Search Queries vs. Keywords

You may hear some digital marketers use the terms “search queries” and “keywords” interchangeably, but always remember that the two terms are different. One of the most usual problems comes from identifying the difference between keywords and search queries. Learning when to use each term and identifying the correct difference between the two is vital in building and managing a competitive marketing campaign online.

Are you also confused between Queries and Keywords? Then this might help you to understand the difference between these two.

What Are Keywords?

A keyword is the exact term that you are targeting in a paid search or organic search campaign. If you want to win a PPC bid for the term “house paint”, then “house paint” is your keyword.

Keywords are what marketers, SEOs, and search professionals come up with. They define the strategy. Users don’t know about them, don’t care about them, and don’t have anything to do with them.

What Are Queries?

Queries are what the user types in.

They are searching for something online, and they type stuff in Google, speak something to Siri, or otherwise perform a search. It’s called a query.

Queries often include misspellings. Many times, these misspellings are corrected by Google, but sometimes they are retained in the search.

What’s The Difference?

The major difference between keywords and queries has to do with who is using them.

Marketers use keywords.
Users use queries.

Users don’t know what keywords are. That’s not because users are dumb; it’s because they don’t know what companies are targeting which keywords. The user is simply typing stuff in, hoping to find digital information or products that will meet her needs.

Marketers have keywords, but real users type in queries. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with the marketer’s use of keywords. That’s how you begin a successful digital SEO campaign — with keywords. But the real source of power and information comes from learning the queries — the words which actual users are tying in.

Knowing The Differences Will Let You:

Use the Google keyword search term report

One way to discover new keywords from queries is the Google keyword search term report that shows a list of search terms people have used within the Search Network and your ads were shown and clicked.

Within the report, the “Keyword” column indicates which keywords matched someone’s search term and triggered your ad, while the “Match type” column tells you how closely the search terms that triggered your ads are related to your exact keywords.

Target keywords, but expand them into queries

Every successful campaign starts with keywords. Advertisers bid on keywords hoping users will search those words, which will trigger their ads, leading to clicks and conversions.

Keywords aren’t the reality, though. Keywords only represent what you want, not what real-life search engine users are doing. Therefore, search terms are the reality. That’s why it makes sense to begin with specific target keywords, but also expand those into search queries.

Manage your keywords based on search terms data

Using your keyword research and data from the search terms report, you can make changes to your keyword strategy to positively impact campaign performance. For example:

By Ziad Abdallah

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