Case Semrush: Understanding and Successfully Responding to Search Intent
Case Semrush: Understanding and Successfully Responding to Search Intent
What?
In 2021, being successful with SEO largely depends on how relevant you are to a search query. Creating content that perfectly aligns with search intent is becoming increasingly important. Google's algorithm updates like Hummingbird, RankBrain, and BERT are getting better at determining search intent. This case for a large medical website shows that search intent is incredibly powerful, but understanding and successfully responding to it are two different challenges.
How?
With SplitSignal, we set up an A/B test where we adjusted the title of 350 pages to better align with search intent. We replaced the existing title tag with a question form that reflects the actual search intent of users. The results showed that this had a negative effect - the CTR dropped dramatically while rankings and impressions remained stable.
How?
With SplitSignal, we set up an A/B test where we adjusted the title of 350 pages to better align with search intent. We replaced the existing title tag with a question form that reflects the actual search intent of users. The results showed that this had a negative effect - the CTR dropped dramatically while rankings and impressions remained stable.
Tooling
Insights and Results
This test confirms that understanding search intent and successfully responding to it are two different things. For this medical website, it turned out that users especially value authoritative information providers. Placing a question instead of a clear answer in the title worked against trust. This insight helps the organization to better tailor their content to what their audience truly expects.
