Google says Search Query Reports may not show actual user searches
Google says Search Query Reports may not show exact searches as AI-driven intent matching expands in Google Ads.
Topic: Search query
Google Ads search terms report: 5 tips for better results
Mastering the search term report can dramatically improve targeting, cut wasted spend, and reveal what real customers are searching for.
Google Ads rolls out Search Term categories for RSAs
The new RSA insights tool helps you identify top-performing search categories and optimize their creative and keyword strategies.
7 Google Ads search term filters to cut wasted spend
These filtering tactics help refine your targeting, reduce spend on low-quality clicks, and uncover new keyword opportunities.
Search terms: The foundation of every successful SEO strategy
Learn what search terms are, how they differ from keywords, and why they matter for SEO and PPC. Start targeting the right queries to grow your traffic.
Your guide to Google Ads keyword terminology
Improve your PPC targeting strategy by understanding the differences in keyword terminology and match type functionality.
Google removes language in help doc calling hidden Search Console query data ‘very rare’
This change was made after a study showed on average about 50% of queries were removed from the reports.
‘Significant’ drop in Google-reported search terms seen across devices and ad formats [Report]
Tinuiti's granular look at search term data offers a snapshot of how big Google's search terms update is for advertisers.
Google says Dynamic Search Ad targeting will soon get better
Query matching set to improve over several months.
Study: Searchers Use Question Formats 27% Of The Time
A new study analyzes how searchers type in queries by looking at the query format and query length.
The Importance Of Search Data In Your Marketing
When it comes to data utility, search has other digital marketing channels beat hands down. Contributor Alistair Dent explains how to use this and other bits of customer data without spending big bucks.
Quickly See AdWords Performance By Search Query Length In Google Analytics
A new Word Count Query dimension in Analytics lets advertisers quickly compare head terms and long-tail queries.
The Aftermath: Clarifications & Expert Reactions To Google’s Move To Secure Paid Search Queries
Yesterday, Google announced it is expanding secure search to clicks on paid ads. The change means that the search query a user typed in before clicking on an ad will be dropped from the referrer string in the URL and won’t be passed to analytics or other software other than AdWords. The move is aimed […]
Marin: If Google Applies “Not Provided” To PPC, Paid Search Management Platforms Will Still Work
Yesterday, we reported that it seems likely Google will soon stop passing search query data on paid search clicks, as it already has for clicks on organic search results. With the news came questions — among them whether paid search management platforms such as Marin, Acquisio and Kenshoo would be done in by such a […]
Report: Google’s Not Provided Reached 49% & Much Higher In Technology Industry
BrightEdge has released a report showing that for the 8,400 brands they tracked over the last quarter, 49% of the queries collected did not provide (i.e. not provided) search query data due to Google’s secure search. 49% was the average, in fact, it is higher for the technology industry. BrightEdge said that “56% of traffic […]
A Simple Guide To Understanding The Searcher Experience
When search engine optimization (SEO) professionals talk about the searcher experience, they often cast their personal mental models onto the minds of searchers. What is your role in understanding and delivering a successful searcher experience?
QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge Of Searcher Behavior
Think you know the web searcher goals and behaviors that are important for long term search engine visibility? Take this quiz and find out.
