April 8, 2025
Search Intent vs. Search Volume: Why Healthcare Marketers Should Focus on Intent
Many healthcare marketing professionals build their SEO strategies around keywords with high search volumes, often overlooking lower-volume terms that could drive more qualified patient inquiries. This approach misses a critical concept: intent versus query volume.
This guide outlines practical strategies to help healthcare organizations leverage search intent to drive more relevant traffic and increase conversions. We’ll cover how to identify valuable intent groups, create content that captures multiple variations, and measure the true impact of your intent-focused approach.
Understanding Intent Volume vs. Query Volume
With long-tail search queries, it’s essential for healthcare marketing strategies to focus on intent, not just search query volume. Many valuable healthcare queries show “zero” monthly searches in keyword research tools because people phrase their questions in various ways.
Example: Acne Treatment Queries
A potential patient searching for adult acne solutions might use any of these variations:
- “Best treatment for adult hormonal acne”
- “How to treat hormonal acne in women over 30”
- “Adult acne treatments that actually work”
- “Dermatologist recommended treatments for hormonal acne”
- “Medical solutions for adult acne breakouts”
- “Prescription treatments for hormone-related acne”
- “How to cure persistent hormonal acne”
All seven search terms show a single search intent: finding effective treatments for adult hormonal acne.
If each variation gets just 15 searches monthly, the combined intent volume is actually 105 monthly searches – significant enough to warrant targeted content for a dermatology practice.
Why Focusing on Intent Delivers Better Results
Traditional keyword research might lead you to prioritize “acne treatment” (8,000 monthly searches) over “best treatment for adult hormonal acne” (10 monthly searches). However, this approach overlooks several critical advantages of intent-focused content.
When someone searches for “best treatment for adult hormonal acne,” they’re showing much clearer treatment intent than someone searching the generic “acne treatment,” who might be looking for anything from home remedies to clinical studies. The specific search indicates a patient who has already identified their condition and is actively seeking solutions – making them much more likely to book an appointment with a dermatologist who addresses their exact concern.
Competition for generic healthcare terms is intense. Major health portals like WebMD, Mayo Clinic, and Healthline dominate these results, along with pharmaceutical companies with substantial marketing budgets. For most healthcare providers, ranking for these terms is very difficult. Long-tail, intent-focused terms face significantly less competition, creating viable ranking opportunities for local providers.
Intent-matched content creates a better patient experience. When someone finds content that directly addresses their specific situation, they’re more likely to engage with it and view your organization as understanding their needs. Generic content that doesn’t address their precise concerns often leads to quick exits and missed connection opportunities.
The Four Types of Search Intent in Healthcare
Understanding the type of intent behind searches is crucial for creating the right content. Healthcare searches typically fall into four main categories, each requiring a different content approach.
1. Informational Intent
Patients with informational intent are seeking to understand something about their health condition or treatment options. They’re typically in the early stages of their patient journey, gathering facts and insights. Searches like “What causes migraines,” “Diabetes type 2 symptoms,” or “How long does strep throat last” all reflect this information-gathering phase.
For these searchers, your content should be comprehensive and educational. Focus on clear explanations backed by medical expertise, helpful visuals like diagrams or infographics, and a structure that makes complex health information accessible. This content builds trust and positions your healthcare organization as a reliable authority.
2. Navigational Intent
Navigational searches indicate that a user is looking for a specific healthcare provider, facility, or resource. These searchers often already know what they want and just need to find it. Examples include “Charlotte Clinic cardiology department,” “MyChart login AnMed Hospital,” or “Dr. Smith rheumatologist Charlotte.”
These searches require straightforward content focused on helping users find exactly what they’re looking for. Your pages should feature clear location information, provider directories with filtering options, and simple navigation paths to appointment booking. The goal is to remove friction and quickly connect patients with the specific resources they’re seeking.
3. Commercial Intent
Commercial intent searches happen when patients are actively weighing their options before making a healthcare decision. They’re comparing providers, treatments, or facilities. Searches like “Best hospitals for knee replacement,” “Compare LASIK vs PRK surgery,” or “Top-rated dermatologists for acne near me” all signal this evaluation phase.
For these searches, your content should help patients make informed decisions. Include detailed comparisons of treatment options, patient testimonials that build confidence, visual galleries showing results where appropriate, and clear information about provider credentials and expertise. These patients need reassurance they’re making the right healthcare choice.
4. Transactional Intent
Transactional searches indicate that a patient is ready to take action – book an appointment, request a consultation, or otherwise engage with your healthcare services. Searches like “Schedule virtual visit with cardiologist,” “Book flu shot appointment,” or “Order prescription refill online” all show high conversion potential.
