredibly useful.

Look through your customer support tickets, listen to sales call recordings, and read your live chat logs. Pay close attention to the exact phrases and questions people use. That's the language you should be targeting.

Use free search tools and forums

You don't need a bunch of expensive tools to get started.

• Google: Just start typing a high intent keyword into the search bar. Look at the auto-suggestions, the "People also ask" box, and the "Related searches" at the bottom. These are all based on what real people are looking for.
• Forums: Search sites like Reddit to see how real people talk about products and services in your industry. For example, a search like site:reddit.com best CRM will pull up genuine discussions, questions, and recommendations that are full of commercial-intent keywords.

How eesel AI turns high intent keywords into ranking content

So, you've done the work and have a solid list of high intent keywords. What's next? The biggest hurdle is turning that list into high-quality, targeted content at scale. Researching, writing, editing, and finding visuals for just one blog post can take hours, if not days.

This is the exact reason we built the eesel AI blog writer. It’s designed to be the engine that takes your keyword strategy and turns it into real content that ranks.

Here’s how it helps with high-intent content specifically:

• Context-aware research: eesel AI doesn't just write; it understands the user's goal. It knows that a keyword like "best Zendesk alternatives" needs a comparison table with pros and cons, while a post like "Jasper vs Copy.ai" needs a deep dive into feature differences and pricing.
• Automatic asset generation: High-intent content often needs visuals to help users compare their options. eesel AI automatically creates tables, charts, and AI-generated infographics that make your content more valuable and easier to understand. This is a core feature you can see on our product page.
• Authentic social proof: For review and comparison articles, trust is key. eesel AI has a unique feature that finds and embeds real Reddit quotes and relevant YouTube videos directly into your post. This adds genuine user perspectives that you just can't fake.
• AEO and SEO optimization: The content isn't just optimized for search engines. It's also built for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), which means it’s structured to show up in places like Google AI Overviews and Perplexity. These are platforms that directly answer high-intent user questions.

Putting it all together: Your strategy for high intent keywords

With your keywords identified and a tool ready to create content, you can now build a content plan that actually gets results.

Create detailed comparison and alternative posts

These posts are your go-to for capturing traffic from users who are comparing their options. Think "Tool A vs. Tool B" or "Top Alternatives to Tool C." They directly answer the questions of users weighing their choices and are very effective at attracting qualified leads.

Build targeted landing pages for transactional terms

For your most valuable transactional keywords, create dedicated landing pages. If you sell different products, you could have a specific page for "AI service desk" or another for "AI chatbot for e-commerce." These pages should be focused on conversion, with clear calls-to-action and all the info a user needs to make a decision.

Optimize for local search intent

If your business has a physical location, don't forget about local intent. Targeting keywords with modifiers like "near me" or specific city names (e.g., "emergency plumber in Brooklyn") is essential for capturing users who need immediate, local help.

Improve pages with low click-through rates (CTR)

Go back into Google Search Console and find pages that are ranking on page one but have a low CTR. For example, one study found that a page in position two should have a CTR of around 18.7%. If yours is way lower, it means your content is visible, but the title and description aren't grabbing anyone's attention. Rewriting your title tag and meta description is a quick way to capture more of that traffic.

For a deeper dive into finding the right keywords for your campaigns, this video from Downey Marketing offers some practical tips on identifying search terms that signal a user is close to making a buying decision.

This video explains how to find high intent keywords for Google Ads that indicate a user is ready to make a purchase.

Stop chasing traffic and start driving conversions

A successful SEO strategy isn't about getting the most traffic. It's about getting the right traffic. When you focus on the quality and intent of your visitors, rather than just the number, you start to see real business growth.

High intent keywords are your most direct path to attracting visitors who are ready to become customers. They cut through the noise and connect you with people who are actively looking to solve a problem.

Of course, manually creating quality content for every one of these valuable keywords is a huge drain on time and resources. Instead of spending weeks researching and writing, you can turn your keyword list into a library of optimized, ready-to-publish articles. Generate your first blog for free with the eesel AI blog writer and see how quickly you can start attracting the right kind of customers.