Intent to buy refers to an online shopper's purpose in performing a search at a search engine like Google. It is a measure of how serious the shopper is to actually make a purchase at the time he/she performs the search.

When choosing a micro niche and deciding which keyword phrase(s) to target within that micro niche, it is very important to judge the 'intent to buy' for each keyword phrase you're considering. Ask yourself, "Would somebody seriously interested in buying [xxx] search for this keyword phrase? Or are people searching this keyword phrase probably just casually 'browsing' or researching the product?" This can help you determine whether the searcher is truly in "buying mode".

Measuring the searcher's intent to buy is somewhat of a judgment call, but there are several indications that a searcher is in buying mode:

• The keyword phrase is specific and targeted
• The keyword phrase includes a brand name, model number, or product "descriptors"
• The keyword phrase includes "buying words" such as 'buy', 'for sale', 'cheap', 'discount', 'free shipping', etc.