Search intent is the underlying goal a person has when they type a query into a search engine, generally grouped into informational, navigational, commercial and transactional intent.
Google ranks pages by how well they satisfy intent, not just by keywords. A page that targets the right phrase but answers the wrong intent will not rank, no matter how well written it is.
Intent decides what a page should even be. A search with informational intent needs a guide; a search with transactional intent needs a clear service page with a way to act. Get this wrong and you build the wrong page.
For a small business, matching intent is what turns ranking into revenue. Ranking for a search whose intent you cannot serve brings traffic that bounces; matching intent brings people ready to do business.
Someone searching how to unblock a drain has informational intent: they want to fix it themselves, and a how-to article is what ranks.
Someone searching emergency drain unblocking near me has transactional intent: they want to hire a plumber now, and a clear service page with a phone number is what ranks and converts.
A plumber who writes a long how-to article and expects it to bring bookings has mismatched the intent. The right move is a how-to article for awareness and a separate service page for the people ready to book.
In-House maps each target keyword to its intent through the SEO and content agents, so every page is the right type of page for the search it is built to win.