2) Match Query Intent Precisely: Exact Match Intent (EMI) vs. Exact Match Query (EMQ)
For years onpage SEO has largely concerned itself with adding the exact phrases to one’s site that people are searching for in the search engines in order to rank for said phrases. However, this is no longer required, and actually can be detrimental if overdone. Instead, site owners who rank for a query are the ones that can most precisely and obviously match the supposed intent of those queries.
Query Intent:
Each query has “dominant” intent and potential intent. Google raters and algorithms try to determine what this is and serve pages for that intent. Google is getting very good at doing this. Panda is just the latest algorithm made to help them do so (by removing the spam pages – Google assumes no one intends to go to an annoying page). There are three possible query intent types, two of which are of importance:
Do-Know-Go
or
Action Queries, Informational Queries, and Navigational Queries
For SEO, the most important query intents are action queries (users wanting to “do” something, e.g.: “buy herbal shampoo”) and informational queries (users wanting to “know” something, e.g.: “herbal shampoo review”, or “what is herbal shampoo”).
And so, the more a page can obviously match a query intent (including query language type and location) by using all of its semantic signals*, the higher it will rank for that query over time.
*Semantic Index
The Google Page Rank algorithm determines what a site is about. What a site is about, and how much it is supposedly about that topic compared to other sites, is referred to as its “semantic index.”Technically, a site’s semantic index is determined by its semantic signals, which is defined by the content referring to it in these locations: URL, Title Tags, META Keywords, META Description, BODY tag, IMG alt, internal links, external links, external mentions and references.
SEO Tips for Exact Match Intent (EMI)
The following are some actionable tips to maximize one’s EMI:
- Provide an info page for info queries, provide an action page for action queries.
If a user wants info Google assumes they do not want to be directly sold to, so directly selling to info seeking users is riskyo Tip: If responding to an action query, allow users to complete that action. For “buy XYZ” queries, Google prefers contained (not forwarding) ecommerce shopping cart sites which provide reviews, ratings, and options as opposed to the long sales letter type salesy site.
- Use Exact Match Queries (EMQ) sparingly.
Only use EMQ in the URL of the webpage (e.g.: query.com OR xyz.com/query) OR the Title tag (e.g.: Buy Acme Herbal Shampoo – World’s Best Shampoo- 2011). Not both. Use Partial Match Query (PMQ) everywhere else, including copy text and backlinks. (Note: if an EMQ or two shows up in your copy text, this is not a problem. Write for humans not search engines. Also you may elect to use META keywords. If you do so, do not over stuff them with irrelevant keywords, or more than 5 to 6 keyphrases). (see THE FOUR (4) USEFUL / ANTI-SPAM SIGNALS PART III)
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