Transactional Intent
The goal behind a search query where the user is ready to complete an action, such as buying, subscribing, booking or downloading.
Transactional queries sit closest to revenue, which is why they often carry the highest paid search costs, and matching them with fast, clear product or sign-up pages has a direct effect on Conversion Rate (CVR).
An ecommerce brand maps "buy ergonomic office chair" and 40 similar queries to category pages, adds price, stock and delivery details above the fold, and reports conversion rate by query group each month in its analytics tool.
Words like "buy" or "price" signal intent but do not guarantee it, and many transactional results pages are dominated by marketplaces and ads. Blog content rarely ranks for these queries, so teams need product or landing pages instead.
In the common four-part model, transactional intent sits beside informational, navigational and commercial investigation intent. Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines call the closest category Do intent, where the user wants to accomplish a goal or complete an activity. Signals include modifiers such as buy, order, coupon, download or pricing, and results pages showing shopping units, product pages and ads. Matching pages are judged mainly on Conversion Rate (CVR) within Search Intent analysis.
Performance Advertising, Revenue Operations
Google — Search Quality Rater Guidelines (General Guidelines), section 12.7 Understanding User Intent — https://guidelines.raterhub.com/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf; Ahrefs — Search Intent in SEO: What It Is & How to Optimize for It — https://ahrefs.com/blog/search-intent/