Search
Keywords that end in a booking, not a visit
A keyword is worth pursuing when the person typing it has already decided to act. Sorting a keyword list by volume optimises for traffic; sorting it by how close the phrase sits to a decision optimises for revenue, and the two lists rarely overlap.
Volume is a measure of curiosity
Search volume counts how many people typed a phrase. That population includes students, competitors, the merely curious, and people three years from buying anything. None of them are a bad audience. They are just not the audience that pays for the work.
The three questions worth asking
For each phrase on your list:
- Has the person already decided to buy something, or are they still learning?
- Are they looking for a supplier, or an answer?
- Could you satisfy the query with a page you would be willing to put a price on?
Phrases that pass all three are usually low-volume, unglamorous and specific. Those are the ones to build for first.
Read the results page before you commit
The clearest signal is free. Search the phrase and look at what ranks. If the first page is definitions and how-to guides, the engine has classified the query as informational, and a service page will not displace them no matter how well written it is. If the first page is suppliers and prices, you are in the right market.
Write down what each page is for
Give every page one job and record it: this one answers a question, that one takes an enquiry. Pages fail most often not because they are badly written but because they are trying to do both at once, and end up doing neither well enough to measure.
Article FAQs
Still have questions?The short answers.
Should I ignore high-volume informational keywords entirely?
No, but scope them honestly. Informational pages build topical coverage and earn citations from assistants. Just do not expect them to convert, and do not judge them on enquiries — judge them on whether they get quoted and linked.
How do I judge intent without a tool?
Search the phrase and read what the engine already returns. If the results are guides and definitions, the intent is informational. If they are service pages, listings and prices, the intent is transactional. The engine has already told you what it thinks the query means.
