How To Find High Intent Keywords That Convert In 2025

High intent keywords are the lifeline of any conversion-focused SEO strategy. You could write a hundred blog posts, rank on page one, and still struggle with sales—if your keywords don’t match what buyers are actually searching for.

In 2025, the competition isn’t just about ranking. It’s about ranking for the right phrases. 

That means putting yourself in front of users who are ready to act—whether that’s booking a demo, signing up for a free trial, or making a purchase. That’s where high intent keywords make all the difference.

Let’s break it down.

What are high intent keywords and why they matter

High intent keywords (also called high commercial intent keywords) are search terms used by people who are close to taking a specific action, like buying, booking, or signing up.

Some high intent keywords examples include:

• “Buy noise cancelling headphones online”
• “Best CRM for recruitment agencies”
• “Affordable running shoes near me”
• “Free trial social media scheduling tool”

As you can see, these are purchase intent keywords which usually include strong commercial or transactional phrases. 

These SEO keywords act as signals for businesses. When someone searches using terms like these, they tell you exactly what they want. They’ve done their research. They’re not here to browse—they’re here to act.

That’s what separates high intent from low intent. While low-intent keywords like “what is CRM” or “types of running shoes” may bring traffic, they usually attract people still in the research phase. These users might convert—eventually. However, high-intent users are ready to make a purchase now, making them a crucial target for businesses.

Why high intent keyword are so important for businesses

When you align your content or ads with buying intent keywords, you’re not guessing—you’re meeting real demand. That leads to better-qualified leads, shorter sales cycles, and way more conversions. 

And in 2025, when CPCs are climbing and competition is fiercer, commercial intent keywords are your best bet to protect ROI.

1. Help establish authority and expertise

When someone searches “best applicant tracking system for healthcare hiring” and finds your blog or landing page ranking at the top, it signals one thing: you know what you’re talking about.

You’re not just showing up in broad searches like “what is an ATS.” You’re showing up where it matters most—at the point of decision-making. That immediately positions your business as a solution provider, not just an information source. 

And that’s how high intent keywords build credibility fast.

This kind of visibility reinforces topical authority and tells both search engines and buyers that your brand understands the niche.

2. Attracts high-value, qualified leads

People searching with commercial intent keywords are already in buying-mode. You don’t need to nurture them from scratch. You just need to give them what they’re looking for—clear pricing, a signup button, or a compelling comparison.

For example, someone searching for “best AI writing tools” is 10 times more valuable than someone searching for “what is an AI writing tool?”

When your SEO strategy leans into high converting keywords, you skip the fluff and get straight to the leads that are most likely to become paying customers.

3. Directly influence conversions and ROI

High intent keywords cut your sales cycle in half. You’re not wasting time explaining the basics to people who aren’t ready. You’re reaching people who already know they need a solution—they just want to pick the right one.

Because these searchers are further down the sales funnel, conversion rates tend to be significantly higher. That means better ROI on content marketing, lower CPA on paid search campaigns, and faster deal closures.

For example, if you’re running Google Ads, bidding on buying intent keywords like “get pricing for [your tool]” typically gives a much cleaner return than generic category terms.

4. Improves your overall SEO strategy

High intent keywords may have lower search volume but often have far less competition. That means you can rank faster, get clicks sooner, and see SEO results within a reasonable time frame.

Even better, these keywords often show up in Google’s featured snippets and People Also Ask sections. And when you rank in these sections for SERP, your brand gets more visibility without paying for ads.

Plus, they’re perfect for creating SEO content that converts, like landing pages, how-to guides, comparison posts, and tool roundups. This means that you’re not just ranking; you’re ranking with a strong audience search intent.

What is keyword intent, and understanding the different types

Keyword intent is the purpose or intention behind a user’s search. In simple terms, it tells you why someone is searching for a particular phrase and what they’re trying to do.

Some people search to learn, some to compare, and some to buy. If you match your content with the wrong intent, you’re bringing in traffic that won’t convert.

To use high-intent keywords effectively, you first need to understand the full spectrum of keyword intent and learn how to recognize it based on how a search is phrased. 

1. Informational vs transactional intent

Informational intent keywords show that the user is trying to educate themselves. They’re not looking to buy anything yet. These searches usually start with words like how, what, or why.

