A navigational query is when the user’s search intent is to find a specific website or webpage.
Users usually enter navigational queries when they already know which site they want to visit and uses search engines as an alternative to typing the full URL.
Examples are branded searches like “Facebook” or “YouTube.”
This differs from an informational query or transactional query where the user wants to learn something or perform an action.
With navigational queries, the goal is simply to get to a specific website.
There are three typical types of navigational queries:
In all of these cases, the user knows where they want to go.
They could just type the website URL and go directly to the website. But they choose to use a search engine like Google instead.
Think of a navigational query as an alternative to typing in the complete URL of the site you want to visit.
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An example of a navigational query is searching for “Amazon” on Google.
The user specifically wants to visit Amazon.com (or their regional equivalent).
They aren’t looking for information about Amazon and the reason for visiting Amazon is not exactly clear. This is a typical navigational query.
Another example of a navigation query is searching for “Facebook login”.
It’s clear from the search intent of the phrase that the user wants the login page of Facebook.
They aren’t searching for information about Facebook or looking to make any transactions. They simply want to log in to their account.
Fact: The most searched navigational queries on Google are “YouTube” and “Facebook”.
No, you can not target a navigational query.
They are the only types of keywords that you can’t target for SEO.
It is almost impossible to rank for a navigational query unless you own the domain name and brand.
The truth is that Google’s algorithms are highly sophisticated. They use tons of ranking factors to determine the search results of a navigational query.
Google are also experts in understanding search intent.
That means they know what websites users want to see when they search for a specific keyword or phrase.
If you want to target a competitor’s brand search, the best thing to do is bid on that keyword using Google Ads.
It’s the only way to guarantee that your website will be seen!
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