Search queries
Search queries are the terms that internet users enter into search engines to find specific pages. These can be terms like "flights to Mallorca" or "used iPads" for consumers, but also terms for information gathering like "Crimea referendum 2014" or "Football World Cup venues in Brazil." Without such search queries, the unimaginably large amount of data on the internet would be impossible to sift through, making search engines like Google indispensable – a fact that has made Google the most important brand on the internet.
Search queries and keywords
Basically, search queries are nothing more than keywords – the terms that should definitely be present in search engine-optimized texts. For instance, someone selling package holidays and flight tickets online will include important keywords from the tourism industry in their texts. To know which keywords are best suited to attract visitors to the site, it helps to look at Google statistics on currently popular search queries.
For example, when planning a summer vacation in the spring, typical package tour destinations like Mallorca are usually at the top of the search queries, while in the fall, people tend to search more for destinations where it is warm and sunny during the winter months, such as the Caribbean or Thailand. Current trends also contribute, for example, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which caused searches for Brazil to skyrocket, or a highly acclaimed exhibition in museums like the Louvre or the British Museum, which leads to search queries for trips to Paris and London.
Regularly read statistics and adjust search queries
Many website owners make the mistake of leaving their once-written pages unchanged for years. It makes sense to deal with Google statistics at least once a year and check if search queries have changed. After all, there are always new trends in every industry: A tourism operator who worked with keywords like "package tours Egypt" five years ago should not be surprised if far less traffic comes to his website today. A tech retailer whose keywords are still focused on "mini-notebooks" and "netbooks" will also hardly get any visitors, as the once so popular netbooks have now been almost completely replaced by tablets.
Cleverly use search queries
Astute online marketing experts like to take advantage of a short-term explosive increase in certain search queries. For example, if unrest occurs in a previously peaceful travel destination like Thailand, many tourists will search the internet with queries like "reschedule Thailand trip" or "cancel Thailand vacation." A clever marketing expert uses this to write texts like "Cancel Thailand vacation and book the Caribbean with us instead," which then appear in search results and potentially attract visitors to their own website.
Important for the choice of keywords is also a large vocabulary and some creativity, because for a single object, several dozen formulations can be used in search queries – including typos. With more exotic terms, better results can often be achieved than with highly contested general terms like “travel” or “vacation,” where hundreds of applicants vie for the top spots on Google.