Examples:

• what is a VPN
• how to start a fitness routine
• email marketing tips for beginners

These are good for top-of-funnel blog content but usually low in conversions.

On the other hand, transactional intent keywords mean the user is ready to act. These are high intent keywords that often include action-driven phrases like buy, order, subscribe, hire, download, or book.

Examples:

• buy VPN subscription for Mac
• hire online fitness coach
• sign up for email marketing software

This is where conversions happen. These are the keywords you want on your landing pages, pricing pages, and product pages.

2. Commercial intent keywords

These keywords sit between informational and transactional. The user is evaluating options and is almost ready to buy, but is still comparing.

Commercial intent keywords usually contain modifiers like best, top, review, vs, or alternatives. These users are qualified leads—they just need to be convinced.

Examples:

• best email marketing tool for small business
• Calendly vs Doodle for scheduling
• top-rated VPNs with free trial

This is a great place to target with comparison blogs, listicles, and feature breakdowns. While not quite ready to convert, these users are warm leads. With the right CTA, they’ll move fast.

💡 Related to your reading: How to Find Low Competition Keywords

3. Transactional intent keywords

These are pure purchase intent keywords. The user has already made their decision—they’re just looking for the next step. You’ll see phrases like sign up, get a quote, book now, or very specific branded terms.

Examples:

• get pricing for Writesonic
• sign up for Grammarly Business
• book a virtual assistant

These are ideal for conversion-focused assets. You want these keywords on your Google Ads, bottom-funnel SEO pages, and sales-driven emails.

4. Low intent keywords vs high intent keywords

Low intent keywords bring early-stage traffic. You’ll see high impressions, low conversions. Whereas, high-intent keywords bring action-ready users. Fewer impressions, much better close rates.

For example:

• Low intent: “freelance writing tips”
• High intent: “hire freelance SaaS writer with B2B experience”

If your pages are optimized for low intent terms, expect engagement with no revenue. But if you’re using buying intent keywords, your content and ad dollars are working toward conversions, not just clicks.

How to find high intent keywords in 2025

Finding high intent keywords isn’t just about using a keyword research tool and picking what looks good. It’s about understanding the psychology behind searches, what people are trying to dom, and aligning your keyword strategy with those actions.

Here’s how top marketers and SEO professionals are identifying the buying intent keywords that actually lead to conversions:

1. Understand your audience’s buying behavior

Start by mapping the decision-making journey of your ideal customer.

Before someone buys, they go through a process: identifying a need, researching solutions, comparing options, and finally making a decision. You want to target the keywords they search when they’re near the bottom of this funnel—when they’re ready to act.

For example:

• A low intent search might be: “how to build a website”
• A high intent keyword would be: “buy website builder with ecommerce tools”

Notice the difference in search intent. The second term signals commercial action. These are the phrases you want to find, because they’re more likely to convert into real business.

If you’ve already published content or run ads, reviewing search terms from Google Search Console or performance metrics can reveal patterns in high-converting queries. 

Pay close attention to words like “buy,” “get,” “schedule,” or specific brand comparisons—these are signs of purchase intent keywords.

2. Use a keyword research tool to filter by intent

Once you understand your audience’s intent, it’s time to conduct comprehensive keyword research to validate your assumptions. 

Of course, analyzing keyword data can seem overwhelming. That’s why Writesonic’s SEO AI agent is a great way to automate this step and get the exact insights you need with just a simple query. 

All you have to do is ask the SEO AI agent to suggest high intent keywords for your niche, and watch how it instantly pulls live data from Ahrefs or SEMrush–without manual searching:

You can also use Writesonic’s Keyword Research Tool, which can:

• Filter keywords by intent type, including commercial and transactional. 
• Sort keywords based on conversion signals like CPC, difficulty, and traffic potential. 
• Generate hundreds of high-intent keyword clusters tailored to your niche. 

For example, Writesonic’s keyword research tool analyzes the keyword “organic soap” and tags it with commercial intent, revealing related high-converting variants like “organic castile soap” and “best organic soap”, along with CPC, difficulty, and volume.

These are the types of keywords you want on your landing pages, demo request forms, and conversion-focused blog content.

