# 90 Buying-Intent Query Templates

Copy a template, swap the slots, paste it into a surface from `search-cheatsheet.md`.

**Slots**
- `[PRODUCT]` the category word people use: "invoicing app", "CRM", "habit tracker", "landing page builder"
- `[COMPETITOR]` a tool they use today: "Notion", "Calendly", "HubSpot"
- `[PROBLEM]` the pain in their words: "clients paying late", "too many tabs", "no-shows"
- `[TASK]` the job: "send invoices", "schedule posts", "track expenses"
- `[AUDIENCE]` who: "freelancers", "Shopify stores", "therapists", "small agencies"

**How to read the table**
- **Intent**: 5 = ready to buy or switch, 1 = just aware of the problem.
- **Best on**: R = Reddit, G = Google `site:reddit.com` and forums, HN = Hacker News, X, LI = LinkedIn, Rev = G2/Capterra reviews.
- Quotes matter. Keep the intent phrase in quotes and leave the product words outside so you don't miss posts with different wording.

Last verified (operators and surfaces): October 2026.

---

## 1. Switching: "alternative to [COMPETITOR]" (12)

They already pay for the category. Highest intent on the list.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | `"alternative to [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, G, X |
| 2 | `"alternatives to [COMPETITOR]" [AUDIENCE]` | 5 | R, G |
| 3 | `"switching from [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, X, LI |
| 4 | `"moving away from [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, HN, LI |
| 5 | `"replacement for [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, HN |
| 6 | `"[COMPETITOR] alternative" cheaper` | 5 | R, G |
| 7 | `"leaving [COMPETITOR]"` | 4 | X, R |
| 8 | `"[COMPETITOR] vs"` | 4 | R, G |
| 9 | `"anything better than [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, X |
| 10 | `"similar to [COMPETITOR] but"` | 5 | R, HN |
| 11 | `"[COMPETITOR] but for [AUDIENCE]"` | 4 | R, X |
| 12 | `"open source [COMPETITOR]" OR "self-hosted [COMPETITOR]"` | 4 | HN, R |

## 2. Competitor complaints (12)

Pain plus an existing budget. Best place to learn positioning.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "too expensive"` | 5 | R, X, Rev |
| 14 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "price increase"` | 5 | R, X |
| 15 | `"cancelled [COMPETITOR]" OR "canceled [COMPETITOR]"` | 5 | R, X |
| 16 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "customer support" (terrible OR awful OR "no response")` | 4 | R, X, Rev |
| 17 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "keeps crashing" OR "so slow"` | 4 | R, X |
| 18 | `"hate [COMPETITOR]"` | 4 | X, R |
| 19 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "missing feature"` | 4 | R, Rev |
| 20 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "doesn't support"` | 4 | R, HN |
| 21 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "overkill" [AUDIENCE]` | 4 | R |
| 22 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "too complicated"` | 4 | R, Rev |
| 23 | `to:[COMPETITOR_HANDLE] (cancel OR refund OR broken OR "still waiting")` | 5 | X |
| 24 | `"[COMPETITOR]" "is down" OR "outage"` | 3 | X |

## 3. Willingness to pay: "I'd pay for" (10)

The rarest and most valuable phrases. Save every hit, even old ones; they are validation.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | `"I'd pay for" [PRODUCT]` | 5 | R, X, HN |
| 26 | `"I would pay for a tool that"` | 5 | R, HN |
| 27 | `"take my money" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X |
| 28 | `"happy to pay" [PRODUCT]` | 5 | R, HN |
| 29 | `"willing to pay" [TASK]` | 5 | R, G |
| 30 | `"shut up and take my money" [PRODUCT]` | 4 | R, X |
| 31 | `"someone please build" [TASK]` | 4 | X, R |
| 32 | `"why isn't there an app" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X |
| 33 | `"would pay good money" [PROBLEM]` | 5 | R |
| 34 | `"budget for" [PRODUCT] [AUDIENCE]` | 4 | R, LI |

## 4. Looking for a tool (12)

Active search, right now.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | `"looking for a tool" [TASK]` | 5 | R, HN, LI |
| 36 | `"looking for an app" [TASK]` | 5 | R |
| 37 | `"looking for software" [AUDIENCE]` | 5 | R, LI |
| 38 | `"need a tool" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X |
| 39 | `"need an app" [PROBLEM]` | 5 | R |
| 40 | `"searching for a" [PRODUCT]` | 4 | R, G |
| 41 | `"any tool that" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X |
| 42 | `"any software for" [TASK]` | 5 | R, G |
| 43 | `"tool to automate" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X, LI |
| 44 | `"looking for a simple" [PRODUCT]` | 5 | R |
| 45 | `"free or cheap" [PRODUCT]` | 3 | R |
| 46 | `"[PRODUCT] for [AUDIENCE]" ?` | 4 | X (the bare `?` favors questions) |

