Definition
Search intent, also called user intent or query intent, is the goal a person has when they type a query into a search engine. The standard categories are informational (the user wants to learn something — "how do casino wagering requirements work"), navigational (the user wants a specific site — "brandx casino login"), commercial investigation (the user is comparing options before acting — "best fast payout casinos"), and transactional (the user is ready to act — "open brandx casino account").
Matching a page to the dominant intent of its target query is one of the strongest determinants of whether it ranks and converts.
Search engines infer intent from the query and from the aggregate behaviour of past searchers, and they shape the results page accordingly: an informational query returns explainers and often a featured snippet; a commercial query returns comparison and review content; a transactional query returns product or sign-up pages. The composition of the current results page for a query is therefore the clearest available evidence of what intent the search engine has decided that query represents.
In context
For iGaming affiliates, intent analysis governs page type. A query like "is brandx casino legit" is commercial investigation with a trust angle, so the page should be a review that addresses licensing, safety and payouts, not a thin bonus landing page.
A query like "what is RTP" is informational, so the page should explain the concept clearly, and monetisation should be a soft contextual link, not the main event. Building a transactional-style page for an informational query, or vice versa, produces a page that either does not rank or ranks and does not convert.
Intent also changes over time and by market, and a single page often has to serve a small cluster of related intents — a review that also answers "brandx casino withdrawal time" and "brandx casino bonus code" within it. The practical method is to look at the live results for the target query and its close variants, identify the page types and content elements the search engine is currently rewarding, and build a page that matches that pattern while being more thorough or more current than what is ranking.
Chasing keywords without checking intent is the most common reason a well-optimised page fails to rank.
Worked example
An affiliate targets "brandx casino promo code" with a thin page that just lists a code and a sign-up button. It does not rank.
Checking the live results shows the ranking pages are full reviews that mention the code in context alongside bonus terms, wagering and payout information. The affiliate rebuilds the page as a review, and it enters the top five.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Browse the full iGaming & affiliate glossary — hundreds of EN/RU terms with examples.
← Back to glossary