{"id":11216,"date":"2019-02-28T13:05:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T19:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/?p=11216"},"modified":"2019-02-28T13:05:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T19:05:35","slug":"using-search-queries-to-help-a-local-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advicelocal.com\/blog\/using-search-queries-to-help-a-local-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Search Queries to Help a Local Business Place in Search Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

If there\u2019s anything we\u2019ve learned in all our years specializing on getting local businesses found online<\/a>, it\u2019s that consumers are unpredictable. Although you might have an idea of the search queries a potential customer uses to find a particular business, it\u2019s hard to know for certain without putting on your analytical thinking cap and digging into the data.<\/p>\n

\"Free<\/a><\/div>\n

In 2015, Google launched Search Console<\/a>, a free set of tools aimed at helping businesses monitor their sites\u2019 online presence. Thanks to Search Console, marketers, businesses and agencies no longer need to take an estimated guess about the search queries that convert. They can know the actual keywords a searcher used to access the business\u2019 website.<\/p>\n

Search Console is one of the most useful tools used to gather insights into search queries and keywords, but local businesses can also find a similar analysis through Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) Insights and Google Analytics. With a zero-click SERPs getting closer and closer<\/a>, leveraging all these tools together is one of the best ways to get more insights.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at how local businesses and marketers can take advantage of the information on search queries that Search Console provides.<\/p>\n

Search Queries Are the Real Deal<\/h2>\n

Search queries are what a consumer types directly into the search box of a search engine,\u00a0like Google or Bing. This may sound like the definition of a keyword, but it\u2019s not. Elisa Gabbert, at Wordstream,<\/a> said it beautifully: \u201ca keyword is sort of like the Platonic ideal of a search query \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s an abstraction that we extrapolate from multiple search queries.\u201d In other words, keywords are a marketer\u2019s way of identifying what a customer wanted to say with their search query.<\/p>\n

How Do Search Queries Benefit Local Businesses?<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re glad you asked. Through Google\u2019s Search Console or Google Business Profile (GBP) Insights, local businesses can look at which keywords and queries are getting them placed in search results. They can also see if those keywords are relevant to the business and if they are getting click-throughs to the site. Google Analytics gives local businesses a good idea of site search terms used by potential customers. This helps them decide if their site has the information that readers are looking for. If not, it might be time to change their content strategy and modify their local SEO tactics to place higher in search results.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to dig into search queries on these various platforms.<\/p>\n

Search Queries on Search Console<\/h2>\n

Basing a business\u2019 content strategy on data<\/a> is a no-brainer if they want to capture more readers. A business might think they know what works, but it\u2019s the actual numbers and information that give a clear view of what readers are looking for. Let us explain it with a visual and a practical example. Take a look at the screenshot below of Google\u2019s Search Console.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

This screenshot includes a list of search queries that readers used to find Advice Local on search engines in a seven-day period a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, Search Console provides important information on queries, including clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR) and position on search results.<\/p>\n

Our team at Advice Local constantly analyzes the information provided by Search Console to come up with different strategies to reach a broader audience or to give our readers the information they are looking for. Google Business Profile topics are always a hit, as you can see.<\/p>\n

Clicks, Impressions, CTR and Position<\/h3>\n

Following our example above, the query \u201cgoogle business profile image size\u201d gave Advice Local 16 clicks, 85 impressions with a CTR of 18.8 percent. But, what does that even mean?<\/p>\n

Search Console gives the following definitions:<\/h3>\n