## 5. "Is there an app" (10)

Problem aware, solution unaware. Your reply educates and earns trust.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | `"is there an app" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X |
| 48 | `"is there a tool" [TASK]` | 4 | R, HN |
| 49 | `"is there a way to automatically" [TASK]` | 4 | R, G |
| 50 | `"is there a service that" [TASK]` | 4 | R |
| 51 | `"does anyone know a tool" [TASK]` | 4 | R, LI |
| 52 | `"does something like this exist" [PROBLEM]` | 4 | R, HN |
| 53 | `"does anything exist" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X |
| 54 | `"is there anything that" [TASK]` | 4 | R |
| 55 | `"Ask HN" [PROBLEM]` (use HN `tags=ask_hn`) | 4 | HN |
| 56 | `"is there a Chrome extension" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X |

## 6. Recommendation requests (10)

Comparing options now. Being helpful and fair wins here.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | `"what do you use for" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X, LI |
| 58 | `"what's the best" [PRODUCT] [AUDIENCE]` | 4 | R, G |
| 59 | `"best [PRODUCT] for [AUDIENCE]"` | 4 | R, G |
| 60 | `"recommend a" [PRODUCT]` | 4 | R |
| 61 | `"any recommendations" [PRODUCT]` | 4 | R, LI |
| 62 | `"what tools do you use" [AUDIENCE]` | 3 | R, X |
| 63 | `"tech stack" [AUDIENCE] [TASK]` | 3 | R, HN |
| 64 | `"which [PRODUCT] should I"` | 4 | R |
| 65 | `"[COMPETITOR] or" [COMPETITOR_2]` | 4 | R, G |
| 66 | `"recommendations" [PROBLEM] [AUDIENCE]` | 4 | LI, R |

## 7. Workflow pain: "how do you handle" (12)

Not searching yet. Best for customer interviews and content ideas. Reply generously, rarely pitch.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | `"how do you handle" [PROBLEM]` | 3 | R, LI |
| 68 | `"how do you deal with" [PROBLEM]` | 3 | R |
| 69 | `"how do you manage" [TASK]` | 3 | R, LI |
| 70 | `"how do you keep track of" [TASK]` | 3 | R |
| 71 | `"I hate" [TASK]` | 3 | X, R |
| 72 | `"sick of" [PROBLEM]` | 3 | X, R |
| 73 | `"spend hours" [TASK]` | 3 | R, LI |
| 74 | `"spreadsheet" [TASK] "nightmare"` | 3 | R |
| 75 | `"waste so much time" [TASK]` | 3 | R, X |
| 76 | `"manually" [TASK] "every week"` | 3 | R, LI |
| 77 | `"am I the only one" [PROBLEM]` | 2 | R |
| 78 | `"there has to be a better way" [TASK]` | 4 | R, X |

## 8. Hiring / done-for-you (12)

For freelancers and agencies, or to test a productized service before building software.

| # | Template | Intent | Best on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79 | `"looking to hire" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X, LI |
| 80 | `"need someone to" [TASK]` | 5 | R, X |
| 81 | `"looking for a freelancer" [TASK]` | 5 | R, LI |
| 82 | `"looking for a developer" [AUDIENCE]` | 5 | R, LI |
| 83 | `"who can build" [PRODUCT]` | 5 | X, R |
| 84 | `"[Hiring]" [TASK]` (subreddits that use [Hiring] tags) | 5 | R |
| 85 | `"recommend an agency" [TASK]` | 5 | R, LI |
| 86 | `"paying someone to" [TASK]` | 4 | R |
| 87 | `"outsource" [TASK] [AUDIENCE]` | 4 | R, LI |
| 88 | `"Who is hiring" [TASK]` (HN monthly thread, posted by `whoishiring`) | 4 | HN |
| 89 | `"need help with" [TASK] "budget"` | 5 | R |
| 90 | `"#hiring" [TASK] freelance` | 4 | LI, X |

---

## Five ways to make a template better

1. **Swap the vocabulary.** Run the same template with the category word, then with the pain word: `"looking for a tool" invoicing` and `"looking for a tool" "clients not paying"`.
2. **Add recency.** Reddit `&t=week`, Google `after:YYYY-MM-DD`, X `since:YYYY-MM-DD`, HN `dateRange=pastWeek`, LinkedIn Date posted: Past week.
3. **Remove noise.** Add `-hiring -job` on LinkedIn for tools, `-filter:links` on X to drop promo posts, `NOT` on Reddit for unrelated meanings.
4. **Scope to a community.** Reddit `subreddit:[SUB]` or the `/r/[SUB]/search` URL; Google `site:reddit.com/r/[SUB]`.
5. **Retire dead queries.** If a query returns nothing useful twice in a row, replace it. Keep a log in the tracker's Notes.

## A starter set (if you only run 10)

`#1, #3, #13, #15, #25, #35, #47, #57, #67, #78`. They cover every intent level and work on almost every surface.