26. March 2024

Instructions: Filter W-questions in Google Search Console

The Google Search Console (GSC) – link – is a powerful tool to gain accurate insights into your customers.

In particular, filtering by W-questions (how, who, when, where, why) can provide you with valuable information about your target group's information needs. This not only drives targeted audience engagement, but also satisfaction with your content. By applying a simple snippet in the search query > Custom (Regex):

\b(who|what|when|where|why|where to|with what|how|which|which|which|whom|whom|why|why|why|why|wherefore|whereby|wherefore|whence|whereupon|from what|wherefore|how about |from what)\b

This allows you to filter these questions efficiently. This method helps develop a precise content strategy that is focused on answering relevant questions, solving problems, and satisfying your audience's curiosity.

Basics: W-questions in the Google Search Console

To effectively identify the W-questions (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) of your target audience and optimize your content based on them, Google Search Console (GSC) is an indispensable tool. This first step is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of user intent and thus create content that not only attracts attention but also provides value and contributes to brand loyalty. Here is a detailed guide on how to identify W-questions in GSC:

Step-by-step instructions on how to use Google Search Console

Filter W-Questions in Google Search Console

Access to Google Search Console: Sign in with your Google account and select the website you want to analyze.
View performance report: Navigate to the Performance report, which provides detailed information about searches, clicks, impressions, and your site's average position in search results.
Filter search queries: Use the Searches filter in the Performance report to search specifically for W-questions. To do this, enter "Who," "What," "When," "Where," "Why," or "How" in the search field to isolate relevant searches.
Data analysis: Examine the filtered search queries to develop an understanding of your audience's specific questions and needs. Pay particular attention to questions with high click counts or impressions, as these signal strong interest.
Identify trends: Identify patterns and trends within the W-questions. These can provide clues to seasonal interests, emerging themes, or common insecurities and problems faced by your target audience.

Tips for effectively searching and filtering W-questions

Periodic review: Your audience's interests and questions may change over time. Regular review and analysis of the W-questions is therefore essential to keep your content up to date and relevant.
Combination with other tools: Supplement the data from the GSC with other tools such as Google Trends or question-answer portals to get an even more comprehensive picture of user intentions.
Prioritize based on potential: Not all W-questions are equally important. Prioritize questions based on their potential to generate traffic and contribute to conversion.

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What W-questions are there?

Who: Searches for people or actors.
What: Asks about things, concepts or definitions.
When: Targets points in time or time frames.
Where: Locates places or positions.
Why: Looks for reasons or causes.
Where: Depends on destinations or directions.
By which: Explores tools, methods, or means.
How: Asks about the process, manner or condition.
Which one(s): Selects from a set or category.
Whose: Clarifies ownership or belonging.
Whom: Asks about the beneficiary or goal of an action.
Whom: Targets the object or recipient of an action.
How come: Looks for explanations or reasons, similar to 'why'.
For what reason: Another word for the search for reasons, analogous to 'why' and 'how'.
Why?: Explores the cause or reason, related to 'why'.
Where: Asks about circumstances or specific situations.
Through which: Examines the means or methods by which something happens.
From where: Asks about the origin or origin.
On what: Looks for goals to which something relates or is directed.
About what: Explores what something refers to or is affected.
From what: Clarifies the origin or material.
About what: Inquires about the reason or topic of a discussion.
About what: Searches for the topic or content of a conversation or text.
What: Asks about the object of fear or avoidance.
By which: Explores the tools or means used.

Analysis and interpretation of data

After identifying your target audience's W-questions using Google Search Console, the next step is to analyze and interpret this data. This process is crucial because it tells you not only what your audience is looking for, but also why they are looking for it. A thorough analysis can help you understand search intent, identify trends, and craft your content to effectively answer your audience's questions.

Understanding search intent

The search intention is the focus of the analysis of W-questions. It's about understanding the reason why someone is asking a particular question. Search intentions can be informational, navigational, transactional, or investigative. By understanding the intent behind questions, you can create content that not only gets found, but also engages and converts.

Search intent describes what users want to achieve by entering a specific keyword. Google strives to provide the most relevant result for every search query, which is why pages that do not meet the search intent are disadvantaged in result placement. Satisfied users generate advertising revenue for Google because they return to the search engine. It is therefore important to precisely match the search intention (Evergreen Media®):

Types of search intent

Informational keywords
- Goal: obtain information.
- Example: “Why is the sky blue?”, “How to clean a laptop fan”.
Transactional keywords
- Goal: Perform an action (purchase, download, etc.).
- Example: “Buy OnePlus 9 Pro”, “Angry Birds Download”.
Navigational keywords
- Goal: Find a specific website or location.
- Example: “Facebook login”, “Zalando”.

