The words, questions, or other inputs someone submits to a search system.
A query is the actual input someone submits to a search system. In everyday SEO work, it usually means the words or question entered by a searcher. It can be a short phrase, a complete sentence, a brand name or a request containing a location or product detail.
A keyword in a planning document is your chosen topic or target phrase; a query is what someone actually searched. The wording can differ. A business may describe its offer using technical terminology while a prospective customer describes a symptom, a desired outcome or an everyday problem. Comparing the two can reveal where your pages need clearer explanations.
Do not assume every wording variation needs a separate page. Several queries may express the same underlying need. Group them by what the visitor wants to accomplish and whether the same page would genuinely satisfy them. Keep meaningful differences, such as researching an option versus requesting a quote, visible in your planning.
Takeaway: Query data can help you use customers’ language and find questions your existing pages leave unanswered. It is evidence for improving relevance, not a list of phrases to repeat mechanically.
Example
A company selling office acoustic panels might organize a page around that product name. A customer could search “how to reduce echo in a meeting room.” The company can explain how its product relates to that problem without creating a near-identical page for every variation of the sentence.
What to check
Search Console’s query table shows reported searches associated with your site, but it is not a complete record of every search. Privacy protections and reporting limits omit some queries. Combine that evidence with real customer questions.
For more detail, see Performance report: Dimensions and data groupings.