You launch a website. Target buyers with commercial intent keywords. Write product-focused content with strong CTAs. Then you wait for sales to roll in.
Spoiler: they don’t.
I’ve launched 10 outstaffing and staff augmentation websites using this exact strategy. Good backlinks, solid technical SEO, queries targeting buyers throughout. The result? Zero revenue from most of them.
Here’s what nobody tells you about commercial intent keywords: they promise money but rarely deliver it alone. The problem isn’t the search terms themselves – it’s how people use them and what they’re missing around them.
Let’s talk about what actually works and what drains your budget while delivering nothing.
What Are Commercial Intent Keywords (And Why They Sound So Profitable)
Commercial intent keywords are search queries from people comparing options before buying. They’re researching solutions, evaluating alternatives, checking reviews.
Examples:
- “best CRM software for small business”
- “Salesforce vs HubSpot”
- “outstaffing companies reviews”
- “staff augmentation rates 2025”
These queries sit between “just looking” and “ready to buy.” Searchers know they need something – they’re figuring out what fits best.
Why do they sound profitable? Because you’re targeting people close to a purchase decision. They’re not asking “what is CRM” – they’re asking “which CRM should I buy.”
The logic seems bulletproof: target buyers → get traffic → make sales.
The reality? Most new websites targeting commercial intent keywords make zero dollars despite decent effort.
Where Money Gets Lost in Translation
Search intent breaks down into four types, and understanding where commercial intent keywords fit explains why they fail alone:
Search Intent Types:
| Intent Type | What They Want | Example Query | Conversion Potential |
| Informational | Learn something | “what is staff augmentation” | Low – building awareness |
| Commercial | Compare options | “best outstaffing companies” | Medium – still deciding |
| Transactional | Buy now | “hire developers today” | High – ready to purchase |
| Navigational | Find specific site | “Toptal login” | Varies – brand search |
These searchers aren’t ready to buy yet – they’re evaluating. They need more information, more trust, more proof before spending anything.
Here’s where money gets lost: you’re targeting people who aren’t ready to buy from anyone, let alone from a new website they’ve never heard of.
When someone searches “best SaaS project management tools,” they’re comparing Asana, Monday, ClickUp – established brands with years of articles, reviews, and social proof. Your new website with three blog posts and aggressive CTAs? You’re not even in the consideration set.
The gap between “comparing options” and “buying from you” is massive. Commercial intent keywords bring traffic, but traffic without trust equals zero revenue.
Examples Across Different Niches
SaaS Queries (And Their Conversion Reality)
SaaS companies love these searches because the volumes look tempting:
- “best email marketing software” – 8,100 searches/month
- “Mailchimp alternatives” – 12,000 searches/month
- “project management tools comparison” – 5,400 searches/month
The conversion reality? These searchers visit 10-15 websites before deciding. If your content lacks case studies, expert insights, or actual product testing, they bounce immediately.
Outstaffing and Staff Augmentation Queries That Look Lucrative
This is where I learned expensive lessons. Terms that seemed like money-makers:
- “outstaffing companies” – 1,200 searches/month
- “staff augmentation services” – 2,900 searches/month
- “hire remote developers” – 8,100 searches/month
- “dedicated development team cost” – 720 searches/month
We built websites targeting these exact searches. Good backlinks from relevant domains. Pages optimized perfectly. Rankings came within 6-8 months.
Sales? Almost none. Why? No trust signals, no proof of actual outstaffing experience, no client testimonials from real projects.
E-commerce Queries Everyone Targets
E-commerce businesses chase these relentlessly:
- “best running shoes for flat feet” – 18,000 searches/month
- “iPhone 15 vs Samsung S24” – 22,000 searches/month
- “top rated coffee makers under $100” – 3,600 searches/month
These convert better than B2B searches, but only if you have reviews, testing data, and comparison tables that actually help people decide.
Commercial Keywords in SEO: Why Google Won’t Let You Win Fast
Google doesn’t trust new websites with only buyer-focused pages. Simple as that.
When you launch and immediately target “best outstaffing companies” or “top CRM software,” Google sees a pattern: affiliate website, thin material, or someone trying to game rankings for profit.
I watched this happen with all 10 outstaffing websites. We had:
- 30-50 backlinks from DR 40-60 domains
- Well-written articles (no AI garbage)
- Proper technical SEO
- Mobile optimization
- Fast loading speeds
Rankings eventually came – positions 15-30 for most commercial intent keywords after 8-12 months. A few made it to position 8-12.
