The 4 Types of Keywords (+ Examples)

What Are the Different Types of Keywords?

The different types of keywords are informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.

That’s if you categorize your keywords based on the type of search intent—i.e., the general purpose behind the user’s search:

• Informational: Searchers want to find information
• Navigational: Searchers want to find a specific site or page
• Commercial: Searchers want to investigate brands, products, or services
• Transactional: Searchers want to complete an action (e.g., make a purchase)

There are other keyword categories used in SEO. For example, local keywords are used to find nearby products or services. And long-tail keywords are highly specific search terms.

But analyzing keywords based on intent can be particularly helpful. Because it helps you understand how to compete on search engine results pages (SERPs).

The intent type assigned to a keyword can tell you if a searcher is looking to buy something soon, shop around, or gather information.

Let’s look at each of the search intent categories in more detail.

1. Informational

Informational keywords are search queries used by people who want to learn something.

Here are some informational keyword examples:

• Coffee calories
• National coffee day
• What is the difference between cold brew and iced coffee

Informational keywords frequently (but don’t always) take the form of question keywords. This means they often start with “what,” “why,” “how,” and so on.

Google’s results for...