Search intent
The underlying goal behind a query — typically classified as informational, navigational, commercial investigation or transactional.
ContentCommercial intent
Commercial investigation intent
Queries from users comparing options before buying — 'best', 'vs', 'alternatives', 'review' — sitting between informational and transactional intent.
In full
These queries carry high commercial value because the user has decided to buy but not what to buy, and the SERPs are dominated by comparison content, reviews and roundups. Google's product review guidance applies here: content should show evidence of actual use, quantitative measurement and comparison against alternatives. It is also the segment most disrupted by AI answers, which summarise comparisons directly.
Example
'Best CRM for small business' returns nine roundups and one vendor comparison page, with an AI Overview summarising three of them.
Related terms
Reviews system
Google's system for rewarding in-depth review content that demonstrates first-hand expertise, broadened in 2023 from products to services…
AI Overviews
Google's AI-generated summaries shown at the top of many search results, synthesising information from multiple web pages with links to…
Affiliate SEO
Earning search traffic for content monetised through affiliate commissions; permitted by Google when the content adds substantial original…
SERP intent match
The practice of inferring what Google rewards for a query by analysing the page types, formats and features currently ranking, and…