Revenue? Maybe $2,000-3,000 total across all 10 websites over two years. That’s roughly $20-25 per website per month. Our writing and link building costs were 10x that amount.
Why did they fail? Because Google ranks websites that demonstrate actual expertise and authority across the entire topic. Websites ranking for “best staff augmentation companies” also rank for:
- “what is staff augmentation”
- “staff augmentation vs outsourcing”
- “how to manage remote development teams”
- “staff augmentation contract templates”
They cover the full funnel. They answer questions at every stage of the buyer journey. They prove expertise before asking for money.
Our websites? Just buyer-focused pages screaming “hire us” without earning the right to ask.
Your competition with 200+ pages of informational, comparison, and transactional material beats you every time – even if your backlink profile looks similar.
The Content Pipeline That Actually Generates Revenue
Here’s what those 10 failed websites taught me: you need material for every stage of awareness.
Informational Material: The Trust-Builder You’re Skipping
This is top-of-funnel writing answering basic questions like “what is [your service]” or “how does [solution] work.” According to Search Engine Land research from 2024, informational queries account for 80% of all web searches, yet most businesses ignore them completely when building new websites.
Why it matters: 70% of your target audience doesn’t know they need your solution yet. They’re researching problems, not solutions.
When someone eventually searches for comparison terms, Google checks: “Does this website understand the topic deeply?” If you only have buyer-focused pages, the answer is no.
Where Commercial Intent Keywords Actually Fit
Middle-of-funnel writing for people evaluating options includes comparison posts, “best of” roundups, alternative articles, and review material.
This is where commercial intent keywords belong – but only after you’ve built topical authority with informational articles.
Transactional Pages: The Money Makers Done Right
Bottom-of-funnel pages for ready buyers include service pages, pricing pages, “get started” pages, and product demos.
These convert – but only when prospects already trust you from consuming your informational and comparison material.
Missing any stage kills revenue potential. You can’t skip to the end and expect sales.
Why Your Commercial Intent Keywords Aren’t Making Sales Right Now
You rank for a buyer-focused search term. Traffic comes in. Visitors land on your perfectly optimized page with clear CTAs. Then they leave without contacting you or buying anything.
The problem isn’t your CTA placement or button color. It’s trust – or the complete lack of it.
When I analyzed our outstaffing websites, visitors spent an average of 45 seconds on comparison pages. They’d land, scan quickly, then bounce. We tracked this across thousands of sessions. The pattern was identical everywhere.
Why? Because nothing on those pages proved we actually knew what we were talking about. No case studies from real projects. No client testimonials with names and companies. No data showing successful placements. Just generic statements like “we provide skilled developers” and “our team has 10+ years experience.”
Anyone can write that. And visitors know it.
Expert opinion and proof of expertise aren’t nice-to-haves – they’re the difference between a sale and a bounce. When someone’s comparing outstaffing companies and lands on yours, they’re asking: “Why should I trust you with a $50,000 contract?” Your answer can’t be “because we say we’re good.”
The outstaffing websites that eventually made some revenue added specific details: developer placement timelines with actual numbers, technology stack breakdowns from real projects, client interviews on video. Revenue didn’t come from commercial intent keywords themselves – it came from proving expertise around those searches.
CTAs throughout the text mean nothing when readers don’t trust you enough to click them. You’re asking for money before earning permission to ask.
How to Make Money With Commercial Intent Keywords (The Realistic Way)
Building authority takes longer than targeting buyer-focused searches and hoping for the best. There’s no shortcut here, and anyone selling you one is lying.
Start with informational material that proves you understand your field deeply. For outstaffing, that meant writing about remote team management, hiring processes in different countries, contract structures, and common problems with distributed teams. We published 40-50 informational articles before seeing any meaningful traffic or trust signals.
Once you’ve established expertise, commercial intent keywords actually work. Your comparison posts carry weight because you’ve already demonstrated knowledge. Your “best of” lists feel credible because you’ve proven you understand the industry beyond surface-level marketing speak.
Proving expertise means getting specific. Don’t say “we’ve helped hundreds of companies” – show three detailed case studies with real numbers, challenges, and outcomes. Don’t claim “fast hiring process” – break down your exact timeline with average days for each stage. Don’t promise “top developers” – explain your vetting process with specific technical assessments you use.
