Intent beats volume
Every search has an intent behind it. Match it or you won't rank, no matter how good the writing. The four classic types:
- Informational — "how to clean a cast iron pan" (wants an answer/guide)
- Commercial — "best cast iron pans" (comparing before buying)
- Transactional — "buy lodge cast iron skillet" (ready to act)
- Navigational — "lodge cookware site" (looking for a specific brand)
Read the SERP to confirm intent
Before writing, search the term yourself and study the SERP (the search engine results page — simply what Google shows after a search). If the top results are listicles (list-style articles like "10 best…"), Google thinks the intent is comparison — a single product page won't fit. Match the dominant format (guide, comparison, tool, video) and then do it better.
Map content to the journey
Plan a mix: informational content earns trust and traffic early in the buying journey (the "top of the funnel"); commercial and transactional pages turn those readers into customers. Internal links — links between your own pages — pass readers from one to the next. That structure, not one viral post, is what compounds.