Search Types & The Buying Cycle

February 5, 2015

Standing out on the web is a complicated issue that can spell success or disaster for a website. If a website is not able to differentiate themselves from their competitors, they will not be able to generate interest, and will become a failure. It is important for any business, whether they exist primarily online or not, to ask: do you have a strategy? And, for online businesses: are you taking into account search types when you are choosing the keywords you want to rank for?


For anyone with a portion or all of their business online, there are fundamental considerations that must be taken into account before you can even make your first sale. You must understand your audience, your goals, their goals, and how you will track performance. Not understanding any one of these can stunt your business’ growth.


What is the Buying Cycle?

rocket-online-sales


In the context of converting online sales or ecommerce, there is a cycle that every user will go through before (and after) making the purchase of goods, services, or ideas. This cycle is broken down into the following phases:



  • Awareness
  • Consideration
  • Decision
  • Retention and advocacy

The time that it takes for a certain buyer to reach each stage will depend on the individual user and the complexity of the idea, service, or goods that are being purchased. To ensure that the process is more efficient, and to improve the chances of it converting, it is important to be sure that you have the right search type to strengthen and reinforce the user’s relationship with the product and brand.


Let’s take a look at some eye opening stats to understand our context. According to Marketing Sherpa’s 2012 SEO Benchmark Report, over 70% of B2B purchasers use search engines at the beginning of the buying process. This means that there are searchers that have the intent to purchase—but you may not be reaching them because you do not completely understand search types.


Search Types and Keyword Research:

There are three different types of searches that are performed by your customers. By understanding these searches, you’ll be able to choose the right keywords for your campaign.


Informational Query. This type of query is one that covers a wide range of topics—like “books” or “Utah”—and there are thousands, if not millions, of relevant results for. When an individual performs this type of search, they are looking for information. They probably aren’t looking for a specific site or looking to purchase something, they simply want a question answered.



  1. Navigational Query. This type of query is entered by an individual who is trying to find a specific website or webpage. For example, a user might type “facebook” into Google’s search bar to find the Facebook site rather than having to type in the whole URL.
  2. Transactional Query. Just as the name suggests, this type of query is made because a user is looking to make a purchase. These searches usually include exact product names and brands. An example would be, “buy Samsung Galaxy”.
  3. Informational: These types of queries are extremely hard to monetize. This is why Google has introduced the Knowledge Graph to help users get the best answers to their questions. You want to position your business as an authoritative and trustworthy source of information.

How Can You Target These Queries?

To drive your traffic, make sure that you have relevant and high quality content.


Target informational queries by:



  • Writing a blog post full of tips related to your industry.
  • Create a how-to video showing users how to do something related to your industry.
  • Write a detailed guide that is relevant to a process that is important in your business.
  • Create a visually appealing infographic listing interesting stats about your business.

Navigational: Unfortunately, unless you own the domain the person is specifically looking for, you do not stand a chance when it comes to these types of queries. However, it is important to note that some queries that look navigational can actually be different types of queries. For example, someone that types in “Google” might actually be looking for information or news about that company.


Own your brand’s navigational query. Branded keywords tend to be high on conversions and clicks.


Transactional: This is the bread and butter of any online marketing strategy. Because you understand what your client is looking for, you’ll be able to choose the right keywords to show up. These searches are the ones that are the ones that will most likely deliver ROI.



  • Tip: Use local SEO strategies, optimized product pages, AND PPC to target your search terms.

By understanding these different queries, you will be able to better understand your customer, lead them to your business, increase your site’s traffic, and improve your business’ bottom line.

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