Navigational intent describes searches where the person already knows where they want to go and uses the search engine to get there. Typing “Salesforce login” or a company name are classic examples. These searches are almost always won by the destination itself. For a SaaS company, navigational searches for its own brand are mostly about making sure the right page shows up; navigational searches for other brands are usually not worth targeting.
How to recognize it
The query contains a brand, product or site name, often with a word like login, sign in, docs, support, status or careers. The results page is dominated by the brand's own site, often with sitelinks, and sometimes a knowledge panel. Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines describe this group as “Website” queries.
Example
A misranking login search
Imagine Glimmerstack, a fictional data warehouse tool, notices in Search Console that “glimmerstack login” sends many impressions to an old announcement post. The actual login page is on an app subdomain with a vague title and little internal linking.
Giving the login page a clear title and linking it from the main navigation and footer helps Google identify it as the destination.
Common mistakes
Counting navigational traffic as SEO wins
Branded navigational clicks mostly reflect brand demand created elsewhere. Report them separately from non-branded organic growth.
Questions
No. “[brand] reviews” or “[brand] vs [competitor]” include a brand but signal evaluation, which is commercial intent.
