Extended definition
The user's real intent when searching for a term. Four types: informational ("what is X"), navigational ("Facebook login"), commercial ("best X 2026"), transactional ("buy X").
Context and application
Quick intent identification: search your query in Google and look at what type of pages appear in the top 10. If you see “guide” articles, it’s informational. If you see product pages, it’s transactional. If you see “top 10 X”, it’s commercial. Your page must be of the same type — you can’t rank a product page on an informational query or vice versa. Classic mistake: “blog category” pages try to be both editorial hub and commercial page — confusing for intent, no good results either for SEO or for conversion.
In practice
pages that correctly answer intent rank better, regardless of keyword density.