informational intent
Also called: informational search intent, know queries, informational keyword, know query
Informational intent is the goal behind a search where the user wants to learn something or find information, rather than buy or reach a specific site. Google's rater guidelines call these "Know" queries. Examples: "how does SEO work" or "what is a canonical tag."
How search engines read informational intent
The concept traces to Andrei Broder’s 2002 paper “A Taxonomy of Web Search,” which split queries into navigational, informational, and transactional. Informational was the largest bucket, 48% of the queries he studied. Google later folded this into its Search Quality Rater Guidelines, which sort queries into Know, Do, Website, and Visit-in-person intents. Informational intent maps to the Know query, defined by Google as intent “to find information or explore a topic.”
Google splits Know queries further. A Know Simple query wants one correct fact that fits in a sentence or two (barack obama height), often served by a featured snippet or AI Overview. A broad Know query (how to do keyword research) has no single right answer and rewards depth, structure, and coverage of subtopics.
You can usually spot informational intent from the phrasing: how, what, why, guide, tutorial, ideas, examples, best way to. These searchers are not ready to buy. They are comparing, learning, or troubleshooting. Content that wins here answers the question directly near the top of the page, then earns the ranking with depth, original examples, and clear structure that both readers and AI answer engines can lift. Matching the format to the sub-type matters: writing a 2,000-word guide for a Know Simple query that Google answers in one line usually loses.
How it affects your traffic
Informational queries are the top of your funnel: high volume, low commercial value per visit, but they build the topical authority and brand familiarity that later feed your money pages and get you cited in AI answers. The trap is treating them like sales pages or picking the wrong content length, so you rank for nothing or waste effort on queries Google answers in a snippet. Mapping each keyword to its true intent (informational versus commercial or transactional), then structuring content to match, is exactly the groundwork an SEO Consulting engagement sorts out before you spend on production.
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