transactional intent
Also called: transactional search intent, do queries, transactional keyword
Transactional intent is the search intent behind queries where the user wants to complete an action (buy, sign up, download, book) rather than just read. Google's rater guidelines call these "Do" queries: the searcher wants to buy, download, obtain, or interact with something.
Transactional queries usually carry an action modifier (buy, order, download, book, coupon, near me) or a product/brand name typed with clear intent to act. The idea traces to Andrei Broder’s 2002 taxonomy of web search, where transactional queries were the ones meant to “perform some web-mediated activity” like shopping or downloading, sitting alongside informational and navigational needs. Google’s 2025 rater guidelines fold the same concept into “Do” queries: the searcher wants to accomplish a goal, and the best result lets them finish the job.
Not every one is obvious
denim jacket has no verb but almost certainly wants a product page, not an essay. Intent also varies by readiness: running shoes (browse-and-buy) is looser than nike pegasus 41 size 10 (ready to check out). Match the page type to that readiness, so a product, category, pricing, or comparison page, not a how-to article.
Confusing transactional with informational intent is a common ranking failure. Point a blog post at buy X online and Google reads a mismatch, so the page underperforms even with strong links. Read the SERP first: the page types Google already ranks for a query tell you the intent it rewards. Practitioners like Semrush map these terms to the bottom of the funnel and recommend making the action fast, with reviews and trust signals near the top.
How it affects your traffic
Transactional keywords are where SEO turns into revenue, so a page-type mismatch here costs sales, not just rankings. In 2026, AI Overviews and AI answers increasingly resolve informational queries in place, which pushes more of your commercial value onto transactional terms that still send a click to a page that can convert. Getting the page type, internal links, and schema right for those queries is exactly the keyword-to-template mapping and architecture work our SEO Consulting engagements handle, so the traffic you win is traffic that buys.
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