01
What are the main types of search intent?
SEO tools usually sort searches into four types: informational (learn something), navigational (reach a particular site), commercial investigation (compare options) and transactional (act or buy). These are industry labels, not Google's. Google's search quality rater guidelines group queries their own way, in a section on user intent: Know, Do, Website and Visit-in-Person.
Here's how the industry labels map to searches a plumber's customers might make, and the kind of page that fits each:
| Search | Likely intent | Page that fits |
|---|
| why is my water heater leaking | Informational | A guide that answers the question and says when to call a plumber |
| [your business name] | Navigational | Your own site and your Google Business Profile |
| tankless vs tank water heater cost | Commercial investigation | A comparison or cost page |
| water heater replacement near me | Transactional, local | A service page with your service area and an easy way to call or book |
The rater guidelines explain how Google judges whether results meet a need, but they aren't a ranking formula. Google says "No single rating can directly impact how a particular webpage, website, or result appears in Google Search."
02
How does local intent change the results?
For many service searches, Google assumes the person wants someone nearby. Google says its "systems can also recognize many queries have a local intent," so a search for pizza brings up "results about nearby businesses that deliver." A search for roof repair with no city typed works the same way and often brings up the local pack.
Location shapes the results too. Google says it uses "information such as your location, past Search history, and Search settings" to choose what to show. Two people typing the same words in different towns can see different businesses, which is why a ranking check from your shop tells you little about what a customer across town sees. How the local pack works explains the rest.
03
How can you tell what a search is after?
Search it yourself, from your service area, and look at what Google shows. A map pack points to hiring intent. Articles, videos and an AI Overview point to people learning. Comparison pages and lists point to shoppers weighing options. Google's results are its current reading of intent, so the page types already showing are a practical guide to what fits.
AI search adds a layer. A tool answering one question can run several related searches at once, a process called query fan-out. A question like whether to repair or replace a 15-year-old furnace mixes intents: the person wants to learn, compare costs and possibly hire, and a useful answer covers all three.
04
How does intent decide which pages a contractor needs?
Each main intent needs a page built for it. A service page serves the person ready to book: what you do, where you work, how to get an estimate. A guide serves the person still working out the problem. Asking one page to do both tends to blur it.
So a short page plan starts from the searches customers make, sorted by what they want. Service pages cover the hiring searches, guides cover the common questions, and each links to the other where it helps the reader. The home-service SEO handbook walks through that plan in order, and our local SEO page explains how we put it to work.
Related terms: Local pack · Query fan-out · Topical authority · All glossary terms
Where to go next: What is AEO, GEO and AI SEO? explains how AI answers change the way people search for a contractor.