Chapter 3 — Exercises

Work these in order; they climb from recall to judgment. Items marked † have worked solutions in the answers appendix (odd-numbered items are worked there too). No answers appear in this file — struggle first. Use only free tools where a tool is called for (Google search in an incognito window, the site: operator, Google Search Console).

Group A — Recall and definitions

3.1 † Define search intent in one sentence, and explain the difference between a query and the intent behind it.

3.2 List the four search intents. For each, give the closest label from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines (Know, Do, Website, Visit-in-person).

3.3 In your own words, explain what it means to say "the SERP is the answer key." Why is reading it the first move on a target query, before keyword research or writing?

3.4 Define intent mismatch and dominant intent, and explain how the two ideas relate.

Group B — Applied reasoning and classification

3.5 † Classify each query by its most likely dominant intent: (a) "weather tomorrow," (b) "nike," (c) "best running shoes for flat feet," (d) "buy nike pegasus size 10," (e) "how to clean running shoes."

3.6 For the single word "iphone," name at least three distinct things different searchers might want. Which do you think is the dominant intent, and what evidence would settle it?

3.7 † You search a query and the top ten results are a genuine 50/50 mix of how-to guides and product pages. What does that split tell you about the query, and how should it change your decision about what to build?

3.8 Give an example of a query whose dominant intent you'd expect to differ between a desktop searcher and a searcher on a phone, and explain why.

Group C — Diagnose why this page isn't ranking

3.9 † A retailer has a fast, indexed, keyword-rich product page for "espresso machine," but it won't reach page one. The SERP for "espresso machine" is dominated by "best espresso machine 2026" buying guides and comparison articles. Diagnose the likely problem in intent terms, and state the fix — without "add more keywords."

3.10 A site publishes a 3,000-word explainer titled "Understanding Water Heaters" and points it at the query "water heater repair near me." It earns impressions but almost no clicks and no rankings. Name the mismatch, and say what kind of page should actually win that query.

3.11 † A page ranked #3 for a query for two years and has slowly drifted to #12 without being edited. Give two intent-related explanations for the drift, and name the first thing you would check.

Group D — Audit your own site (free tools)

3.12 Choose one real page on your own (or a client's) site and its target query. In an incognito window, run the five-step SERP-reading routine from §3.3. Record: the dominant intent, the SERP features present, and whether your page's type matches. Write one sentence naming any mismatch you find.

3.13 Open Google Search Console (or, lacking access, use a site:yourdomain search). Find one page that earns impressions but few clicks. Search its top query and judge whether an intent mismatch — rather than a weak title alone — could be part of the reason.

Group E — Research these keywords (intent-first)

3.14 For a bakery that ships nationwide, take the seed word "sourdough" and write five queries that span all four intents (label each). Then say which one or two you would prioritize for a business whose goal is to sell bread, and why.

3.15 † Take Rivertown's service "drain cleaning." Write one informational, one commercial-investigation, and one transactional query a real customer might type, and predict the winning content type (or non-content battleground) for each.

Group F — Optimize a title/page for intent

3.16 † Rivertown's water-heater page has the title "Water Heater Services | Rivertown Home Services" and targets "replace water heater" (dominant intent: informational/commercial). Without promising any ranking, draft a better title and outline the top three H2 sections the page needs to match the intent. (On-page mechanics are Chapter 9; here, focus only on matching intent.)

3.17 A page targets "best furnace filter" (commercial investigation) but reads as a single-product sales pitch. Describe how you would restructure it to match the intent, and what call-to-action is appropriate for that stage of the journey.

Group G — Read the report / SERP

3.18 † You search "how to relight a furnace pilot light" and see: a featured snippet with numbered steps, eight how-to articles, a video thumbnail, and a "People also ask" box — and zero service pages. Write the full six-field Read-the-SERP interpretation (the query/page, what's there, what it shows, what it doesn't, the move, the lesson).

3.19 A SERP shows a shopping carousel at the top, three product-category pages, and a "People also ask" full of "how much is…" questions. Name the intent, and say what page type you would build to compete.

Group H — Spot the myth

3.20 "If I just add the exact keyword to my title, H1, and first paragraph, I'll rank for it." Explain what's wrong with this in intent terms (not only in keyword-density terms).

3.21 "Matching search intent guarantees a top ranking." Why is this false? Write the honest version of the claim.

Group I — Ethics and risk judgment

3.22 † A marketer proposes writing a thin article that looks like a how-to (to rank for an informational query) but is really a disguised sales page that pushes readers to buy. Evaluate this against intent-matching, user trust, and durability. What is the honest alternative that still serves the business?

3.23 An SEO tool reports "search intent: transactional (94% confidence)" for a query. How much should you trust that label, and what free check would you run to verify it yourself?

Group J — Rivertown Strategy-File extension

3.24 † Extend Figure 3.7. Pick two more Rivertown queries not already classified (for example, "emergency electrician" and "how to reset a tripped breaker"), classify each by intent, and state what kind of page — or what kind of fight — each one requires.

3.25 For "furnace repair Cedar Hills," explain why Rivertown's current thin, near-duplicate location page is an intent mismatch even though it contains the right words. Name the intent, and name the two battlegrounds that actually decide this query.

3.26 "One query, many needs": for "solar panels," list four micro-intents a searcher population might carry. Then describe a single page that could serve the dominant intent while still resolving the others.

3.27 Explain, with an example, why "read the SERP once and trust it forever" is bad advice. Name two distinct reasons a query's intent can shift over time.

3.28 † A local plumber ranks a strong how-to article for "how to fix a running toilet" and gets heavy traffic but very few phone calls. Is this a failure? Argue both sides using intent (informational traffic vs. commercial value), then suggest how to bridge the gap without turning the page into an intent mismatch.

3.29 Name one query for which building content is the wrong move entirely, and explain what you would invest in instead.

3.30 Reflection: describe a time you (or a business you know) built the wrong kind of page for a query. In hindsight, what had the SERP already revealed that was ignored?