The four kinds of intent
- Informational — the searcher wants to learn something: "what is a sitemap". Answered by guides and explainers.
- Navigational — they're looking for a specific site: "stripe login". You either are the destination or you're not.
- Commercial — they're comparing before a purchase: "best invoicing software for freelancers". Answered by comparisons, reviews, lists.
- Transactional — they're ready to act: "buy domain name". Answered by product and pricing pages.
Why it decides rankings
Google's job is to give searchers what they came for, so the results mirror the dominant intent. If everything ranking for your keyword is a how-to guide, your product page is fighting the intent — and almost always losing, no matter how well-optimized it is. Matching intent is a prerequisite, not a bonus.
How to check it
Search the keyword and look at what's actually on the first page of the SERP. Mostly guides? Write a guide. Mostly product pages? Your product page has a chance. The results page is the answer key — Google has already told you what kind of page it wants to show.