In short: informational searches are questions people ask before a purchase. In a SEOTHON case study of a small online shop, 97 percent of the clicks examined came from such informational searches, not from purchase searches. This share does not apply to every website, but it shows the potential. What matters is connecting these visitors to your own offer with a link.
What are the four types of search queries?
Google searches can be split into four types: informational search (someone wants to understand something), navigational search (someone looks for a known website), comparison search (someone compares options before deciding) and purchase search (someone wants to buy or order now). The split is rough and not a fixed sequence, but it shows which text format and which next step fit a search query.
- Informational search: someone wants to understand something or get a question answered.
- Navigational search: someone looks for a specific website they already know.
- Comparison search: someone compares several options before they decide.
- Purchase search: someone wants to do something concrete now, usually buy.
A search can have several motives at once, and people do not always move in a straight line from "just looking" to "buying". If you want to tell the four types apart more precisely, the article on the four search intents has examples and signal words for each type.
What does the case study show about informational searches?
In a three-month SEOTHON case study of a small online shop, 131 search terms were analysed. Each had received at least three clicks in the period, and together they brought 1,589 clicks. According to this analysis, 97 percent of the clicks went to informational search terms and 3 percent to purchase search terms. The full numbers are in the SEO case study on the online shop.
Further reading: SEO case study on the online shop.
| Search type | Search terms | Clicks | Share | Estimated cost per click |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Informational search terms | 126 | 1,541 | 97 percent | around €1.00 |
| Purchase search terms | 5 | 48 | 3 percent | €4.86 |
The analysis shows two things. In this case, informational searches were far more frequent, while purchase searches had a comparison price almost five times higher. This price comes from advertising data and describes only a comparison, not real revenue or the value of a single visit.
Why are informational searches especially valuable for AI search systems?
Informational searches are exactly the questions people now also ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews. A guide that answers such a question completely can be cited there as a source. According to an analysis of AI citations by Kevin Indig, 44.2 percent of citations come from the first 30 percent of a page, so the answer belongs near the top.
The Princeton study on Generative Engine Optimization by Aggarwal et al. also found that statistics and source references raise visibility in generative answers by 30 to 40 percent. An informational article with backed-up numbers therefore works twice: for Google and for AI answers. The article on GEO for AI search assistants shows what this looks like in practice.
How do you connect informational visitors with your offer?
Informational visitors only become valuable if the text leads them with a link to the next sensible step: from the question to a planning aid, from there to the comparison, and only then to the product. A guide without this path brings reach, but no enquiries. The article on internal linking describes how to build such paths.
Further reading: internal linking.
Frequently asked questions
Do the 97 percent from the case study apply to every website?
No. The 97 percent come from a single SEOTHON case study of a small online shop over three months and describe only that one case. The share depends on industry, offer and existing content. A website with many product pages and few guides has a much smaller informational share. Your own Search Console shows the actual ratio.
Should I only write informational content from now on?
No. A high share of informational visits is only valuable if those visitors are guided to offers or contact options through good links. Purchase searches stay important because they come right before the decision. A mix makes sense: a few offer pages for purchase searches and a series of guides for the questions that come before, which link to those offer pages.
What is an informational article worth if it does not lead to a direct purchase?
An informational article mainly builds trust. Someone who gets a good answer to a question before buying goes into the decision with more knowledge and remembers the source. This effect cannot be measured on every single click, but it shows in returning visitors, brand searches and enquiries that name the guide as their starting point.
Example: A Topic Ladder for HR Software
A fictional provider sells software that companies use to onboard new employees. The purchase search term "onboarding software" is important, but it only shows the late selection phase. A good strategy starts earlier, with the questions that come before the software search, and links each informational step to the next sensible question. Five steps form this ladder.
- Recognise the problem: "Why do new employees often quit during the probation period?": explain possible reasons without immediately selling software as the solution.
- Plan the process: "How to plan onboarding for new employees": a usable template.
- Understand the solution: "Digital onboarding: benefits and limits": when software helps and what it cannot solve.
- Compare providers: "Onboarding software compared": what to look out for.
- Look at the product: offer page or demo, concrete features and next step.
The five steps of the topic ladder are not a rigid rule. A reader can join at any step. Links therefore always lead to the next fitting step: from the problem to the planning aid, from there to the solution decision, and only then to the product.
Signs of real value
The text stays helpful even if the reader does not buy the product. It explains criteria, names limits and helps with a better decision.
Signs of hidden advertising
Every question ends right away at the same product claim, alternatives are missing entirely, and without the call to buy there is hardly any real content left.
SEOTHON rule: Prefer informational search terms when the problem, your knowledge and your offer fit together well. A search term with many searches but without this connection brings reach, but not necessarily real value.
Sources
- SEOTHON: SEO case study online shop, analysis of 131 search terms over three months.
- Kevin Indig: analysis of AI citations (44.2 percent of citations from the first 30 percent of a page).
- Aggarwal et al.: GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, KDD 2024. According to the study, statistics and source references raise visibility by 30 to 40 percent.
- Dirk Lewandowski: Suchmaschinen verstehen. Academic framework for information retrieval and search systems.
- Erwin Lammenett: Praxiswissen Online-Marketing. Placing SEO within the marketing mix.
- Google Search Central: People-first and helpful content.
The provider and the topic ladder are fictional. This is a SEOTHON working aid, not a general model of buying behaviour.
I have worked with SEO since 2023, and I write here about how informational search queries actually bring visitors in practice, not just in theory.