3 types of search queries and how to classify them

Q: What is a search query?

A search query (or web query) is a phrase that a user enters into a search engine such as Google to find information online.

Q: What is an example of an informative search query?

Information search queries are the phrases (or words) that searchers use to find more information about something. For example, “How to make coffee?” is an example of an informational query.

Types of search queries : Discover them in this guide, the examples and how to target them.

User intent is very important.

Whether you run a website, an e-commerce store, or sell products online, understanding the intent behind every keyword you target is KEY to increasing sales.

For example, a keyword like “buy a standing laptop desk” is obviously commercial. In contrast, a keyword like “does a standing desk help reduce back pain” has a clear and informative intent.

If you want to know the different types of searches people do on Google, you've come to the right place.

There are mainly three types of search queries.

Navigation requests (Internet users are looking for a specific site or page)
Information searches (people looking for an answer to a specific question)
Transactional requests (users who are ready to make a purchase or take a specific action).

In this FREE guide, you will learn about the following;

The three different types of research
Les examples
How to target these types of searches

Let's get started without further ado.

3 types of common search queries to effectively target your audience

Navigational Search Queries

Navigation queries are important because people who are already familiar with your brand, product, or business are more likely to click through to your website in search results.

What is a navigation request?

A navigation query is a keyword (or phrase) used to find a specific website or product.

For example, if you are looking for help from Amazon, you can search for “Amazon customer care”.

In this case, people doing this type of research are already familiar with the “Amazon” brand.

Here are some examples of navigation requests:

Shopping on Amazon
Search on google
Facebook login
youtube music
Subscribe to Twitter

People doing this research are already familiar with the company and want more information about its products or website.

How to optimize the search according to the navigation?

Here are some of the proven ways to rank for browsed search queries.

Make a list of keywords: First, list ALL the keywords your audience is searching for. You can use Google Search Console to find all the keywords and queries that are driving clicks (and impressions) to your website.

You can also use premium tools like Semrush to get a list of all the keywords your website (or your competitor's) is ranking for.

Here are some of the browsing search queries for the Semrush.com website;

As you can see, you can easily find all navigational keywords for ANY website with tools like Semrush. We will discuss this in more detail later in this guide.

Use keywords throughout your website content: Once you have the list of keywords driving the most traffic to your website, start using them strategically.

Don't just use long-tail keywords in your title tag and meta descriptions. Use them throughout your website content, including headers, footer section links, navigation menus, and more.

Bid on keywords: Obviously, most navigational keywords are brand (or product) driven. So make sure you are at the top of the paid and organic results.

If your competitors are ranking for your brand keywords, you will lose a lot of traffic and sales. You can invest in Google ads for MAJOR keywords related to your website or brand.

Information Search Queries

Informational search queries are the most common types of web queries. For what ? Most people use search engines like Google to find information online.

These query types are used in the following cases;

To find information on a topic (or something)
To find out more about a product or service
For research purposes

What is an information search?

An informative search query is a keyword phrase people search for to learn more about a topic or product.

For example, an Internet user can type "how to create a site" in the Google search bar to learn how to create a website.

Here are some examples of informative search queries:

What is the paleo diet?
How to Contact Amazon Customer Service
Facebook login problem

Search queries are MOSTLY “question words”, as they usually contain words such as “what”, “how to”, “where”, etc…

These keywords do not result in any conversions or sales. But they help you to make known your products or services. They also help you establish your authority in your niche.

How to optimize the search for information?

Here are some of the best ways to rank for information search queries.

Target question-based keywords: Most information search queries include words such as "how, what, when", etc.

So it's best to identify question-type keywords and create content that answers users' questions.

Question keywords are usually long-tail, low-volume keywords — so they're easier to rank for than other short-tail keywords.

Some tools to find question keywords;

Respond to the audience
AlsoAsked.com
Semrush Keyword Magic Tool

Here are some keywords for the “WordPress SEO” topic (using Answer The Public);

As you can see, you can quickly find a ton of keywords for any topic with tools like Answer The Public.

Use keyword modifiers: Simply put, keyword modifiers are words or phrases that you add to your PRIMARY keyword to make it more specific.

For example, you could target a keyword like " WordPress themes ».

But…this is a competitive keyword that almost every authority website in your industry wants to rank for. That's why you should use keyword modifiers to make that keyword less competitive.

For the same example, you could use a keyword modifier like “cheap” to target people looking for WordPress themes affordable.

Here are some of the keyword modifiers for the example above;

Better
Cheap
Free
Mobile friendly
SEO Friendly

Create high quality content: If you want to rank for informative search queries, you MUST create high-quality content related to your target keywords.

High quality content means:

that it is well written (without grammar problems)
Inform the target audience
easy to read
Offer unique tips or information that most other content doesn't.

