Product pages, research papers, blog posts, white papers, and tutorials — there are many content types you can use to reach your customers. But unless you’re delivering the exact information your audience is searching for at the moment they need it, your carefully crafted content will likely fall short of its targets.
Match your content to consumer intent to ensure its impact. If you can tap into the reasons your audiences are looking for information and serve up tailored content that meets their needs, you can entice them to your website and guide them along their journey. Learn how customer intent mapping works and fill your content calendar with purposeful pieces that drive results.
What Is Customer Intent and Why Does It Matter?
Customer intent is the motivation behind a consumer’s actions. Whether they’re scrolling through search engine results, browsing your blog, or watching a video, they have a goal in mind. They might be wondering how to solve a problem, where to find a deal, or what brand to purchase.
If your content matches consumer intent, they’re more likely to follow through and act. They’ll tap on a link and read your article or sign up for the free trial on your landing page. Understanding consumer intent helps you build a bridge to your audience and show that your brand is relevant to their lives. You can create user experiences that pique their curiosity, encourage interaction, and drive conversions.
Understanding the Customer Journey
Intent mapping is built around the customer journey. Consumers want different information as they move toward purchase, from learning about their pain points to finding the product that suits their needs. If you understand what they’re trying to accomplish at each phase of their journey, you can develop appropriate content and offers. Here’s each stage of the customer journey and how you can drive purpose to each one.
Unaware
Customers who are unaware of your brand have no knowledge of your offerings and aren’t actively seeking a solution to a problem. However, your product or service can improve their life in some way — but you need to show them that first. At this stage, your content should spark interest or curiosity and put your business on their radar. Your goal is to highlight a need they weren’t aware of, moving them from a passive stage to one where they’re considering the benefits of your product or brand.
Awareness
At the awareness stage, customers have identified a need and are exploring solutions. They might be wondering what their teen needs for their college dorm or whether it’s time to replace a hot water heater. At this stage, your content should educate them about their situation and help them choose a path forward.
Consideration
Customers in the consideration stage have a good idea of how to solve their problem and are narrowing their choices. They’re exploring the differences between products and brands and the features they need or can do without. During the consideration stage, you should provide information that helps them compare options and make a choice.
Decision
Customers who are ready to make a purchase are in the final decision-making stage. They know what they want and are looking for the best price or provider. They’re looking at reviews, costs, warranties, and shipping to confirm they’re making the right decision. Conversion-driven content provides incentives, removes barriers, and highlights your brand’s value and unique benefits.
Retention
In the retention stage, the focus shifts to consumer satisfaction. Users want to maximize their purchases and make sure their products are working and well-maintained. By continuing to engage customers and ensuring they’re happy with their purchase, you lay the groundwork for glowing reviews, future purchases, and brand loyalty.
How To Identify Customer Intent
So how do you identify what potential customers are looking for? To engage audiences throughout the buyer journey, focus on search intent optimization and your customers’ needs.
Conduct Keyword Research
Search engine optimization (SEO) tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush help you find the keywords your audience uses. You can filter keywords by intent to learn why audiences are using them and what they want to accomplish.
Customer intent falls into four broad categories:
- Informational: Customers search for explanations, answers, and advice to better understand a topic (e.g., “Are streaming services worth it?”).
- Commercial: Users are learning about products, services, and brands to make a purchasing decision (“Netflix vs Hulu”).
- Transactional: Customers are ready to make a purchase and are exploring pricing, shipping, and terms and conditions (“Hulu plans”).
- Navigational: Audiences are using search engines to find a specific website or page rather than navigating to the domain and finding it themselves (“Disney Plus signup”).
These general categories are a starting point for understanding the reason behind a user’s search, but there are also subtleties in intent within these groups. Drill down to micro search intents to tailor your content more precisely.
Analyze Customer Data
Customers leave clues about intent through their interactions with your brand.
Your website analytics reveal the pages users visit most frequently. Try segmenting the data to understand what first-time visitors want to know compared to returning visitors.
You can learn about customer concerns through emails, chats, support lines, and other communication channels. If you use a CRM to track this information, organize the feedback according to the buyer journey. Identify the questions potential customers ask when first discovering your product and the concerns they have as they get closer to buying.
Use Search Queries and Questions
Consumers often ask for advice and share opinions in online communities. Browse through social media and online forums to discover what customers are interested in and asking about. You can usually relate these topics to different stages of the buyer journey. Those in the awareness stage tend to ask about challenges and pain points, while those in the consideration stage focus on product comparisons and specific features.
Your online research can extend to competitor websites. Look for FAQs on product, pricing, and customer support pages to see questions customers commonly ask. Search engine autocomplete suggestions and the People Also Ask sections of the search engine results pages (SERPs) also offer insights into popular queries.
Mapping Customer Intent to the Customer Journey
You should now have a list of keywords, topics, questions, and concerns that crop up as your target audience tries to solve their problems. Begin aligning consumer intent to the stages of the buyer journey so you can create a targeted content calendar.
Match Intent to Journey Stages
Let’s run through a scenario to help you map intent. I’ll illustrate common intents for each stage of the buyer journey using the example of someone who wants to increase website traffic but isn’t sure how. You can see how their intent changes as they move toward a solution.