Ask.com Has The Most Long-Winded Searchers, Report Says
The longest search queries are happening on Ask.com, where users average almost five words per search. That’s according to research from Chitika. The ad network analyzed search referrals on “hundreds of millions” of impressions across sites in its network between January 9th and 12th. And the longest search referrals — at an average of 4.81 […]
SMX East 2011: Use Searcher Personas To Connect SEO To Conversion
Use Searcher Personas To Connect SEO To Conversion Presentations from SMX East – NYC, NY, September 2011 We all know that audience engagement doesn’t start at a web site. It starts at the search box. And it’s not enough to rank well for high volume queries. To be successful, you have to rank well for […]
Hitwise: Bing-powered Search Share Inches Up; One-Word Queries Also Rising
Bing-powered search made small gains in U.S. market share during October, according to the latest Hitwise numbers. Bing gained 3% between September and October, going from 12.8% market share to 13.23%, while Yahoo also rose slightly from 15.27% to 15.39%. Combined, that boosted Bing-powered share among major search engines to 28.62% … still a far […]
Experian Hitwise: Bing Searches Up 5% In December 2010
According to the latest data from Hitwise, Bing had a very happy holiday season. From November to December 2010, Bing.com saw a 5% increase in search activity, while Bing powered searches also rose 2%, search activity on search.Yahoo.com remained the unchanged. Search activity on Google decreased from 70.10% in November to 69.67% in December 2010. […]
Google Webmaster Tools Adds Page-Level Query Data
Google’s Webmaster Tools is taking another step toward becoming a “lite” version of Google Analytics with the announcement today of additional data about search queries that drive traffic to your site and which pages benefit the most from them. There’s a new “Top pages” tab in the Search Queries section of Webmaster Tools, and this […]
Study: Three-Word Queries Drive Most SEO Traffic
Ad network Chitika has published interesting findings from an examination of a whole lot of search-driven ad impressions. Specifically, “Chitika looked at a sample of 41,103,403 impressions of search traffic coming into their network between June 13 – June 19.” The company found that 26 percent of (organic) search-driven traffic was the result of “three-word […]
Google Webmaster Central Adds Even More Query Data
I love data. Part of what’s so great about the web is that the data available brings amazing insights about our audience and how they are engaging with our organizations to enable us to improve that experience. In mid-April, Google Webmaster Tools significantly expanded the information they provide about the search queries that lead to […]
Facebook Top Search Query At Google, Bing & Yahoo
Guess what search term was the top search term at Google, Bing and Yahoo for the month of March? It was Facebook! Hitwise released data for the four weeks ending March 27th saying that across the three major search engines, the top query is the term [facebook]. Of the search terms they tracked on Google, […]
Short Vs. Long Tail: Which Search Queries Perform Best?
The focus on the utility (or lack thereof) of long tail keywords in paid search campaigns seems to ebb and flow, but recently a series of articles about leveraging the long tail for pay-per click have been published. But in all the debate there’s an important distinction that most people fail to focus on. Keywords […]
Top Searches Can Attract Top Links
The search engines have been publishing their “Top Searches” lists for 2009, so far I’ve collected lists from Bing , Yahoo!, and Google. Other sites posting “top” searches are ESPN, Snopes, and my favorite, Yahoo’s Top Video’s (warning: time killer!). I set my alerts to catch these lists because they spark ideas for link bait and content development […]
Bing Gains Search Share In October: Experian Hitwise
While Bing is happily rolling out new search features, Microsoft can also smile at the latest search engine market share report from Experian Hitwise. Google is still light years ahead of Yahoo, Bing, and Ask … but Experian Hitwise shows Bing with a 7% increase during October, while both Google and Yahoo saw small drops […]
Commercial Intent & Web Search Behaviors
When do web searchers have commercial intent? What types of search queries do they try before actually making a purchase?
Hitwise: Google’s Lead Growing, Searches Getting Longer
Google’s share of the U.S. search market continues to grow according to Hitwise data released today. (PDF download) Google’s market share rose from 72.11% in February to 72.39% in March, while both Yahoo and Live Search saw declines. Year-over-year numbers are also in Google’s favor: It’s up 8% over March 2008, while Yahoo and Live […]
Search Queries Are Getting Longer: Hitwise Report
More than half of all search queries are at least three words long, and more than a third are four words or longer. That’s according to Hitwise data (PDF) released today: As the chart shows, 1- and 2-word queries are becoming less common, while 4-, 5-, and all the way up to 8+ word queries […]
The Most Dreaded Keyword Phrase
In website usability, one of the hardest obstacles to overcome is the mentality of “This is what I would do.” Whenever we hear Person A (or B or C or D, etc.) say this phrase, it means that Person A is not focused on users. It means that Person A is superimposing his or her […]
Study: 80-Percent Of Searches Are Informational, 20% Are Navigational Or Transactional
A Penn State research study showed that about 80-percent of searches are informational in nature, whereas 10-percent are navigational and another 10-percent are transactional. The researchers reviewed over 1.5 million queries from hundreds of thousands of search engines users to prove the “80/20 rule that 80 percent of the cases can be achieved with these […]
adCenter Improves Ad Quality Ranking Algorithm
The adCenter blog announced that they have made improvements to the ranking algorithm to take into account several quality factors. The factors include:
Yahoo To Redirect More Search Query Types Site Explorer
August of last year, Yahoo began pointing “link:” and “linkdomain:” without other search operators queries towards Site Explorer. Today, Yahoo will be redirecting “domain:” and “hostname:” queries to Site Explorer as well. So if you do a search at search.yahoo.com and it is using those query types, they will soon redirect to Site Explorer. It […]
Screaming About The Search Tail
Over the years, I’ve done many introduction to search marketing sessions where I talk about the value of having good, descriptive pages. Those let you tap into the search tail, the "onesies and twosies" terms, as I’ve called them, that might come up only once in a month. Add all those up, and they can […]