Marketers use the terms search query and keyword interchangeably without malicious intent, but need to clarify how the two terms differ.
Because not knowing the difference between a query and a keyword can lead to a poor search marketing strategy.
This article will look at key aspects of search queries and keywords, starting with definitions.
What is a search query?
A search query is what people search for.
When you ask Siri something (query) or type something into Google (query) and hit Search, it’s called a search query.
The term search query refers only to the literal text used to initiate the search.
The information a user wishes to retrieve is called search intent.
you can search engine magazine article, How People Search: Understanding User Intent.
What are keywords?
On the other hand, keywords are the basis of search activity.
They are the words or phrases you use to build your paid search or organic marketing campaigns.
Keywords are the exact words or phrases you want your site to appear on Google.
the difference
The difference between keywords and search queries has to do with whether you’re talking about user behavior or marketer behavior.
The user doesn’t know the keyword and doesn’t care about the keyword. They just want to answer their questions.
marketing personnel? Well, you and I both care deeply about search queries.
Understanding what our audience is entering into Google and how that relates to content and advertising is critical to creating deliverable marketing campaigns.
This is where understanding user intent comes into play.
Users search for the same content in many different ways.
The exact order of the words may vary, or the user may add modifiers to the query, but overall, Google understands that the intended meaning of the keyword is the same.
The image below helps to show the difference between keywords and search queries.
Image created by Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal, June 2022This example shows how many different search queries can lead users to the same root keyword.
Now, you can continue to use search queries and keywords interchangeably. But be aware that the differences between search queries and keywords have the potential to change the way you think about your marketing strategy.
How to Use Search Queries to Level Up Your Keyword Game
Ranking at the top of Google for the right keywords can mean big money for your business.
What if there was a way to leverage your audience’s actual search queries to inform your keyword research?
I’ll show you a three-step process that uses your audience’s search queries to level up your keyword game.
With free tools, you already have access to Google Analytics, google search consoleand google search.
1. Discover high-value pages
The first step is to discover which pages are best supported business goals.
Open your Google Analytics account. This example will use GA4.
navigation Reports > Lifecycle > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.
We need to make some edits to the default settings. At the top of the page, click Add Comparison.
Screenshot of author GA4, June 2022Here, we’ll create a condition that changes the dimension from all users to only users from organic search.
click Include > First User Source/Media Then select the dimension value “Google/Organic”.
Screenshot of author GA4, June 2022You can remove the All Users dimension by clicking the x to make the table easier to read.
Next, we need to add a secondary dimension to view the login page.In the table, click blue plus sign + > page/screen > landing page.
Screenshot of author GA4, June 2022We can drill down to the pages in this table that support our business objects. Scroll to the right and click the row header “Conversions.”
Doing so will sort organic landing pages in ascending order based on the number of conversions attributed to that page.
Depending on your website traffic and business goals, you may want to focus on the completion of specific goals.
For example, I want to increase the conversion rate of my chatbot.
This is a professional site with less traffic, so I expanded the date range to the last 90 days to get a good sample dataset.
I will only set conversions to “Chatbot” which will automatically sort my organic landing pages in ascending order.
Screenshot of author GA4, June 2022This prompted me which pages would most effectively meet my chatbot conversion business goals.
I can see patterns around crypto ads and audience insights, so I’ll jot down those landing pages.
If you have a large list, you can download the file in the upper right corner.
Screenshot of author GA4, June 2022Either way, as long as you can access the exact URLs, we’ll use them in the second step.
2. Mining high-value search queries
The most effective form of keyword research is to discover the questions that users are searching for who are engaging with your site in meaningful ways.
The way to do this is to research queries rather than keywords.
Ready to roll up your sleeves and mine for high-value search queries?
Let’s go!
Open google search console. Select your property from the drop-down menu in the upper left corner, then click “Performance”.
The default settings will automatically set the search type to web and the default date range to the last three months.
Depending on the volume and seasonality of your site, this might be fine. Adjust as needed.
Click the plus sign “New” and select “Page…” in the space containing the URL to enter one of the high-value page URLs, then click Apply.
Screenshot of author in Search Console, June 2022On the table, click Country to select the country you are analyzing. Then, click Back to Query.
This view will show the top search queries your audience has searched over the past three months to discover your high-value pages.
The table is automatically sorted by “clicks,” which means that users found your page in search results and clicked on it.
Some of these will be similar, while others may exhibit different search intent. Take note of the top two to five search queries that are most interesting (clicks) and relevant to your business.
At this point, we have a list of search queries that users clicked on and then interacted with our website in a way that was very valuable to the business.
3. Use Google Autocomplete to expand your field of view
Continuing with our crypto ads example, my top search query is crypto ads.
Now, it’s time to expand our horizons by understanding which variants or related terms users may also be searching for.
In order for this method to work, we need to adjust some settings.
Sign out of Google or open a private window to make sure your search history doesn’t affect results.
We would like to see a prediction of where the target audience lives. So if the user base is in a different place than you, you will need to use a VPN. That’s it.
Now, open Google Search and enter one of the keywords you found in step 2 — but don’t hit Enter.
For example, if you type encrypted ads into the search bar, you’ll see something like this:
screenshot from search [crypto advertising]Google, June 2022As you type, Google tries to predict what you’re looking for based on the popularity of simple searches.
This is called Google autocomplete.
Google autocomplete offers a major advantage because it effectively discovers the long-tail keywords (or key phrases) that are most frequently searched for on the web.
long tail keywords Usually at least three words long and communicates clear customer needs.
Let’s walk through an example of how to use autocomplete for one of the high-value keywords found in step two.
Enter one of the high-value keyword examples you discovered in step two and note any queries related to your audience or business.
Try browsing the alphabet at the end of high-value keywords.
For example, add “a” at the end to see how to change the prediction, then add “b” etc.
screenshot from search [crypto advertising e]Google, June 2022Try adding an underscore at the beginning, middle, or end of your keyword.
screenshot from search [_crypto advertising]Google, June 2022If any keyword modifiers make sense, such as how, when, where, why or specify demographics, niche, etc.
screenshot from search [crypto advertising adver]Google, June 2022visit different search engine results pagepaying particular attention to the number of ads and the rich results displayed.
Click through to different pages in the search results; this will help you find high-value long-tail keywords and provide hints on user intent.
takeout
Understanding the difference between search queries and keywords is the key to creating an effective search strategy.
Search queries are the texts your audience is searching for, while keywords are the terms you invest in.
Once you understand the relationship between these two terms, you can think of keyword research in a new way.
And tap into the potential right under your nose.
Use the search queries of your best customers to discover keywords to invest in – that’s smart marketing.
More resources:
Featured image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock
