DM2: Page-level SEO: intent, titles, structure and structured data
Search intent and keywords
🎯You'll be able to
Sort searches by intent, find the words customers really use without paid tools, and match each important search to one page.
🏠The everyday picture
At a hardware shop, "Where are the screws?" and "Which screw holds a shelf on a brick wall?" need different answers: one needs a sign to the aisle, the other needs a person who knows.
📘What it really is
- Search intent is what the person wants to do:
- informational: learn something ("how to season a clay tawa");
- navigational: reach a known site ("mittimart");
- commercial: compare before buying ("best clay water bottle");
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transactional: buy now ("buy kulhad set online").
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Match the page type to the intent: product pages for transactional searches, guides for informational ones, category pages for broad shopping searches.
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Finding the words people use, without paid tools: search engine autocomplete and "People also ask", the queries report in a search console (DM1), customer emails and reviews, and the shop's own site search.
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Local language: many Indian customers search in English, Hindi, Odia and mixed forms ("matka bottle", "mitti ki bottle"). Use the words customers use, on the page, naturally.
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One page per purpose: two pages chasing the same search compete with each other (sometimes called cannibalisation). Merge them or give each a distinct purpose.
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Volume isn't everything: a small, specific search ("clay tawa for gas stove 10 inch") often converts better than a broad one.
📝A worked example
Input: six searches from MittiMart's search console queries report.
| Search | Intent | Best page |
|---|---|---|
| buy kulhad set online | transactional | product/kulhad-set.html |
| how to clean clay water bottle | informational | a care guide (to write) |
| mittimart | navigational | home page |
| clay cookware online india | commercial | shop.html |
| diya pack 12 | transactional | product/diya-pack.html |
| is clay tawa safe on gas | informational | the tawa page's care section, or a guide |
Expected output: four searches already have a matching page; two need care information that MittiMart doesn't have yet.
🌍Where it's used
- Content teams plan guides around informational questions customers ask.
- E-commerce teams map product and category pages to buying searches.
- Support teams feed common questions into help pages that also rank in search.
📝Case scenario
A spice brand wrote 30 blog posts on "health benefits of turmeric", none of which linked to its products, while its product pages had one-line descriptions. Sales from search grew only after the product pages answered buyers' questions (origin, freshness, pack size) and each post linked to the matching product.
🖱️Try it
Type "clay" into a search engine and note ten autocomplete suggestions. Sort them into the four intents. Success: at least three intents appear, and you can name the type of page that fits each.
⚠️Common mistakes
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One page for every intent. Sign: a product page stuffed with a long history of pottery. Fix: a focused product page and a separate guide, linked to each other.
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Ignoring how customers really talk. Sign: only the shop's own product names. Fix: read queries, reviews and support messages.
- Two pages for the same search. Sign: both rank on page two. Fix: merge, or give each a clear different purpose.
🛠️For your project
Project 3 checks unique titles and descriptions; writing them per page (Lesson 2) starts from what each page is for.
✅Quick check
What intent does "how to season a clay tawa" have?
Show the answer
Informational: the person wants to learn, so a guide fits best.
Name one free source of real search words.
Show the answer
Autocomplete, "People also ask", a search console's queries report, reviews or support messages.