Lesson 4
One Page, One Topic: Understanding Search Intent
What you’ll learn
By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand:
What “search intent” actually means
Why pages should focus on one primary topic
How to spot when a page is trying to do too much
What search intent means
Search intent is simply the reason someone is searching.
When someone types a query into a search engine, they usually want one of three things:
- Information (to learn something)
- Navigation (to find a specific site or page)
- Action (to compare, buy, or contact)
Search engines try to match pages to intent, not just keywords.
Your job, as a website editor, is to make sure each page clearly satisfies one primary intent.
Why one page should focus on one topic
A common mistake is trying to make a single page rank for:
- Multiple unrelated keywords
- Different audience types
- Several services or ideas at once
This creates ambiguity.
When a page focuses on one topic:
- Titles are clearer
- Headings make more sense
- Content is easier to structure
- Search engines understand it more confidently
Focused pages almost always perform better than broad, unfocused ones.
What “one topic” actually means (in practice)
“One topic” doesn’t mean:
- One keyword
- A short page
- Ignoring related subtopics
It means:
- One primary idea
- With supporting subtopics that clearly relate to it
If everything on the page helps answer the same core question, you’re on the right track.
A simple test
Ask yourself:
“What question is this page answering?”
If you can answer that in one sentence, the page likely has a clear focus.
If not, it may be trying to do too much — and might be better split into multiple pages.
Why this matters for the rest of the course
Everything that follows — titles, headings, content, internal links — becomes much easier once a page has a clear topic and intent.
Search intent is the foundation.
Structure and optimisation sit on top of it.