Triage the Query List: Sorting Jet.com's Content Backlog by Intent
Objective: Given a mixed batch of 10 real-style search queries for Jet.com's bulk-goods marketplace, correctly classify each by intent and decide which pages get built this sprint.
You're a growth marketer on Jet.com's content team in 2016, days after a 'basket size' pricing engine launch. Leadership handed you a raw list of ten queries pulled from early keyword research and wants a one-sprint content plan, no page gets built until every query is sorted by intent.
Sort every query into one of the four intent types before recommending a single page. Use the SERP-detective method from the lesson, not a guess from the keyword text alone.
Which of these queries deserve a dedicated landing page this sprint, and which would waste the build?
Before you start
What you'll need
- —Familiarity with the four search intent types: informational, navigational, commercial, transactional
- Search intent
- the underlying goal behind a query, whether the searcher wants to learn, find a specific site, compare options, or buy.
- SERP-detective method
- determining a query's real intent by checking what format actually ranks, rather than guessing from the keyword's wording alone.
Free path (everything below is enough to finish)
Free, and enough structure for a 10-row sort
Paid upgrades (optional, faster/deeper)
Speeds up the SERP check across a larger query list
The process
1 step
Step 01 of 01
The lesson splits every query into informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional intent, and warns that guessing from the keyword text alone is Mistake 2, always check what's actually ranking.
Given these 10 queries pulled for Jet.com's bulk household-goods vertical, which 3 are safe to build a dedicated landing page for this sprint, and which need a blog post or no page at all?
Procedure
- List all 10 queries in a spreadsheet with an empty 'Intent' column
- Google each query and note what format dominates the top 5 results
- Label each query informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional based on the SERP, not the wording
- Flag only the commercial and transactional rows as landing-page candidates this sprint
Query Top SERP format Intent 'bulk toilet paper for office' Product/category pages Transactional 'how much toilet paper does an office need' Blog/how-to articles Informational 'Jet.com bulk pricing login' Brand login page Navigational 'best bulk paper towel supplier 2016' Comparison/review articles Commercial 'paper towel vs napkin absorbency' Blog/how-to articles Informational 'buy bulk hand sanitizer wholesale' Product/category pages Transactional 'Jet.com vs Amazon Business pricing' Comparison articles Commercial 'office supply budget template' Blog/downloadable template Informational 'Jet.com customer service' Brand support page Navigational 'wholesale hand sanitizer suppliers near me' Product/category pages Transactional Landing-page candidates this sprint: the 2 transactional + 1 commercial rows flagged above.
Healthy
The sprint plan builds 3 pages, 2 product/category pages for the transactional queries and 1 comparison page for the commercial query, and routes the 4 informational queries to the blog backlog instead.
Unhealthy
Building a landing page for 'how much toilet paper does an office need' because it has decent volume, when the SERP is entirely how-to articles.
What this means
The SERP told you the format before you wrote a word: product-page SERPs mean build a page, article SERPs mean write a post. Guessing from the query text alone would have gotten the 'best bulk paper towel supplier' query wrong, it reads generic but the SERP is clearly commercial comparison content.
So what do I do about it?
| Symptom | Action | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| The backlog mixes landing-page and blog-post ideas with no clear priority | Sort by intent first using the SERP, then assign format | 30 min |
| A stakeholder wants a landing page for a high-volume informational query | Show them the top-5 SERP screenshot, no product pages rank there, so a new one won't either | 5 min |
Analyze your findings
What to look for
- SERP format, not keyword wording
- Does the top-5 SERP show product pages, articles, or a brand page, regardless of how the query is phrased?
- Generic-sounding queries
- Does a query that reads generic actually have a clearly commercial or transactional SERP underneath it?
- Build discipline
- Is a landing page only recommended for commercial/transactional queries, with informational queries routed to the blog backlog instead?
- Navigational queries
- Are brand-specific queries correctly routed to an existing support/login page instead of new content?
Make the call
'best bulk paper towel supplier 2016' reads like a generic research query, but its top-5 SERP is comparison/review articles. Should this get a dedicated landing page this sprint?
Recommendation · Priority: Medium
“Build the 2 transactional queries as product/category pages and the 1 commercial query as a comparison page this sprint. Route the 4 informational queries to the blog backlog and treat the 2 navigational queries as already served by existing brand pages, no new content needed for those.”
Common mistakes
What trips people up
Classifying intent from the keyword wording instead of the SERP — a query can sound generic or specific and still mislead; only the actual ranking format reveals real intent.
Building a landing page for a high-volume informational query — volume doesn't override intent; a page competing against how-to articles for a shopping-intent format won't rank or convert.
Treating navigational queries as content opportunities — queries like brand-plus-login or brand-plus-support usually just need the existing page found, not new content built.
Final deliverable
A 10-row intent-sorted spreadsheet with a one-sprint build recommendation: which queries get a new page, which get a blog post, which get nothing yet.
See a reference example
Applying the same sort to ModCloth's early content queries (illustrative): 'vintage dress size chart' sorted informational (blog), 'ModCloth plus size dresses' sorted commercial (needs a category landing page), 'ModCloth return policy' sorted navigational (support page, no new content needed). Three queries, three different outputs, zero guessing from keyword length alone.
Success criteria
You're done when you can:
- Correctly labels at least 8 of 10 queries by checking the SERP, not the keyword wording
- Recommends new landing pages only for the transactional/commercial rows
- Explicitly routes informational rows to the blog backlog instead of a landing page
Key takeaway
Search intent is revealed by what's actually ranking, not by how a query reads. Sorting a backlog by checking the SERP first, then assigning format, prevents building pages that can never win against what's already satisfying that intent.