Search Intent vs Customer Journey Overlap

The Customer Journey & Search Intent Overlap Heatmap is a visual tool that shows you how your content addresses both:

  1. Customer Journey Stages - Where your customers are in their buying process
  2. Search Intent Types - What your audience is trying to accomplish with their search

This colorful grid helps you see at a glance where your content is concentrated and where you might have gaps in your strategy.

Why This Heatmap is Valuable for Your Content Strategy

This heatmap gives you powerful insights that help you:

  • Identify which combinations of journey stages and intent types have plenty of content
  • Spot gaps where you need to create more targeted content
  • Ensure you're meeting customer needs throughout their entire journey
  • Balance your content strategy across different intent types
  • Make data-driven decisions about your content priorities

Understanding the Two Dimensions

Customer Journey Stages

The customer journey represents the process people go through when interacting with your brand:

  • Awareness: When people first realize they have a problem or need

    • Example: "My skin is very dry in winter"

      Consideration: When people research and compare possible solutions

    • Example: "Which moisturizers work best for dry skin?"

      Decision: When people are ready to choose a specific solution

    • Example: "Where to buy Brand X moisturizer with free shipping"

      Retention: When people seek support after becoming customers

    • Example: "How to apply Brand X moisturizer correctly"

      Advocacy: When satisfied customers might recommend your products

    • Example: "Brand X moisturizer referral program"
  • Undefined: Content that hasn't been assigned to a specific journey stage

Search Intent Types

Search intent describes what your audience is trying to accomplish:

  • Informational Intent: When people want to learn something
    • Example: "Causes of dry skin in winter"

    • Content types: Educational articles, how-to guides, FAQs

      Commercial Intent: When people are researching options

    • Example: "Best moisturizers for dry skin"

    • Content types: Product comparisons, buying guides, reviews

      Transactional Intent: When people are ready to take action

    • Example: "Buy Brand X moisturizer online"

    • Content types: Product pages, service pages with clear CTAs

      Navigational Intent: When people want to find a specific page

    • Example: "Brand X customer support"
    • Content types: Contact pages, login pages, specific resource pages
  • Undefined: Content where a specific intent hasn't been assigned

How to Read Your Heatmap

The heatmap uses color intensity to show you where your content is concentrated:

  • Darker blue squares = More content for that combination
  • Lighter blue squares = Less content for that combination
  • White squares = No content for that combination

square represents a specific combination of journey stage and intent type. The number in each square tells you exactly how many pieces of content you have for that combination.


Example: A dark blue square where "Consideration" meets "Commercial" with the number "15" means you have 15 pieces of content that target people in the consideration stage with commercial intent.

Using the Heatmap Controls

Finding the Heatmap

  1. Go to the Content Analysis page
  2. Look for the section labeled "Customer Journey & Search Intent Overlap"

Control Options

  1. Project dropdown: Select which project you want to analyze

    • By default, the first project will be selected automatically

      Cluster dropdown: Choose to view:

    • "All Clusters" to see data across your entire project

    • A specific cluster to focus on just one topic area

      Published Status dropdown: Filter to see:

    • "All" content (both published and draft)
    • "Published" content only
    • "Draft" content only

Making the Most of Your Heatmap

What Patterns to Look For

  1. Content Concentration:
    • Where do you have the most content? (Darkest squares)

    • Is this concentration aligned with your business goals?

      Content Gaps:

    • Where do you have little or no content? (White or light squares)

    • Are these gaps intentional or opportunities to expand?

      Journey Coverage:

    • Do you have content for each stage of the customer journey?

    • Is any journey stage significantly underrepresented?

      Intent Balance:

    • Are some intent types much better covered than others?
    • Does this balance make sense for your business model?

Strategic Applications

E-commerce Strategy

For e-commerce sites, you might want to see:

  • Strong coverage in Consideration/Commercial (product research)
  • Good coverage in Decision/Transactional (purchase-focused)
  • Supporting content in Awareness/Informational (attracting new visitors)

B2B Strategy

For B2B companies with longer sales cycles, you might want:

  • Substantial Awareness and Consideration/Informational content
  • Strong Consideration/Commercial content for evaluation
  • Targeted Decision/Transactional content for conversion points

Service Business Strategy

For service businesses, priorities might include:

  • Awareness/Informational content explaining problems you solve
  • Consideration/Commercial content showcasing your approach
  • Retention/Informational content helping clients maximize value

Common Questions

"What's the ideal pattern my heatmap should show?"

There is no one-size-fits-all ideal pattern. The right distribution depends on:

  • Your business model and industry
  • Your customer's typical buying journey
  • Your current business priorities

However, most businesses benefit from having at least some content in each journey stage, with strategic concentration in the areas most critical to your business goals.


"My heatmap shows mostly 'Undefined' content"

This happens when your content hasn't been properly categorized. To fix this:

  1. Go to your topic/subtopic management area in topical clusters
  2. Edit each item to assign both a journey stage and intent type
  3. Save your changes

Having properly assigned values will make your heatmap much more useful!


"Should I try to fill every square in the heatmap?"

Not necessarily. Some combinations may be less relevant for your business. For example:

  • Transactional content in the Awareness stage might be premature
  • Informational content in the Decision stage might not drive conversions

Focus on creating a strategic distribution that supports your specific business goals.


"How should I prioritize which gaps to fill?"

Consider these factors:

  1. Which journey stages are most critical to improve right now?
  2. Where are your competitors creating content that you're missing?
  3. What feedback are you getting from customers about missing information?
  4. Which combinations would support your current business initiatives?

"The heatmap isn't showing any data"

Make sure:

  • You've selected a project from the dropdown
  • Your project has content with journey stages and intents assigned
  • You have permission to view this project
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