Your content for these searches should minimize barriers to conversion. Focus on streamlined scheduling processes, clear calls-to-action, minimal form fields, and reassurance about next steps. Every element of these pages should guide the patient toward completing their intended action with as little friction as possible.
Different healthcare services will have different intent distributions. Elective procedures often see more commercial and transactional intent, while complex conditions generate more informational searches. Understanding this distribution helps you allocate your content development resources effectively.
Reading Intent Signals in Search Results
Google’s search results themselves provide valuable clues about what intent the search engine associates with specific healthcare queries. Before creating content, take time to analyze what features appear in the search results.
When you search for a condition like “rheumatoid arthritis,” you’ll likely see featured snippets defining the condition, a knowledge panel with symptoms and treatments, and image results showing affected joints. This indicates Google sees this as primarily an informational query.
A search for “rheumatoid arthritis doctor near me” will display a local pack of providers, a map, and practice websites with appointment booking capabilities – signals that Google recognizes this as a transactional, locally-focused query.
These SERP features essentially provide a roadmap for what type of content will be most likely to rank for each query. If Google is displaying primarily informational content for a term, creating a direct-response page focused on appointment booking is unlikely to perform well. Instead, match your content format to what’s already ranking, then make it more comprehensive and useful.
Healthcare Intent Grouping Strategy
Instead of focusing on individual keywords, organize healthcare queries by underlying intent. This approach allows you to create content that captures multiple variations with a single, comprehensive page.
Example: Orthopedic Practice Intent Groups
Intent Group 1: Knee Pain Diagnosis
- “Sharp pain in knee when walking up stairs”
- “Knee pain that comes and goes when bending”
- “What causes sudden knee pain without injury”
- “Knee makes popping sound and hurts”
- “Dull ache behind kneecap causes”
- “Is knee pain a symptom of arthritis”
Instead of creating separate pages for each of these queries, develop a comprehensive knee pain diagnostic guide that addresses all these variations. The page should cover different types of knee pain, various causes, common symptoms, and when to seek professional care. By addressing the full spectrum of related questions, you’ll create a resource that naturally ranks for dozens of variations.
Intent Group 2: Hip Replacement Recovery
- “How long to recover from anterior hip replacement”
- “Walking timeline after hip replacement surgery”
- “When can I drive after hip replacement”
- “Hip replacement recovery tips for faster healing”
- “Expected mobility after hip replacement surgery”
- “Recovery milestones following hip replacement”
A single comprehensive hip replacement recovery guide can address all these related questions. Include a timeline of recovery milestones, specific guidance on daily activities, and practical tips for each recovery phase. This approach covers the full intent group more effectively than fragmented content targeting individual queries.
Creating content around these intent groups rather than individual keywords can help you develop resources that satisfy patient needs more completely while capturing traffic from variations you may not have specifically targeted.
Implementing an Intent-Based SEO Strategy
Now that we’ve covered the why, let’s focus on the how. Here’s a practical approach to implementing intent-based SEO for your healthcare organization.
1. Expand Your Keyword Research
Start with core medical conditions and treatments relevant to your practice, but don’t limit yourself to the most obvious terms. Dig deeper to find the varied ways patients express their healthcare concerns.
The People Also Ask boxes in Google results can help you understand related questions. For example, a search for “knee replacement surgery” might reveal related questions about recovery time, physical therapy requirements, and pain management – all representing different facets of patient intent.
The related searches at the bottom of search results pages show alternative phrasings and related concerns. These variations often have lower reported search volumes but collectively represent significant traffic opportunity.
Don’t overlook your internal data. Have your call center or front desk staff log the specific questions patients ask when calling about services. Patient intake forms can also reveal common concerns that drive healthcare searches. These sources provide authentic patient language that might not appear in standard keyword research tools.
Explore healthcare discussions on platforms like Quora, Reddit health forums, and patient communities. These conversations reveal how real patients phrase their healthcare questions, often in more natural language than what appears in keyword research tools.
2. Group by Patient Intent
Once you’ve gathered a comprehensive list of potential keywords, organize them into intent-based clusters. Look for the underlying patient need rather than superficial keyword similarities.
For healthcare searches, common intent categories include:
Symptom evaluation and diagnosis: Patients trying to understand what might be causing their symptoms. These queries often include specific symptom descriptions and questions about potential conditions.
Treatment options and comparisons: Patients who have a diagnosis and are researching potential treatments. These searches frequently include terms like “options,” “alternatives,” “best,” or direct comparisons between specific treatments.
Provider selection criteria: Patients looking to choose the right healthcare provider for their needs. These searches often include qualifications, specialties, and location-specific information.
Recovery and aftercare information: Patients preparing for or recovering from procedures. These searches focus on timelines, restrictions, complications, and self-care instructions.
By grouping queries according to these intent categories, you create a framework for developing content that comprehensively addresses patient needs at each stage of their healthcare journey.
