Tutorial: Learn how to find Question-Based Keywords with the Google Search Console! 📈
Question-based keywords, also known as question optimized queries, are search terms phrased as questions — “How to boost SEO with question keywords optimization?” and “How to find question keyword phrases?” are two examples.
Question-Based Keywords TOC
Learning how to find question based keywords is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO), as they align with how users naturally search for information online, and help to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Optimizing for a question based keyword involves creating content that provides direct answers to a specific question that people are asking and then creating content that is structured in such a way that is easy for search engines to understand and index.
We can find question-based keywords by filtering these in the Google Search Console (GSC) using a regular expression (regex).
This search engine optimization ( SEO ) gem regarding how to determine which questions a site ranks for was spotted on LinkedIn and comes compliments of Steve Toth of SEONotebook in Canada — since this is both simple and useful I captured it in this article.
Which SEO Keyword Questions Perform Well?
As of August 2023, changes are being made by Google regarding the HowTo and FAQ schemas — see the article entitled Google Downgrades Visibility of HowTo and FAQ Rich Results and note that the HowTo schema will only work on desktop devices.
While refreshing this article I looked for an indication that any of these SEO keyword questions (what, why, when, where, etc) performs better when it comes to attracting backlinks and how-to style question based keywords are where we want to focus our attention.
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According to the SpyFu article entitled Guess which Content Types Get the Most Backlinks? right at the top is how-to style queries — quoting from the article:
“How to” posts are some of the most popular types of content because they educate readers by leading them step by step through a process. These articles earn backlinks because they break down big ideas so other sites can easily find relevant info to link to.
This is important because it can help us prioritize which question-optimized queries we want to focus our attention on, especially if we find one in Google Search Console that we’ve not explicitly targeted and with a SERPs position that makes it attractive for optimization purposes.
If we prioritize How-To style questions we can also extend the value to the visitor by adding the HowTo schema for rich snippets to the page.
This becomes part of our Off-Page SEO strategy and may even qualify as a backlink magnet in some cases.
We want do-follow backlinks and we can either go hunting for them or we can do things that may help generate them organically over time and focusing on How-To questions falls into the second category.
Below I’ve included a picture of the HowTo schema in the All In One SEO Pack Plugin for WordPress as it has been applied to this article.
Once the page has been indexed by Google and the schema has been added to search results, you may see something that looks similar to what I have below.
This search result occupies more search engine results page (SERP) real estate and hence should attract more visitors to the website because they get to see several steps regarding how to accomplish some task and then in order to complete the task they need to go to the page.
If the traffic to the page is significant enough and the task is important enough then backlinks to the page should appear over time and some percentage of those backlinks are likely to be do follow backlinks.
See also How-to (HowTo) structured data on Google Search Central.
Use A Regular Expression in Google Search Console To Filter Which Question-Based Keywords Your Site Already Ranks For
In this section, we’ll cover how to run the custom GSC query in three easy steps, including pictures — we start in the Google Search Console.
Step One: Select “+ New” in Google Search Console
Step Two: Select “Query” in Google Search Console
In the next step we need to choose “Query…” and then, on the right (below), we select the “Custom (regex)” choice.
Step Three: Select “Custom (regex)” in Google Search Console Filter
In the next step, on the left (below), we need to choose “Query…” and then, on the right (below), we select the “Custom (regex)” choice — this will filter the question-based keywords.
Step Four: Apply the custom regex in Google Search Console to find Question-Based Keywords
In the final step, we need to enter the GSC regex and then apply it. The GSC regex for the custom query has already been provided to us and has been copied here:
^(who|what|where|when|why|how)[" "]
And an expanded version is included below — if you have additional modifiers that could be valuable please feel free to add them in the comments.
^(who|what|where|when|why|how|was|did|do|is|are|aren't|won't|does|if)[" "]
And that’s it!
Once you’ve successfully executed this last step you’ll see which questions your site is already ranking for.
Alternative Question-Based Keywords Regular Expression
The following gsc regex appeared in the comments on LinkedIn and is useful as well and contains variations of other words that can yield insight into what a given page is ranking for (see also this post from Steve Toth).
^(are|can('t)?|how|if|wh(at|en|ere|y)|who(m|se)?|will|won't|((c|sh|w)ould|did(n't?)|do(es)?|was|is|were)(n't)?)\s
Next we’ll add the GSC regex and review the result.
Run the question-based keyword regular expression
We can see the result of this SEO strategy below where the red pointer in the top query demonstrates that the exact title of the article is in the results, which is what we’d expect.
Even more importantly we can see other questions that this article ranks for and what position they occupy.
This can be valuable in that if we’re refreshing this content we may optimize for the same query, with the goal being to push the position into the top ten results; we may also choose to optimize for another question based keyword too, if it makes sense.
For example one of the top queries is “why technical seo is important” — this is a variation which has 368 impressions associated with it and the query appears, on average, in position 15.4.
This query also appears in this article several times — if we were to refresh this page and modify the content in such a way that this query performs better, Google may push this into a better position and since this is not too far from being on the first page this could boost traffic nicely.
Question Based Keyword Article Conclusion
We can use what’s referred to as question keyword optimization to boost SEO targeted content that answers questions and I can see the results of this myself as several of the best-performing articles I’ve written answer a question.
According to the SEMrush article How To Boost SEO With Question Keywords Optimization, “…approximately 8% of search queries are phrased as questions” and as per Google, the search engine is processing over 3.5 billion searches per day as of April 3rd, 2021, which equates to ~280,000,000 question-focused queries.
Targeting high-value and complex question-based keywords [10] with solid, well-researched, and well-written content could lead to a potentially boost in traffic to a website.
Question Keyword Optimization ensures that your content directly addresses the questions users have and provides valuable answers or information.
Incorporating question-based keywords within appropriate on-page elements, such as headings or subheadings, can improve the relevancy and visibility of your content to both search engines and users.
If you found the information in this instructional regarding how to find question keyword phrases to be helpful, let me know in the comments!
I’ve included a Tweet on the right from Ian Nuttall, who posted several additional regular expressions that can be used in the Google Search Console.
Question Keyword Optimization Tutorial References
- How To Boost SEO With Question Keywords Optimization
- The State of Searcher Behavior Revealed Through 23 Remarkable Statistics
- 10 Question-Based Keywords that Drive Tons of High-Quality Traffic
- A Comprehensive Guide To Lifting SEO with Question Keywords Optimization
- 25 Google Search Statistics to Bookmark ASAP
Frequently Asked Questions
Question keyword optimization is the process of optimizing web content for specific search queries that take the form of a question.
To optimize for question keywords in SEO, the search engine optimization specialist needs to identify the specific questions that a given target audience is asking and then create content that answers those questions.
This requires using natural language in tandem with long-tail keywords that reflect the way people actually speak and search — for example, instead of optimizing for a broad keyword such as “digital marketing,” the content creator may choose to optimize for a specific question such as “how to find question keyword phrases?”.
This approach not only helps your webpage rank for more specific queries, but it also shows search engines that your content provides valuable information and can help improve your overall search engine rankings.
Local Search queries refer to search queries that have a specific geographical intent or are influenced by the searcher’s location.
These queries often aim to find local businesses, services, events, or information relevant to a particular area, city, or region.
Bottom of funnel is the decision stage when potential customers are ready to make a purchasing decision.
Customers at this level have likely narrowed down their choices and are looking for final assurances or incentives.
Examples of bottom of funnel content might include product trials, demos, discounts, or testimonials.
We can find bottom of the funnel keywords using the following regular expression:
