Search Intent
The user's goal when searching, classified into four types: Informational (learning/researching), Commercial (comparing options before buying), Transactional (ready to purchase now), and Navigational (finding a specific website). RankDots determines intent by analyzing what content currently ranks. Matching content type to intent is critical—wrong content type fails to rank regardless of quality.
Why it matters: Determines what content format you must create. Informational intent needs educational guides, commercial needs comparison articles, transactional needs product pages. Mismatch equals ranking failure. Also reveals conversion potential: informational brings traffic volume with lower conversions, transactional brings fewer visitors but higher sales. Build content across all intents to capture users throughout their journey from research to purchase.
Examples: "how does SEO work" = Informational (create educational guide). "best CRM software" = Commercial (create comparison review). "buy standing desk online" = Transactional (optimize product pages).
SERP Features
Special result types Google shows beyond standard organic links: Featured Snippets (answer boxes), People Also Ask boxes, video carousels, image packs, local maps, shopping results, and knowledge panels. These appear above regular results and capture significant traffic—featured snippets alone can take 30-40% of clicks. RankDots identifies which features appear for each keyword by analyzing actual search results.
Why it matters: Changes traffic distribution dramatically and shows content format preferences. A keyword might show position 1 getting only 8% clicks instead of the typical 28% if features appear above it. Features also indicate what content types Google prefers—videos, images, concise answers. Target multiple features to maximize visibility beyond traditional rankings. Optimize content specifically to capture featured snippets, video placement, or image packs.
Examples: Featured Snippet + Videos + People Also Ask = traditional organic results receive fewer clicks, create multi-format content to capture multiple feature placements.
Trend (Page)
The overall trend direction across all keywords in this page, calculated by aggregating individual keyword trends. Shows whether interest in this entire topic is growing, stable, or declining. Positive page trends indicate expanding opportunity, while negative trends suggest the topic is losing relevance. Helps identify topics entering growth phases or those past their peak.
Why it matters: Informs timing and content investment decisions. Rising page trends signal topics to prioritize now before competition increases. Stable page trends indicate reliable evergreen content that delivers consistent value. Declining page trends warn against investing in topics losing audience interest. Balance your content calendar with pages across different trend profiles based on strategic goals.
Examples: +45% page trend = prioritize creation now, rapidly growing topic. Stable ±5% = evergreen opportunity. -25% = declining topic, consider skipping.
3-Month Search Trend (Keyword)
Shows whether searches for this keyword are increasing, stable, or decreasing over the past three months, displayed as a percentage change. Positive trends (+20% or more) indicate growing interest and emerging opportunities. Stable trends (±10%) suggest evergreen topics. Negative trends (-20% or more) signal declining interest. RankDots uses moving averages to filter out short-term noise and show genuine momentum.
Why it matters: Reveals opportunity timing and topic lifecycle. Rising trends are time-sensitive opportunities—act fast before competition increases. Stable trends are evergreen content that delivers consistent traffic for years. Declining trends waste resources on topics losing relevance. Balance your content portfolio across trend types based on goals.
Examples: +67% trend = rapidly growing topic, act now before it gets competitive. +3% trend = stable, evergreen opportunity. -28% trend = declining topic, skip regardless of other factors.