{"id":85498,"date":"2025-07-01T14:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T14:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glossary\/query\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T00:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T00:30:23","slug":"query","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/query\/","title":{"rendered":"Query"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A query is a request for information made to a system, such as a search engine or a database.<\/strong> In SEO, the query is what a person types into Google to find something, for example, “how to create a newsletter”.<\/p>\n\n

In plain English, it is simply another word for a question<\/strong>. It’s widely used in digital marketing, programming and data analysis.<\/p>\n\n

What does query mean?<\/h2>\n\n

Query<\/em> means “inquiry”, “question” or “request”. In computing and marketing, it’s almost always used in the sense of a request for information.<\/p>\n\n

Depending on the context, a query can be:<\/p>\n\n

Context<\/th>What the query is<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Search engines (SEO)<\/td>The words a person types into Google<\/td>“best email marketing software”<\/td><\/tr>
Databases<\/td>An instruction to retrieve or change data<\/td>“SELECT name FROM customers WHERE city = ‘Madrid'”<\/td><\/tr>
Excel and Power BI<\/td>Power Query, the tool for importing and transforming data<\/td>Combining several sales sheets into one table<\/td><\/tr>
URL<\/td>The part after the “?” sign (query string<\/em>)<\/td>“?utm_source=newsletter”<\/td><\/tr>
Search Console<\/td>The report on the searches you appear for<\/td>“Queries” in the Performance report<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Is it queries or querys?<\/h2>\n\n

The correct form is queries.<\/strong> In English, words ending in a consonant + “y” form the plural by changing the “y” to “ies”: query<\/em>, queries<\/em>, like company<\/em>, companies<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

“Querys” is a very common spelling mistake. If you’d rather avoid the jargon, write search<\/strong> and searches<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Form<\/th>Correct?<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
A query, the query<\/td>Yes (singular)<\/td><\/tr>
The queries<\/td>Yes (plural)<\/td><\/tr>
The querys<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
The searches<\/td>Yes, if you’d rather avoid the jargon<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

What is a query in SEO?<\/h2>\n\n

In SEO, a query or search query is the exact text a person types or says into a search engine. It can be a word, a phrase or a full question.<\/p>\n\n

Google interprets each query to understand what that person needs and shows the results that best answer it.<\/p>\n\n

That need is called search intent.<\/p>\n\n

Query and keyword are not the same<\/h3>\n\n
Query<\/th>Keyword<\/a><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
What the user types, exactly as they type it<\/td>The term you choose to rank your page for<\/td><\/tr>
It can have typos or variations: “querys meaning”<\/td>It’s a clean version: “query”<\/td><\/tr>
There are millions of different ones<\/td>It groups many similar queries<\/td><\/tr>
You see it in Google Search Console<\/td>You choose it in your keyword research<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

For example, the queries “how to send an email campaign”, “send email campaign free” and “how do you send an email campaign” can be grouped under the keyword “how to send an email campaign”.<\/p>\n\n

\"Query<\/figure>\n\n

Types of queries by search intent<\/h2>\n\n
Type<\/th>What the person is looking for<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Informational<\/td>Learn something or answer a question<\/td>“what is a newsletter”<\/td><\/tr>
Navigational<\/td>Go to a specific website<\/td>“mailrelay login”<\/td><\/tr>
Commercial<\/td>Compare options before deciding<\/td>“best email marketing tools”<\/td><\/tr>
Transactional<\/td>Do something now: buy, sign up, download<\/td>“create free email marketing account”<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

Long, specific queries, such as “newsletter template for restaurants”, are called long-tail queries. They get fewer searches, but they tend to be closer to conversion. We explain this in our entry on long tail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

How to see your website’s queries<\/h2>\n\n

Google Search Console shows the queries your website appears for in the Performance<\/strong> report, under the Queries<\/strong> tab. For each one you’ll see:<\/p>\n\n