At Google, it’s unstable again if the algorithm and ranking factors were re-evaluated. This is currently happening for some website owners. But what exactly happened and what is the search engine giant worth in the future? John Mueller, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst, commented on Reddit. There he emphasized that the number of words is no longer a relevant ranking factor and Google is now instead paying more attention to what the user aims with his search and whether that is served on the page. So you put the user intent into focus.

For a long time, many webmasters did the same thing: doing keyword analysis, checking search volume, creating lots of content using w questions, and then backlinking. Parts of this procedure can be retained, but other parts require adaptation. Now, one thing is in the foreground: Just serve what the user expects with his search query. For this, the right long tail keywords and the right content are important. Google wants to make it so that the user with his search directly in the SERPs receives the desired information and preferably does not have to click on a link. For webmasters not really nice, because then the traffic is off. However, if the user decides to visit the site despite having already included the info, this certainly brings positive impulses regarding the bounce rate – if the expectations are fulfilled.

The user intent has long been an important factor in the Google Quality Rater Guidelines. This will show site operators how Google’s view of an optimal search results. For this purpose, the searches were divided into the sections Informational, Navigational and Transactional. The most important user intents are there

• Website: User is looking for a website he already knows. This often happens with big brands. The websites then rank at number 1.
• Do: Here the user wants to actively do something, for example, download something, buy, etc. This was until recently called Transactional Intent.
• Know: Here’s the information. Especially with this user intent the search result itself will often be sufficient in the future to clarify the question.
• Visit in person: meant for local searches, so the search for a restaurant, service providers, etc. Since the location of the user is included and often only mobile maps results displayed.

So it is important for many to adapt the on-page optimization and to change the approach, so that good rankings are still possible in the future.