Sales Loves MarketingA search query is what someone types or says into a search engine to find something. "Best CRM for small sales teams", "hubspot login" and "what is lead scoring" are all queries. Marketers look at queries to understand what people want, then pick the keywords to target.
What are the types of search queries?
The best-known classification comes from Andrei Broder's 2002 paper "A taxonomy of web search". It splits queries by what the searcher is trying to do:
- Navigational. The searcher wants a specific site or page. Examples: "salesforce login", "linkedin sales navigator". The best result is the brand's own page, so there is little point targeting competitors' navigational queries with content.
- Informational. The searcher wants to learn something. Examples: "what is account-based marketing", "how to write a cold email". These are good topics for guides and glossary pages like this one.
- Transactional. The searcher wants to do something, such as buy, sign up or download. Examples: "CRM free trial", "book sales training". They are closest to a buying decision and suit product, pricing and demo pages.
Wikipedia notes that this model was not derived from theory but has since been tested against real search data. In practice many B2B queries sit between types. "HubSpot vs Pipedrive" is informational, but the searcher is clearly close to a decision.
What is the difference between a query and a keyword?
A query belongs to the searcher. A keyword belongs to the marketer.
Google Ads makes the same split. It defines a search term as "a word or set of words a person enters when searching", and a keyword as the words an advertiser adds to an ad group to reach the right audience. One keyword, such as "sales software", can trigger hundreds of different queries. See search term.
How do you use queries in SEO and paid search?
- Find the real wording. In Google Search Console, group the Performance report by Queries to see which searches your pages appear for, with clicks, impressions and average position.
- Match the page to the intent. Write a guide for informational queries and a product or comparison page for transactional ones.
- Spot new topics. Queries with impressions but few clicks often point to content you could improve or create. See keyword research.
- Clean up paid search. In Google Ads, the search terms report shows which queries triggered your ads, so you can add negative keywords for irrelevant ones.
- Look at long queries. Specific, multi-word queries show exactly what a searcher needs and often become long-tail keywords worth their own page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a query and a keyword?
A query is what the searcher actually enters. A keyword is what the marketer chooses to target. Google Ads describes a search term as the words a person enters when searching, and a keyword as the words advertisers add to an ad group to reach the right people. One keyword can match many different queries.
What are the three types of search queries?
Navigational queries look for a specific site, such as "hubspot login". Informational queries look for knowledge, such as "what is lead scoring". Transactional queries show intent to act, such as "buy CRM licence" or "book a demo". The classification comes from Andrei Broder's 2002 paper "A taxonomy of web search".
Where can I see which queries bring visitors to my site?
In Google Search Console, open the Performance report and group the table by Queries. It shows clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position for the queries your pages appeared for.