3. Check Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) and featured snippets

Don’t underestimate Google’s SERP features—they’re real-time insight into what users are asking, comparing, and clicking. More importantly, when you target the queries in Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, and PAA boxes, you may appear in these high-visibility SERPs. 

To identify potential SERP feature queries, search for any seed term and look for:

• PAA boxes (People Also Ask): These questions often highlight commercial intent keywords with comparison or pain-point phrasing.
• Featured snippets: Google usually pulls these from content that clearly answers transactional queries.

For example, searching “AI tools for content creators” may surface these questions in Google’s PAA box:

• “Which AI tool creates long-form content?”
• “Is Writesonic better than Jasper for SEO?”

These questions reflect strong buying or decision-making signals. You can turn them into blog titles, section headers, or FAQs to capture that same traffic.

4. Look for long-tail keywords that show buying intent

High converting keywords are often long-tail. They’re more specific, reflect real use cases, and closely match what people type when they’re ready to take action.

Here’s the difference:

• Low intent: “email marketing”
• High intent: “sign up for email marketing tool with drag-and-drop editor”

These kinds of long-tail keywords may not have huge search volume, but the conversion rates are much higher.

With Writesonic’s SEO AI Agent, you can track the performance of these keywords over time. The tool shows which long-tail buying intent keywords drive qualified clicks and which need optimization or fresh content.

You can use this data to double down on what’s working—and avoid what isn’t.

5. Analyze competitor keywords that drive conversions

You don’t always need to start from scratch. Most often, competitors in your industry are already ranking for the high intent keywords you should target.

To conduct a comprehensive competitor keyword research, look at their:

• Product and pricing page titles
• Meta descriptions and H1s
• Paid ad headlines and landing pages

These areas are loaded with commercial intent keywords because that’s where the conversions happen. For example, if a competitor’s ad headline reads:

“Start your 14-day CRM free trial today”, they’re clearly targeting the keyword “CRM free trial”—a proven transactional keyword.

If you need a shortcut to identifying your competitor’s target high intent keywords, you can use Writesonic’s SEO AI agent for instant insights in just seconds. 

The tool can analyze their top-performing URLs and find related phrases they may be targeting in both organic and paid search. This gives you a clearer picture of what’s working—and where there are gaps.

When you choose keywords based on real buyer behavior, intent filters, and SERP insights—and then validate performance over time—you’re not just ranking. You’re driving action.

💡 Also learn: What is Keyword Difficulty & Why Is It Important?

How to use high intent keywords in your SEO strategy

High intent keywords are only as effective as the execution behind them. It’s not enough to “add them into your content”—you need to strategically deploy them across your most conversion-critical pages, metadata, and internal architecture. Here’s how to structure your SEO strategy so that high intent searches turn into high-quality leads:

1. Optimizing product and landing pages

Transactional and commercial keywords should never live deep in a blog. They belong at the frontlines, or on pages that push for action. This means pages that bring in the most initial traffic, like homepages and pricing pages. 

Let’s say you’re targeting “get pricing for content automation platform.” That exact phrase should guide the full layout of your pricing page:

• H1: “Get Pricing for Our AI-Powered Content Automation Platform”
  
• First line: “Looking to scale content creation without hiring 5 new writers? Here’s what our platform costs—and what you get.”
  
• CTA button: “See Plans & Start for Free”
  

These pages should be tightly optimized around purchase intent keywords—think buy, get started, start free trial, request quote, or see plans. Don’t dilute the copy with top-of-funnel explanations. Match the user’s urgency and intention.

2. SEO content: Listicles, how to guides, comparison articles

Blog posts still matter—but not just any blog format will do. If you’re targeting commercial intent keywords, the goal isn’t to educate—it’s to help users make a decision.

