Lesson 3.2: The Intent Signals Checklist
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to evaluate any keyword against a consistent set of criteria and assign it the right tier — including a walkthrough of a live example.
Here's the five-question checklist to run against any keyword before tiering it:
1. Is the searcher likely ready to act (contact, book, buy) within a reasonable window for your offer?
"Emergency HVAC repair" — yes, almost certainly. "How does HVAC work" — no, this is educational intent. If the honest answer is "some of them maybe," the keyword belongs in T2 at best and probably T3.
2. Does this query have a clear transactional or commercial modifier — or does the intent come through even without one?
Modifiers like "cost," "near me," "hire," "service," "company," and "contractor" strongly signal commercial intent. But some keywords carry intent even without a modifier. "Emergency plumber" doesn't need "near me" to be high-intent. Use judgment, and when in doubt, look at what ads are showing for the query — if no competitors are bidding, there may be a reason.
3. Would I send this traffic directly to my main offer page and expect a reasonable conversion rate?
If the answer is "I'd need a completely different landing page for this to make sense," the keyword probably doesn't belong in your T1 launch list alongside your core offer. Different landing pages are real work, and splitting your budget across three different landing pages while testing keywords is a setup for slow, messy learning.
4. Does this keyword's likely CPC make economic sense relative to my offer's conversion value?
A keyword averaging $40 CPC makes sense for a $5,000 service with a 5% conversion rate (expected cost per lead: $800; revenue per lead: $250). The same keyword is a budget incinerator for a $200/month SaaS. This is a rough sanity check, not a final financial model. But if you can't sketch out a back-of-envelope path to profitability, the keyword probably belongs in T3.
5. Is this phrase in my buyer's own vocabulary — or is it my industry's vocabulary?
If only someone already familiar with your industry would use this phrase, you're targeting people who already know you exist, which is fine but limited. Buyer-language keywords reach people who are searching from their own frame, not yours. Both have value. Know which you're targeting and why.
Scoring: A keyword that scores "yes" on four or five of these questions is a T1 candidate. Three out of five is T2. Fewer than three is T3.
Live example: tiering a raw list
Here's a raw list for a residential window replacement company, and how it tiers:
| Keyword | Intent score | Tier | One-sentence rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| window replacement near me | 5/5 | T1 | Transactional, local, direct match to offer |
| new windows cost | 5/5 | T1 | High purchase intent, pricing research at decision stage |
| window replacement company | 4/5 | T1 | Commercial query, direct offer match |
| best replacement windows 2025 | 3/5 | T2 | Comparison/research intent, worth testing at low cap |
| energy efficient windows | 3/5 | T2 | Relevant but broader — some informational intent |
| how to replace windows yourself | 1/5 | T3 | DIY intent — add "DIY" and "yourself" as negatives |
| window glass repair | 2/5 | T3 | Adjacent but different service; might confuse offer clarity |
| Andersen windows | 2/5 | T3 | Brand-specific; different intent, likely to mislead |