What are the 4 types of keywords?

The four types of keywords are informational (someone looking for an answer, like 'what is SEO'), navigational (looking for a specific site, like 'Ahrefs login'), transactional (ready to buy, like 'buy SEO software'), and commercial investigation (comparing options, like 'best SEO tools').

This classification comes from search intent, what the searcher actually wants to accomplish, rather than the words themselves, and it directly shapes what kind of page should target each term.

Mismatching intent and content is a common mistake, writing a sales page for an informational keyword, or a blog post for someone ready to buy, both tend to underperform regardless of ranking position.

An SEO automation platform matches page format to intent automatically as part of its research step.