Awareness Stage
During the awareness stage, customers are focused on a problem or challenge. They’re evaluating a situation, putting things into context, and gaining knowledge. Their search queries are informational in intent. They might ask “why is my website not ranking in Google,” “what is SEO” and “SEO for small businesses.” Customers are not yet considering a specific solution.
Consideration Stage
Customers at the consideration stage have a sense of how to proceed. They now have commercial intent and are exploring various approaches. Our prospective customer now understands what SEO is and is asking Google, “can I do SEO myself,” “SEO agency vs freelancer,” and “how much is an SEO agency.”
Decision Stage
At the decision stage, customers have evaluated their options and selected a solution. They have transactional intent and are moving toward a purchase. They are shifting to high-intent keywords such as “best SEO agencies in [city],” “SEO agency near me,” and “XYZ agency reviews.”
Create a Framework for Mapping
As your content marketing customer journey becomes clearer, create a matrix to manage the components of your strategy. This will help you align the following:
- Buyer stage
- Search intent
- Keywords/topics
- Content types
Using the example of a SaaS company that is selling a meditation app, here’s what a basic content mapping framework looks like:
| Stage | Search Intent | Keywords | Content Types |
| Awareness | Learning about mental well-being | “Why can’t I sleep” “Natural ways to reduce stress” | Blog posts, quizzes |
| Consideration | Learning about/comparing solutions | “What is meditation” “Meditation for beginners” “Best meditation app” | Blog posts, product pages, explainer videos, comparison charts |
| Decision | Choosing a meditation app | “Meditation app reviews” “Meditation app free trial” | Testimonials, landing pages |
| Retention | Improving well-being | “Having trouble meditating” “How to meditate regularly” | Blog posts, social media posts, member forums |
Structuring Your Content Calendar Using Intent Mapping
Now it’s time to put your framework to work and build out your content calendar with a focus on search intent. Plan, prioritize, and schedule relevant content so you can capture users throughout their path to purchase.
Plan Content for Each Journey Stage
Working through each topic or keyword in your grid, think about what users want to know. Pick a content format that presents information in a clear and engaging way. You can meet intent with various content types, as long as you deliver useful information that helps users accomplish their goals. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Informational intent: Blog posts, guides, podcasts, infographics, educational videos, quizzes, webinars, FAQ pages
- Commercial intent: Case studies, sales pages, video demos, calculators, comparison charts
- Transactional intent: Reviews, testimonials, branded product pages, landing pages with relevant calls-to-action
- Navigational intent: Branded sign-up, category, FAQ, support, and landing pages
I recommend a mix of evergreen pieces and trending content, such as “How To Fit Meditation Into Your Busy Day” and “Quick Meditations To Reduce Holiday Stress.” Pieces that remain relevant over time drive ongoing traffic, while seasonal or event-based content has a shorter shelf life but is relevant in the moment.
Prioritize High-Value Intents
Focus on customer intents that align with your business goals to generate the most impactful results. For example, if your goal is to improve brand awareness, prioritize topics with informational intent to get more eyes on your business. For lead generation, emphasize commercial intent and target those further along in their journey.
Use Google Analytics to track user actions on your website and determine the search terms that are inspiring conversions. Which keywords lead to newsletter subscriptions, free trials, and purchases? Use these insights to find conversion-driven intent and build on those types of queries.
Schedule Content To Meet Intent Needs
Slot each piece of content into your editorial calendar so you’re rolling out content on a regular basis. Keep your audience’s buying timeline in mind and have content ready to go before high-traffic windows and peak buying periods. Your goal is to be visible when your target audience is most likely to be exploring options, whether that’s Black Friday, back-to-school season, or tax filing season.
Despite your meticulous planning, you’ll occasionally need to pivot your strategy. Shifts in user behaviors, new competitors, and industry trends may require you to adjust tactics. Be prepared to update your calendar by swapping out scheduled pieces or having an inventory of backup content to fill holes. Create your calendar in a document that can be easily edited and shared.
Tips for Optimizing Your Content Calendar
Your content calendar helps you put your ideas into action. Here are a few final tips to ensure your strategy is executed effectively:
- Use a project management tool such as Trello, Asana, or Airtable to organize your workflow. You can assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and track progress.
- Communicate with your team to make sure everyone understands the target audience, content goals, and messaging. Use content briefs to outline each piece and ensure it meets intent.
- Track metrics such as keyword ranking, traffic, engaged sessions, and conversions. Adjust tactics to improve performance as needed.
- Review customer intent regularly to identify new opportunities and ensure you’re delivering information that customers value.
Why Intent Mapping Is Key to Content Marketing Success
It’s hard to make an impact online without understanding your audience. Intent mapping ensures your content is based on user behaviors and satisfies customer needs throughout their journey. Victorious offers a full suite of content marketing services, tapping into data-driven insights to help your brand grow. With smart, purposeful content on your website, you’ll achieve visibility when customers are searching for information and improve engagement, conversions, and ROI. Reach out for a free consultation today.