3. Calculate True Traffic Potential
Start by listing all reasonable variations of the query, including different phrasings, word orders, and question formats. For a knee pain intent group, this might include dozens of variations from “what causes knee pain when climbing stairs” to “knee hurts going up steps” – all representing the same fundamental patient concern.
Next, assign conservative search volumes to each variation. For terms showing “0-10” monthly searches in keyword tools, assume the lower end of that range rather than overstating potential.
Finally, add these volumes to estimate the true traffic potential of the entire intent group. A cluster of 20 variations with just 5-10 searches each could represent 100-200 monthly searches – significant for specialized healthcare services and far more accurate than focusing on a single primary keyword.
This approach reveals the true opportunity behind what might initially appear to be low-volume keywords, helping you prioritize content development more effectively.
4. Create Comprehensive Content
With your intent groups identified and prioritized, it’s time to develop content that thoroughly addresses the full patient intent. Effective healthcare content marketing goes beyond superficial keyword coverage to provide genuinely helpful information.
Answer all major questions related to the topic, even those not explicitly included in your keyword research. For example, a page about cataract surgery recovery should address not just the direct recovery questions but also related concerns about driving, returning to work, medication management, and potential complications.
Naturally incorporate various phrasings throughout the content rather than awkwardly repeating a single keyword. This approach better matches how patients actually search while creating more readable, useful content.
Include expert medical perspectives to add credibility and depth. Direct quotes from your providers about common patient questions, treatment approaches, or recovery expectations add unique value that generic health sites can’t match.
Always provide clear next steps for patients seeking care. Whether that’s a prominent appointment request option, a phone number, or specific preparation instructions, guide patients toward appropriate action based on their stage in the healthcare journey.
5. Match Content Formats to Intent Types
Different search intents are best served by specific healthcare advertising formats. Aligning your presentation with patient expectations improves engagement and conversion.
For informational intent, detailed articles with clear headings and subheadings work well. Enhance these with diagrams that explain medical concepts, video explanations from providers, and well-structured FAQs that address common questions. A patient researching a condition like rheumatoid arthritis benefits from comprehensive information presented in an accessible, educational format.
Commercial intent requires content that facilitates comparison and decision-making. Include comparison tables showing different treatment approaches, highlight provider credentials and specializations, showcase before/after galleries where appropriate, and feature patient testimonials that build confidence. A patient comparing different orthopedic surgeons for joint replacement needs this evaluative content to make their selection.
Transactional intent demands simplicity and clarity. Focus on streamlined forms with minimal fields, clear calls-to-action that stand out visually, concise text that emphasizes benefits, and prominent contact options. A patient ready to schedule a consultation doesn’t need extensive educational content – they need an easy path to appointment booking.
Navigational intent requires straightforward information delivery. Provide clear maps and directions, comprehensive office hours information, easy-to-browse provider listings, and direct contact options. A patient looking for a specific clinic location needs this practical information presented efficiently.
By matching your content format to the underlying intent, you create a better user experience that results in higher engagement and conversion rates.
6. Track Performance Across Variations
Traditional SEO tracking focuses on rankings for a handful of target keywords, but intent-focused SEO requires a broader measurement approach. Instead of fixating on rankings for one or two terms, track performance across the full intent group.
Set up rank tracking for multiple variations within each intent group to understand your visibility across the full topic. This approach reveals whether your content is successfully capturing the intent rather than just individual keywords.
Monitor organic entrances to the page from multiple search queries using Google Search Console. This tool shows you the actual search terms driving traffic to your content, often revealing variations you hadn’t specifically targeted but are capturing due to your comprehensive intent coverage.
Most importantly, evaluate conversion rates from intent-grouped content. Track how different intent groups perform in terms of appointment requests, form submissions, or other valuable actions. This insight helps you prioritize future content development based on which intent groups drive the most valuable patient acquisitions.
Conclusion
When evaluating healthcare keywords, looking solely at reported search volume of specific phrases misses the bigger picture. The big opportunity is understanding and addressing the combined intent behind multiple variations of the same patient questions.
By organizing your content strategy around intent groups rather than individual keywords, you’ll create resources that naturally rank for dozens of variations – capturing patient traffic that competitors overlook while providing more valuable information that better serves patient needs.
This approach delivers not just higher traffic, but more qualified traffic – patients whose needs align with your services and who are more likely to convert to appointments. In healthcare marketing, where patient acquisition costs are high and lifetime value can be substantial, this improved targeting directly impacts your bottom line.
At Epic Notion, we specialize in intent-focused SEO strategies for healthcare organizations. Our approach has helped practices across specialties attract more qualified patients by addressing their specific needs rather than chasing generic keywords. Contact us to learn how we can help your practice grow through intent-optimized content.
