Keywords vs. Search Queries: What’s the Difference?

Forrest Pykes Apr 23, 2025

Are search queries and keywords the same thing?

Are you also confused about queries and keywords? Then this article may help you understand the difference between the two.

We have found that most bloggers cannot differentiate between query terms and keywords and confuse the two. But in reality, they are not the same thing but different. There are subtle differences between the two which we will discuss here.

What is a search query in SEO?

Queries are related to users, i.e. those who want to search for something online. So, they open any search engine and type what they want to search for. Let’s take an example. A user wants to buy “blue jeans” online, so what would he type.

What users type when they search is called a query. Queries are something that you can’t predict, either as a writer or a marketer. They’ll type anything and you have to capture those queries with your keywords.

What are keywords?

Keywords are specific words that users search for on the web. In the example above, the user wants to know about blue jeans, so that’s your keyword. As a marketer or SEO guru, should you pay more attention to what users want to search for?

Generally speaking, you can say that queries are relevant to users, while keywords are relevant to marketers or SEO masters. But as a marketer, you have to take care of both, because your keyword exists in the user query, you have to find it, and then add it to the web page or article.

Check:

Query and keywords?

As mentioned above

  • User query
  • Marketers use keywords

From this we can say that users do not know what the keywords are when they search for anything.

Does this mean that users are stupid?

No, I want to tell you that users don’t know what keywords marketers are targeting. Users just type in what they want.

Marketers face the same situation, they don’t know what users will type to search for their products. This is where keywords come in. Marketers must research all queries (i.e. the words that users actually type) to find keywords.

So now we can define them as follows,

  • Query: What the user actually types into the search bar
  • Keywords: What are the goals of marketers?

How to convert keywords into queries to gain traffic and profit?

Keywords are the foundation of SEO optimization, and you hope to use keywords to get rankings. But keywords are not reality. They represent what you want, not what users actually search for.

From this, I want to ask a question. What kind of traffic do you want? Do you want traffic that you want, or traffic that comes from actual searches by users?

According to experts, you will get more traffic from queries that users search for.

How to find keywords from a query?

The reason why all famous bloggers are successful is that they always research queries instead of keywords . So, start researching your queries, how do you do it?

Use Google Webmaster Tools (now renamed Search Console) to find out which search terms your website is getting exposure on? To do this, log in to your webmaster account, navigate to "Search Traffic", and you will get a list of search terms. From these search terms, you need to find the best keywords.

Note: This tool shows only those queries that brought users to your website. You must also focus on those queries that did not bring any visitors to your website.

Must Read: Awesome SEO Tips to Find Profitable SEO Keywords

Another cool feature is Google Autocomplete. It shows suggestions when someone types something in the Google search bar. Have you ever wondered where these suggestions come from and how Google decides which ones to show?

The answer is that the algorithm of this autocomplete feature depends on popular search trends. For example, when you type "popular holi" , Google may give you results like this.

Keywords vs. Search Queries: What’s the Difference?

Once you know what is popular in Google queries, then you can easily target the queries you want.

How does it work?

Now you have two ways to promote your product. First, target the keyword but make it useful based on the relevant queries. Second, research the query and find the best keyword from it.

Let's take an example to understand these two situations. According to the first situation, your keyword is "self-improvement", then your query may be like this.

  • The significance of self-improvement
  • Self-improvement ideas
  • Self Improvement Quotes
  • Self Improvement Books
  • 5 great self-improvement tips

Now, as per the second scenario, you get some queries from webmaster tools and notice that some visitors found the blog post based on the query “how do i develop myself” .

So from this query you can also find other related queries like

  • How can I grow
  • How can personal development help me
  • How to improve your online skills

Obviously, some people don’t understand the term “self-improvement,” so unless you target these alternative search trends (the queries I listed above), they may never find your site.

Final Words

So, the difference between a “query” and a “keyword” is subtle, but crucial. Hopefully, now you can easily differentiate between a strong keyword and an actual query.

If you have any further information on this, you can share it in the comments section below.

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