The balance that converts looks roughly like this: 60% informational material building authority, 30% comparison material helping people evaluate options, 10% transactional pages for ready buyers. These percentages shift based on your niche, but the principle holds – you need more trust-building than selling.
Timeline expectations matter here. Our websites that eventually generated revenue took 12-18 months to see consistent sales. The first 6-8 months were pure authority building with informational articles. Months 8-12 added comparison material that started ranking. Months 12-18 finally brought conversions as the full funnel existed.
If you’re expecting revenue in 90 days from commercial intent keywords alone, adjust your expectations or your budget – because you’ll burn through cash waiting.
Expensive Mistakes That Kill Your ROI
Launching with only buyer-focused pages is the fastest way to waste cash. I know because we did it repeatedly before learning the lesson. Each website cost $3,000-5,000 in writing and links before we realized the strategy was broken.
The math seemed logical: buyer-focused searches have purchase intent, so more buyer-focused pages equals more sales. Wrong. Google saw thin affiliate websites trying to rank for money terms without proving expertise. Even with decent backlinks from relevant domains, rankings stayed stuck in positions 20-40 for months.
When rankings finally improved to positions 8-15 after a year, conversions still didn’t come. Visitors landed on pages that screamed “we want your cash” without first answering “why should we trust you.” The ROI was negative across every single website.
How to Avoid The Biggest Mistake?
Targeting searches your website can’t win yet drains budgets fast. A brand new outstaffing platform going after “best staff augmentation companies” competes with established firms that have been publishing for 5-10 years. You’re outgunned on depth, backlinks, brand recognition, and trust signals. Pick informational searches first where competition is lower and you can actually rank within 6-8 months.
Overstuffing tanks both rankings and trust simultaneously. I’ve seen pages with the main search term appearing 15-20 times in 800 words. It reads terribly and visitors notice immediately. Google’s algorithms catch it too – these pages either don’t rank or rank briefly then drop. Using commercial intent keywords 8-10 times per 1,000 words in natural contexts works. Cramming them into every sentence kills conversions even if you somehow rank.
The biggest mistake though? Ignoring what buyers actually need to hear before they purchase. Someone searching “outstaffing companies” needs to understand how outstaffing differs from traditional hiring, what red flags to watch for, how to structure contracts, and what questions to ask potential vendors. If your page just lists your services and prices without addressing these concerns, you’ve lost the sale before the CTA even loads.
Conclusion
Commercial intent keywords can generate revenue – but not alone and not fast. Build authority first with informational articles, prove expertise with specific data, then add buyer-focused searches. Expect 12-18 months before consistent sales, not 90 days.
Skip the shortcut of launching comparison-only websites. I burned $30,000+ learning that lesson so you don’t have to.
Commercial Intent Keywords FAQ
Commercial intent keywords can drive sales, but only when surrounded by a complete funnel strategy. The searches themselves bring traffic from people comparing options, but converting that traffic requires trust-building articles, expertise signals, and proof you understand buyer concerns. Websites with only buyer-focused pages typically see conversion rates under 0.5%, while websites with full funnels convert at 2-4%.
The difference is timing in the buyer journey. Commercial intent keywords target people researching and comparing options before buying, like “best CRM software” or “Salesforce vs HubSpot.” Transactional searches target ready buyers making immediate purchases, like “buy Salesforce license” or “hire developers now.” The former sits earlier in the journey – these searchers need more information before they’ll convert into customers.
Start with zero on a brand new platform. Build 30-50 informational articles first to establish topical authority and trust with Google. After 4-6 months, add comparison material targeting 5-10 searches relevant to your core offering. This approach takes longer but actually generates revenue, unlike launching with buyer-focused-only pages that rank poorly and convert worse.
Traffic without trust equals zero sales. Your pages likely lack expertise signals that convince visitors you’re worth their cash. Add specific case studies with real numbers, client testimonials with names and companies, detailed process breakdowns showing how you work, and data proving your claims. Generic statements like “we’re experienced” don’t convert – specific proof does.
Good backlinks help but won’t overcome thin strategy. Google ranks websites demonstrating comprehensive expertise across entire topics, not just buyer-focused pages with strong link profiles. The websites ranking for commercial intent keywords also rank for dozens of informational queries, proving deep knowledge. Backlinks from DR 40-60 domains won’t save a platform with only comparison pages and no authority-building articles.