Users often get confused about some features that appear on Google’s Webmaster Tools such that some of these features remain unused owing to ignorance on the part of a user. One such aspect is the “search queries” feature in Webmaster Tools and users aren’t sure how to make it actionable but providentially Google designed a video bent on addressing this challenge.
Below is a video that features Maile Ohye, a developer programs tech lead at Google; in the video “Using Search Queries to improve your site”, Maile shares her approach to search queries in Webmaster Tools.
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wWB1PS8H7Q
The video clip clarifies the vocabulary of search queries, such as:
- Impressions
- Average position (only the top-ranking URL for the user’s query is factored in Google’s calculation)
- Click
- CTR
Apart from the above aspects, the video also evaluates an approach to investigating Top queries and Top pages; below are the areas covered in the video:
- Prepare by understanding your website’s goals and your target audience (then using Search Queries “filter” to support your knowledge)
- Sort by clicks in Top queries to understand the top queries bringing searchers to your site (for the given time period)
- Sort by CTR to notice any missed opportunities
- Categorize queries into logical buckets that simplify tracking your progress and staying in touch with user’s needs
- Sort top pages by clicks to find the URLs on your site most visited by searchers (for the given time period)
- Sort top pages by impressions to find valuable pages that can be used to help feature your related, high-quality, but lower-ranking pages
Web owners are likely to experience numerous improvement ideas that will assist searchers find their site; this is only possible when one has watched the video and applied the knowledge of their site with the findings from search queries.
“If you’re up for it”, says Ohye, “let us know in the comments what search quries information you find useful (and why), and of course, as always, feel free to share any tips or feedback.”
Source: https://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2013/02/make-most-of-search-queries-in.html