Keywords Are Dead, Intent Is Everything

KWMA
Sep 2
2 min read

Updated: Sep 15

For years, SEO was all about keywords. Stuff the right phrase into your page, repeat it enough times, and you could rank. But in 2025, that approach is dead.

Google is smarter now. It understands context, it understands meaning, and it understands intent. If you are still chasing keywords the old way, you are already behind.

What Search Intent Really Means

Search intent is about why someone is searching, not just what they typed:

Someone searching “best accountant near me” is ready to hire.
Someone searching “do I need an accountant for my small business” is still learning.
Someone searching “accounting software vs accountant” is comparing options.

Three different searches, three different needs. If your content doesn’t match intent, you won’t convert, even if you rank.

Why Keywords Alone Don’t Work Anymore

Google’s AI looks at more than the words on a page. It looks at relevance, context, user behaviour, and whether your content actually answers the question.

That’s why a page stuffed with “plumber London” won’t beat a page that explains how to choose the right plumber in London and gives clear next steps.

How to Optimise for Intent

Think in questions and problems, not just phrases.
Create content for every stage of the journey, awareness, research, decision.
Pay attention to search results themselves. If Google is showing guides, write a guide. If it’s showing service pages, create one.

The KWMA Approach

At KWMA, we don’t chase keywords, we build strategies around customer intent. That’s what gets clients found by the right people, at the right time, and with the right message.