Also make a habit of regularly updating your top performing content, as search engines appreciate fresh content.

Transactional search queries

A transactional search query is a keyword phrase used to complete an action such as a purchase, newsletter sign-up, free trial activation, etc.

Identifying and ranking transactional keywords is the BEST way to increase your sales and conversions.

What are transactional search queries?

Transactional keywords (or buyer keywords) are words that Internet users use in their searches before buying online.

Here are some examples of transactional search queries:

Buy some WordPress themes
Sign up for a free trial
Download an e-book
Special discount

These transactional keywords often include the following keyword modifiers;

Buy now
the purchase
Checkout
Free try
Apply
Download
Register

How to optimize a transactional search?

Here are some practical tips for positioning yourself on transactional search queries.

Use long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords contain 3 or more words. They are more specific and less competitive than short keywords.

Here are some of the benefits of targeting long tail keywords;

Easier to classify
Fewer searches (therefore less competition)
Top conversions

Here are some examples of long-tail transactional keywords;

Discount on the Canon EOS 5D Mark
iPhone 14 Pro deals
30-day free trial of Semrush

Use negative keywords: Negative keywords are words or phrases that you don't want your website to rank for. Most people use negative keywords to exclude search terms from their SEO campaigns and focus ONLY on important keywords.

For example, if you sell email marketing tools, you can add the negative keyword “free” to your keyword list. This will prevent your website from ranking for searches such as “free email marketing tools”.

Another example: if you add “running shoes” as a negative keyword, people searching for “running shoes” won't see your ad. (Image source: The Hoth)

Target local keywords: Did you know that 76% of people who search for a nearby business on their smartphone visit it within 24 hours? And the best part is that 28% of these searches result in a purchase.

The best way to rank for transactional search queries is to identify local keywords. Local keywords are keywords that contain location-specific phrases or keywords.

For example, if you're an interior designer in London, you've probably already discovered that you want to rank for keywords like "interior designers in London."

These keywords can be extremely useful if you have a local business. By targeting local keywords in your content, you'll attract highly relevant visitors from search because those keywords will help you rank for searches in your area.

How do you find out the intent of a keyword?

How to easily discover the "intent" behind search queries or keywords?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to use a tool like Semrush.

To search for keywords by intent on Semrush, all you need to do is use the filter in the “intent” column in any keyword report.

Here is an example;

As you can see, for the keyword “marketing tool”, the intent is “commercial”.

Isn't it easy to find intention quickly with Semrush?

Semrush shows the following FOUR options in the intent column;

T = Transactional
C = Commercial
I = Information
N = Navigation

In case you didn't know, Semrush is a powerful SEO toolkit used by over 10 million people and providing access to over 50 tools.

Semrush is not a free tool. However, it offers a 14-day free trial. There are three pricing options which are;

Pro ($99,95/month billed annually)
Guru ($191,62/month billed annually)
Business ($374,95/month billed annually)

If you're curious, here's how to use Semrush to quickly identify the intent behind keywords or search queries.

To get started, go to Semrush's "Keyword Overview" tool and enter any keyword. You can also enter multiple keywords at once (up to 100) to find their intent.

As you can see, we've entered three keywords into the keyword preview tool. You can also choose a country if you are targeting a specific country.

Once you click the search button, the intent will automatically show up.

Take a look ;

As you can see above, in the “Intent” columns, you can easily find each keyword’s intent along with other metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty, CPC , etc.

FAQ on the different types of research

Here are some frequently asked questions about Google search queries.

What is a search query?

A search query (or web query) is a phrase that a user types into a search engine such as Google to find information online.

What are the main types of search queries?

The three main types of search queries are as follows;

Transactional (example: "buy an iPhone")
Information (example: "Tips and tricks for the iPhone")
Navigation (example: “Connect to iPhone iCloud”)

What is transactional research?

These are search queries where a user wants to buy something or take an action (for example, sign up for a free trial). Most transactional queries contain words like “buy”, “buy”, “discount”, “cheap”, etc….

How do I find the right keywords for my website?

You can use keyword tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, Serpstat, Ubersuggest, etc., to find relevant keywords for your website or business. Try to find long tail keywords as they are less competitive and provide higher conversion rates.

What is an example of an informative search query?

Information search queries are the phrases (or words) searchers use to find more information about something. For example, "How to make coffee?" is an example of an informative request.

Articles that may also interest you:

Final reflections

Informative search queries are great for bringing new visitors to your website, while transactional queries can help you increase your sales.

Navigational keywords are best suited for brands and companies offering products or services.

What do you think of the types of search queries mentioned above? Are you going to target these queries to attract the right people to your website? Do you have any questions ? Please let us know in the comments.

3 Types of Search Queries and How to Easily Classify Them

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