ᐅ What is a query? Meaning and what it is used for in SEO

The effort of contents optimization What we want search engines to find sometimes leads us to look at SEO from its roots. This process starts from the concern of those who decide to go on the Internet to create a request and find answers.

If you want to find out what a query is, learn about the different types that exist and learn how to use them to optimize your internet searches, stay tuned for this article!

What is a question?

A request It is the term or concept that we write into Google or other search engines when we perform a keyword search.

This query will result in a SERP, which is the acronym for Search Engine Result Page (in Spanish, search results page). This is neither more nor less than the page resulting from a Google search with its various entries.

To make it even easier: what you yourself Googled to get to this article. Therefore, we could say so A query is a question or query.

Now that you know what a query is, you might be wondering, “And What can it do for me in my digital marketing strategy? Would that be the same as a keyword?” Read on to understand how you can use this term to benefit the SEO positioning of your blog or website.

Why is the “query” concept fundamental to SEO?

Many characteristics can be applied to Google’s algorithm, but none of these have to do with concepts such as rigidity, immovability, inalterability or similar. On the contrary, the formula for searching and sorting entries after user searches is constantly evolving and becoming increasingly complex, sophisticated and sensitive to new ways of using the Internetsuch as searches (many times, directly with voice) via mobile devices.

Perhaps the most important change in this algorithm is that the user intention while performing searches. What does this mean for your query or search query? Well, for Google It is no longer as relevant that the query exactly matches the keyword when it comes to ranking it in the SERP.

The question that now arises spontaneously is: by this we mean that keywords no longer have an influence on SEO and that, therefore, they should not be valorised in our positioning strategy?

Of course they are still very important, what is happening is that the need for exact keyword matching is probably losing weight in Google’s algorithm. But it still matters, and a lot. In fact, a Moz study estimates this 13% the percentage of scores assigned to keywords in the latest version of Google.

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Benefits of using the query in your marketing strategy

For the avoidance of doubt, below we summarize the benefits of using queries in digital marketing:

• Your website will appear before others. Paying more attention to queries and not neglecting SEO helps you gain rankings. Therefore, by combining both perspectives in your marketing strategy, you ensure that your website appears in the top search results.
• You will expand the reach of your marketing strategy. Queries help you not limit your options to specific queries when it comes to the Google results page. This means that go through sector and topic filters, sneak in where other websites can’t.
• You will improve at SEO and SEM level. As you know, Google’s algorithm changes frequently. In one of its latest transformations, it has given priority to campaigns that know how to integrate queries with traditional keywords. If you are one of the brands that achieves this, you will soon notice the benefits.
• You will reach your target audience. If you do research to find out what issues your audience is most interested in, you will have a lot to gain. Furthermore, when you can integrate these queries into the context of your ongoing marketing campaigns, the good results multiply.

It’s true that things need to be clear to leverage the potential of queries. But, once you understand what your audience is looking for, your conversions will increase. Investing some time in discovering what your target audience is interested in is the most effective way to get better results in search engines.

Differences between query and keyword

In defining “query” we have named other concepts such as “keyword” or “search query”. Are they therefore synonymous concepts? Not really, since, although they are often used interchangeably, there are some differences between them:

• The key word would be the ideal concept, the terms which, in theory, users use to carry out certain searches on the Internet.
• The term “query”, “search query” or “search query”, for its part, appeals to the word (in most queries, in words) which, when push comes to shove, the user ends up typing into the search engine. Words that are sometimes written badly, with spelling errors or without accents. In other words, The search query is the real application of a more theoretical concept.

Example queries and how to use them

As we commented in the previous section, we can conclude that a good way to use queries is to take them into account in keyword research.

A query may contain spelling errors, but it will help you understand what the user is actually looking for and, therefore, what is the best keyword to work with.

It’s more, I will help you that your contents have a much closer language to the consumer, they speak their own language.

We will understand this better with an example. Suppose we want to launch a campaign that combines organic positioning and paid ads (SEO and SEM) for a brand of women’s trousers. In this case, the ideal keyword would probably be “skinny jeans.” However, user queries will surely include, in addition to the exact keyword, other words, such as: “tight jeans” and various variations (in both English and Spanish): “tight jeans”, “skinny jeans”, “tejanos tight” or “women’s skinny jeans”.

In short, search queries or search queries make up a larger set of keywords.

You may be wondering, “How do I know what the most searched queries are?

A good way to do this is through Google Search Console, in the “performance” part select “search results”. In this section you can find queries for which users click (clicks) or view (impressions) your site in the results. This can be very useful for optimizing your content.

If what you are looking for is information about queries for new contentyou can check search volume in Keyword Planner to get an idea.

Query types

As we mentioned, a query is a question or a query, but its definition can vary slightly depending on the context we are talking about. Although in this article we have relied on search engine queries, which are important for SEO.

Next, we provide you with more information about other types of queries that exist and are widely used in computing terms.

What types of queries can appear in search engines

When we talk about search engines, a query is the actual term that we write into a search engine like Google, a query that Then will lead to a SERP. Not all are the same, in fact up to three different groups of queries can be distinguished:

1. Navigation.

They work almost like direct access, since the person launching the query knows which page they want to reach. Maybe you don’t remember the domain or a specific section, but it’s clear to you that you want, for example, to check the news in a certain online newspaper or shop online in your usual supermarket.

2. Information.

This group includes as many as you want. They represent the need to find an answer to a concern. In this case the user, when launching the query, has no idea where he will end up navigating. An example would be searching for “best products for long hair” or “flu symptoms”.

3. Transaction.

The aim is to complete an action with the help of the search engine. The query is very directed at a specific goal like “download yoga apps” or “claim points online”.

Types of queries that can be launched in an information system: what is an SQL query?

When we talk about databases, Query or Query-string is it a request to that information repository. That is, it is used when it is necessary to obtain a specific answer in a database or in an information system.

In no case is it the same as jQuery (the JavaScript library), nor the query programming language, although, in all cases, database is the common scenario.

If we go into a little more detail, an example query in a mysql database would be something like: SELECT column_to_select FROM table_to_select WHERE to apply_condition_X.

Basically, what we ask the database with the previous query is to look for a column where condition X is satisfied.

The types of queries directed to the telephone: what does HLR Query mean?

You may be wondering what HLR queries are. HLR stands for Home Location Register, a type of query that allows a user to find out who is hiding behind a phone. Specifically, when you start an HLR you can know:

• The operator to which a telephone number belongs.
• A subscriber’s GSM network.
• The status of the number (for example, whether it is disconnected or no longer used).

A query like this helps collect valuable real-time information about phones from a database. It is the most effective way to filter inactive numbers to focus marketing campaigns only on those who will receive a response, saving time and money.

Importance of the query in marketing strategy

Before concluding the post, I would like to remind you that the query, understood in a broader sense, continues to have a capital importance in our marketing 2.0 strategy and, more specifically, in the SEO strategy.

This means that, in addition to his relevance in SEO and SEM issues, This is a key aspect for the marketing strategy from several points of view, since it is intended as a query that facilitates the search and allows acquire a 360º view of the issue on which it focuses. And this applies to any brand, company, product or online business.

Did this post help you clarify the concept of query and differentiate it from the term keyword? I hope it is useful to you optimize e make your SEO strategies more effective.

I’d love to hear about your experience with these types of questions, why don’t we continue talking about it in the comments section?

Originally published October 31, 2016, updated September 12, 2023.

Reviewed and validated by Susana Meijomil, Inbound Content Manager at InboundCycle.