Informational Query

What is an Informational Query?

An informational query is a search where the user’s primary goal is to get an answer to a certain question or find a specific piece of information. The query is informational if there is an intent to find facts, data, or knowledge.

Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines refer to this as “Know” search intent, distinguishing between “Know” and “Know Simple” informational queries. 

More often than not, using particular words and phrases can indicate if the user’s request is an informational or “Know” query. 

Here’s an example of a search query containing a common informational modifier:

And another one:

It is pretty easy to tell that you are looking at informational queries here. The user isn’t looking to make a purchase or visit a specific website. In both cases, the purpose of their search is to learn something new and get more information on a topic of interest. 

That said, even when the search query does not include any modifiers - such as “When,” “Why,” or “How,” for example - search engines can still recognize the intent behind it. 

You could type “search engine optimization” in the search bar - and Google would still interpret it as an information-driven query, filling the search results with basic information and guides on the matter. 

Why are informational queries important?

As it turns out, most searches are actually informational in nature. Content-wise, you should target informational search queries if you want to get organic search traffic.

Granted, with informational queries, it is highly unlikely that you will get a lot if (immediate) conversions. When someone’s using informational queries, they’re likely not at a stage where they’re ready to buy a product or take any action. 

Still, these queries are an opportunity to establish yourself as an authority within a particular niche, showcase your knowledge and experience, and introduce searchers to your products, services - and business in general. 

If you can answer the user’s questions, solve their problem, or educate them on topics that they find relevant by targeting informational queries with your content, you will establish yourself as a trustworthy source and build awareness. 

That awareness could equal earnings in the future. 

Besides, there is also room for direct revenue if you choose to monetize your website traffic with affiliate links, Google AdSense for PPC advertising, and selling ad space.

How to find informational keywords to target?

Broadly speaking, the search intent behind informational queries is to look for information or get answers to a particular question. That intent can further be broken down into two distinct groups - problem-solving information and research-related information. 

Either way, you’ll find that informational queries most often take the form of a question, but it’s not always the case.

Some common informational modifiers you may see include: 

• Why
• How
• Who
• When
• What
• Where
• Tips
• Advice
• Guide
• Tutorial
• List
• Ideas
• etc.

So if you have access to keyword research tools with a rich database of keywords, such as Keywords Explorer, you can use these modifiers in the keyword suggestions reports based on your seed keyword:

And if you have a list of keywords but are not sure about their intent, you should check their SERPs. 

For instance, if the SERPs are dominated by blog posts, informational articles, or how-to guides, it’s safe to assume that you’re looking at an informational query. Another giveaway would be the addition of featured snippets in SERPs - which are typically shown for informational searches.

How to optimize your pages for informational queries?

Search intent has become a crucial part of SEO. When it comes to ranking higher, it’s no longer enough to just squeeze as many keywords into your page’s content as possible: 

Your content must address not only the specific query the user typed into the search bar but also the reason they’ve typed it. In other words, put yourself into the user’s shoes first - and then optimize your content accordingly. 

However, that’s easier said than done. No magical formula or process can help you optimize your content specifically for informational queries. 

One, categorizing keywords as informational, navigational, or transactional doesn’t offer enough insight - or allow you to classify and target each keyword properly. And two, the search engine is the one to interpret search intent and display results based on that; you have no say in that. 

Here’s one way to look at it: 

It’s actually Google’s job to recognize user intent. Your job here is to produce quality content that is helpful, user-friendly, and, of course, relevant to a given search query. 

Here are a few tips on creating high-quality informational content: 

• Keep the language simple and break your content down into manageable chunks. You’re trying to convey information, so you should aim to make your content easy to understand and navigate - not show off your vocabulary or intimidate the user with a wall of text. 
• Providing valuable and useful information is key here - but that alone won’t do the trick. It is equally important to capture the reader’s interest and hold it until the end.
• Include relevant facts and figures - but make them easy to comprehend and include links to trustworthy sources to add credibility to your content. 
• Headings are pretty much the content equivalent of pick-up lines. You should front-load it with the right keywords, indicate the main topic by throwing in cues, and use user-centric language.

Keep the goal of informational content in mind - to inform, educate, answer questions related to your industry, and offer solutions to the problems the users are facing - and let that be a starting point for optimizing your content.