Extended categories according to Google's Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

Know Search
- Desire to learn more about something. Can be divided into Know Simple for simple, direct answers and regular Know searches.
- Example: “Height of Johnny Depp”, “ERP”.
Do Search
- Aim to achieve a goal or carry out an activity (e.g. on the mobile phone). Also includes “Device Action” requests for specific actions.
- Example: “Download app from Google Play Store”, “OK Google, please call my mother”.
Website Search
- Aim to go to a specific website or subpage.
- Example: “Facebook”, “red dance shoes size 41 Zalando”.
Visit-in-person Search
- Search for places like ATMs, restaurants, gas stations, etc. that are highly location-based.
- Example: “Shoe shop Munich”, “Pizza nearby”.

Multiple user intent searches

Not every search query can be clearly assigned to a category; many can be hybrid forms.

Recognize trends & patterns

Another important aspect of data analysis is identifying trends and patterns. Are there certain questions that are asked more often? Are there seasonal trends that make certain W-questions more popular at certain times of the year? By tracking these trends, you can strategically plan your content calendar and ensure your content is relevant and timely.

Adaptation of your own content strategy

After analyzing/interpreting the data (from the W-questions), adjust your content strategy.

This could mean revise existing contentto better tailor it to the needs of your target group, or create new content, which addresses previously unconsidered questions. The aim is to create content that not only improves visibility in search engines, but also valuable and appealing to your target audience.

The importance of data for content optimization

The data obtained from the W-questions is important for optimizing the texts. They provide concrete guidance on how you can improve your content to better respond to the needs and questions of your target audience.

This data-driven approach to content creation and optimization can ultimately lead to higher ranking positions, improved user engagement, and increased conversion rates.

Summary for data

Analyzing and interpreting the data from the W-questions in Google Search Console is a continuous process. The digital landscape and user needs are constantly evolving.

Implementation: Adaptation of content (based on W-questions)

The findings from the analysis of the W-questions in Google Search Console provide an excellent basis for optimizing your content.

By understanding your audience's specific needs and questions, you can create content that is not only optimized for search engines, but also provides real value for your readers. Here are some steps on how to make these adjustments:

Directly answering the W-questions in your content

One of the most effective ways to optimize your content strategy is to directly answer the identified W-questions in your articles, blog posts or on your web pages. This not only shows your expertise in your field, but also improves the user experience by providing relevant answers to your target audience's questions.

Creation: FAQ pages / specific content hubs

Based on the most common W-questions, you can create dedicated FAQ pages or topic-specific content hubs. These serve as central points of contact for users looking for specific information and can significantly increase your search engine visibility and user loyalty.

Customization: Title & Meta Descriptions

To ensure your content stands out in search results, adjust your page titles and meta descriptions to reflect the W-questions your content answers. This can increase click-through rate (CTR) by immediately signaling to searchers that your page offers the answers they are looking for.

W-questions for internal linking

Use W-questions to develop an intelligent internal linking strategy. By linking articles that answer specific W-questions to other relevant content on your site, you can increase time spent and strengthen your site's authority in the eyes of search engines.

Case studies and success stories

Customizing your content strategy based on the W-questions that concern your audience is not just a theory, but a proven method used by many brands and companies with great success. In this section, we take a look at some case studies and success stories that illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.

Case study 1: SEO boost through targeted W-questions

A mid-sized e-commerce company found that many of their prospects had similar W-questions around product comparisons and application possibilities. By incorporating these questions into their product descriptions, blog posts and FAQ pages, they were able to significantly improve their organic visibility. This resulted in a 40% increase in website visitors and a 15% increase in conversion rate within six months.

Case study 2: Improving user experience (by answering W-questions)

An education provider used Google Search Console to identify what questions prospective students had. Based on these findings, they created a series of detailed guides and video tutorials that answered these exact questions. The result was a significant increase in time spent on the site, a lower bounce rate, and an increase in registrations for their courses.

Case Study 3: Increasing Brand Awareness (Through Strategic Content Adjustment)

A technology startup realized that specific technical questions often appeared in conjunction with keywords relevant to their products. By creating content that addressed these questions, the company was able to not only improve its position in the SERPs, but also increase its brand awareness in a highly competitive market.

Conclusion: These case studies show that carefully analyzing and answering the target group's W-questions can have a direct impact on various success metrics. From increasing website visits to improving user experience to increasing brand awareness, aligning your content with your audience's needs pays dividends.