Here’s where they work best:

• Listicle blogs (e.g., “7 best proposal software tools for agencies”)
• Comparison posts (e.g., “PandaDoc vs Proposify: Which one is worth your money?”)
• Transactional how-to guides (e.g., “How to create and send proposals using [Your Tool]”)

Use Writesonic’s AI Article Writer with intent filters to structure these articles around real mid-funnel actions. You can generate a full draft that includes:

• PAA-style FAQ questions to hit featured snippets
• Key word targeting
• Conversion-focused CTAs at key scroll points

Plus, the AI Article Writer also understands exactly what kind of search intent to create content for. When you enter your topic, the AI will automatically suggest what kind of blog type will work best for your topic:

3. Adding keywords to metadata and headings

Your keyword shouldn’t just live in your body copy. To compete with competitors, you need complete relevance alignment. That means using high intent keywords in:

• Meta titles: Include intent language (e.g., buy, get started, free trial)
• Meta descriptions: Don’t waste space explaining the category. Instead, show what action can be taken.
• H1 + H2s: These shape how search engines parse your intent, especially when mirrored in PAA answers or snippet boxes.

Example:

Meta title: “Get Started with AI Content Software | Instant Access”

Meta description: “Sign up for our AI-powered content creation tool. Flexible plans, zero onboarding hassle.”

By specifying your headings and metadata, you’re signaling to Google relevance and intent—and that increases both your click-through rate and conversion potential.

4. Internal linking with buyer intent keyword anchors

Internal links aren’t just for crawl depth. They’re a signal of hierarchy and conversion priority. If you’re linking to your high-intent pages with anchor text like “click here” or “learn more”, you’re wasting an opportunity.

Instead, turn anchor text into mini CTAs using buyer intent keyword anchors:

Bad:

• “Click here to see our pricing”

Better:

• “Compare pricing plans for content automation”
• “Get a custom quote for AI writing at scale”

5. Incorporating Google My Business Profile for local SEO

If you offer local or regional services, most marketers overlook one of the highest-converting surfaces: Google Business Profile (GBP).

Here’s how to weave in high intent keywords for local SEO naturally:

• Add services with action words: “Hire a freelance web developer in San Diego” or “Book a local tax consultant”
  
• Use keyword-rich answers in the Q&A section: “Yes, you can schedule a virtual SEO audit directly from our site”
  
• Write your business description using commercial intent keywords like consult, book, get help with, schedule
  

This kind of intent-matching helps your business show up for phrases like:

• “book fitness trainer near me”
• “hire Shopify developer in Austin”
  

By targeting high intent local keywords, you ensure higher visibility for your region but with zero ad spend.

With this structure, your keywords won’t just rank—they’ll convert. From landing pages to internal links to local profiles, every placement should reflect exactly what the searcher wants to do next.

Winning in SEO is no longer about chasing volume but targeting high intent keywords that lead to real business outcomes.

And Writesonic’s SEO AI Agent takes the guesswork out of this process. 

You can identify intent, create optimized content, track performance, and refine—all from one platform. Plus, the integrations with Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush allow instant fact-checked data at your fingertips. 

No jumping between tools. No patchy data. Just clean insights, automation where it matters, and real-time visibility into what your audience is ready to act on.

If you’re serious about driving conversions with content, stop guessing and start targeting what works.

FAQs

1. What are high intent keywords?

High intent keywords are search terms used by people ready to take a specific action, like making a purchase, booking a service, or signing up for a product. These keywords often include action words like buy, get, book, hire, or subscribe, and are closely tied to conversions.

2. What does high intent mean?

High intent refers to the likelihood that a user will take action after performing a search. If a person is searching with high intent, it usually means they’re close to making a decision—like buying a product or contacting a service provider.

3. What are high value keywords?

High value keywords are search terms that have strong commercial potential, meaning they drive qualified traffic and are more likely to result in conversions. These often overlap with high intent keywords and usually have higher CPCs due to demand in paid campaigns.

4. Which keyword intent is best?

The best keyword intent depends on your goal. If you’re focused on traffic, informational keywords work well. But if your goal is conversions, transactional and commercial intent keywords, which fall under high intent, are the most effective. These bring in users who are ready to act.

Saloni Kohli

Content Strategist

Saloni Kohli is a Content Strategist with over four years’ experience in B2B SaaS content marketing and SEO. She has shaped and executed end-to-end content strategies—ranging from editorial planning and long-form thought leadership to conversion-focused landing pages and email campaigns. At Writesonic, Saloni combines creativity with data-driven insights to elevate brand voice, drive organic growth, and maximize audience engagement.