As I see it, these inferred intents change over time, and it’s a bit out of a site-owners control (sometimes user expectations vary, sometimes algorithms, or other things). By covering both possible intents, you’re hedging against those changes.
— 🍌 John 🍌 (@JohnMu) August 12, 2021
Straight from Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller – cover your bases when it comes to searcher intent! Searcher intent changes over time and digital marketers need to account for this. Cyclical changes (like annual holidays), environmental changes (such as natural disasters), and pop culture are just a few reasons that searcher intent may change over time.
In the legal field in particular, searcher intent may change depending on celebrity lawsuits. For example, Britney Spear’s highly publicized conservatorship case has been plastered across every popular culture news source. Many viewers were unaware of the exact meaning of what exactly a conservatorship is and, in turn, searches for conservatorship increased during this time. The searcher intent behind “conservatorship” at this time was more about understanding the definition, process, and requirements of a conservatorship to better understand Britney Spears’ conservatorship woes.
Google Trends shows a spiked increase in searches for the term “conservatorship” for the week of Jun 20th – 26th, 2021. Notably, Britney Spears appeared at a conservatorship hearing on June 23. Searches before this period are very low, and after this week it drops off significantly.
Before this lawsuit, the searcher intent behind a “conservatorship” was usually to find an attorney well versed in conservatorships. Content that breaks down conservatorships would better serve searchers who are interested in the Britney Spears case. On the other hand, content that leads searchers to an experienced conservatorship attorney may be better when such a case isn’t in the public eye.