A transactional search query is a search query that the user makes on the basis of a specific purchase interest. The most important indicators of a transactional search query include search terms that contain product names, product categories or verbs such as “buy or order”. The search term is thus usually a combination of several words. This so-called long-tail combination forms a phrase that indexes the said buying interest. Transactional queries are extremely often associated with a purchase. So, when optimizing a website, transactional queries should definitely be taken into account.
The concretization of transactional queries varies greatly. For example, some search queries contain brand names or products (e.g.: “iPhone” or “Playstation”). However, search queries that contain general product categories (e.g.: “refrigerator” or “lawn mower”) are also considered transactional queries. Queries that have specific verbs such as “buy” or “order” can also be considered transactional queries. Since the search query always refers to a specific subject area, the transaction query is considered a vertical search query. In this case, the user is searching in a concretely delimited area such as shopping, image search or finding their way to a store.
Informal and navigational search queries are the exact opposite of transactional queries. Here, the search query is made for general information search. This is also called horizontal search.
In a transactional query, the user usually enters a fairly specific search term in his or her own language. In addition, it can be assumed that the searching user plans to make a purchase in the near future. So the user is already at the end of the so-called conversion funnel, the website just has to accommodate him. Depending on the topic and industry, it is advisable to have at least a little linguistic background knowledge when optimizing a website. In this way, one can construct the necessary connection between the user’s needs and semantic search engine optimization.
If the search term contains verbs like “buy” or “order” and concrete product names, the user must be shown the corresponding websites. However, this is only possible if the websites have the appropriate transaction terms. Local search queries (e.g.: “Organic store New York”) are also considered transaction queries. The most popular local search queries include searches for hotels, flights and restaurants. Transactional and navigational queries can have a massive impact on the profit of the website and the associated business.
