Search intent: match every keyword to the right page
By the Auditmatic team · Updated 3 November 2026 · 6 min read
The four kinds of intent
Most searches fall into one of four groups.
- Informational: the person wants to learn, such as "what is a canonical tag".
- Commercial: the person is comparing, such as "best invoicing app for freelancers".
- Transactional: the person is ready to act, such as "buy invoicing software" or "pricing".
- Navigational: the person wants a specific site, such as "Auditmatic login".
Check intent on the results page
A keyword's label is a guess. The results page is the evidence. Search the phrase and look at what ranks.
- Open the top 10 results in a private window.
- Note the page type: guides, product pages, comparison lists, videos or forum threads.
- Note the format: a step-by-step, a list of tools, a pricing page.
- Match that type. If nine of ten results are lists, a long essay will struggle.
Map keywords to pages
Give every keyword one home. A simple table does it: keyword, intent, page type, page URL, status.
If two of your pages target the same keyword, they compete with each other. Merge them, or change the focus of one so it answers a different question.
- "what is a canonical tag" → informational → guide → /learn/canonical-tags
- "best invoicing app for freelancers" → commercial → comparison list → /compare/invoicing-apps
- "invoicing software pricing" → transactional → pricing page → /pricing
When intent is mixed
Some results pages mix types, for example a product page and a guide. That means Google is unsure. Pick the type your site can serve best, and make sure the page answers the main question in the first screen.
Run it with your AI agent
Connect your agent to Auditmatic, then paste this prompt. Replace the parts in angle brackets. It reads real data and asks before it spends anything.
Use my Auditmatic project for <your-domain>. Take these keywords: <list>. For each one, run get_serp_results and classify the intent from the page types that rank. Return a table: keyword, intent, page type that ranks, whether I have a matching page, and the URL if I do. Flag any two pages of mine that target the same keyword.
Without a tool
You can do this by hand with free tools:
- Search each keyword and write down the page types in the top 10.
- List your site's pages in a spreadsheet and write the main keyword for each.
- Highlight any keyword that appears twice. Decide which page keeps it.
Questions
Can one page serve two intents?
Sometimes, if the results page itself mixes both. Usually it is clearer to give each intent its own page.
What is keyword cannibalization?
It is when two of your pages target the same keyword and compete in the results. Merging them or changing one page's focus usually fixes it.
Keep going
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