Make the most of Search Queries in Webmaster Tools

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

If you’re intrigued by the
Search Queries
feature in
Webmaster Tools but aren’t
sure how to make it actionable, we have a video that we hope will help!

This video explains the
vocabulary of Search Queries,
such as:

• Impressions
• Average position (only the top-ranking URL for the user’s query is factored in our calculation)
• Click
• CTR

The video also reviews an approach to investigating Top queries and Top pages:

1. Prepare by understanding your website’s goals and your target audience (then using Search
   Queries “filters” to support your knowledge)
2. Sort by clicks in Top queries to understand the top queries bringing searchers to your site (for
   the given time period)
3. Sort by CTR to notice any missed opportunities
4. Categorize queries into logical buckets that simplify tracking your progress and staying in
   touch with users’ needs
5. Sort Top pages by clicks to find the URLs on your site most visited by searchers (for the given
   time period)
6. Sort Top pages by impressions to find valuable pages that can be used to help feature your
   related, high-quality, but lower-ranking pages

After you’ve watched the video and applied the knowledge of your site with the findings from
Search Queries, you’ll likely have several improvement ideas to help searchers find your site. If
you’re up for it, let us know in the
Webmaster Help Forum
what Search Queries information you find useful (and why!), and of course, as always, you can
share any tips or feedback.

Written by
Maile Ohye,
Developer Programs Tech Lead