The impact of searches in the internal search field on SEO

Your website’s internal search field is a gold mine of data that is often overlooked. Visitors use this feature to find specific information. These searches provide direct insights into the website visitor’s intent and needs.

By analyzing this data and using it strategically, you not only improve the user experience, but also strengthen your SEO strategy. I’ll explain why internal search is so valuable for SEO and how to make the most of it.

What does internal search say about your visitors?

When visitors use your website’s search function, they clearly show what they are looking for. This provides valuable insights, such as the content that visitors cannot find directly through the navigation. You also know what keywords and terminology they are using. Furthermore, you know which products, services or topics are popular among your target audience.

By analyzing this data, you respond to the needs of your visitors. This allows you to optimize your website, for better findability and conversion.

How does internal search data help your SEO strategy?

Internal search can contribute to your SEO strategy in several ways. For example, you easily identify missing content. If many visitors are searching for a particular topic or product that is not on your website, this is a signal that you need to create content about it. Consider new blog articles or knowledge base pages, additional product pages or service descriptions or better structured categories and tags.

Optimizing existing pages

Sometimes the information sought already exists, but is not found properly. This can indicate problems, such as unclear navigation or poor internal linking. Misworded page titles and meta-descriptions can also be a problem. You also identify content that doesn’t align well with search intent.

By analyzing search queries, you customize these pages. You can make them better match your visitors’ expectations.

Better responding to search intent

The words and phrases visitors enter into your internal search box may differ from the terms you yourself use in your SEO strategy. This helps you better match relevant keywords to the language of your target audience. It also helps you optimize your pages based on actual search intent. You will also learn to discover new keywords that you can use for external SEO.

Improving user experience (UX).

A well-functioning internal search function makes visitors find what they are looking for faster, leading to a lower bounce rate and a higher time-on-site. These are important signals for Google to rank your website higher. Therefore, make sure you have an intuitive search function with auto-suggestions, a clear presentation of search results and relevant filters and categories to refine searches.

How do you deploy internal search effectively?

To make the best use of internal search data, follow these steps:

  1. Use tools such as Google Analytics or an internal search tracking solution to collect and analyze search queries.
  2. Evaluate trends and patterns in search data to discover what content is missing or what content needs improvement.
  3. Implement changes to content, navigation and internal link structure based on your findings.
  4. Test and optimize on an ongoing basis to see what changes lead to better user experience and SEO results.

Summary

Internal search queries are a direct reflection of your visitors’ needs and expectations. By analyzing this data and integrating it into your SEO strategy, you not only improve findability and user experience, but also discover valuable new opportunities. Want to know how to make the most of internal search for SEO? Contact me and I’ll help you further.

Senior SEO-specialist

Ralf van Veen

Senior SEO-specialist
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I have been working for 12 years as an independent SEO specialist for companies (in the Netherlands and abroad) that want to rank higher in Google in a sustainable manner. During this period I have consulted A-brands, set up large-scale international SEO campaigns and coached global development teams in the field of search engine optimization.

With this broad experience within SEO, I have developed the SEO course and helped hundreds of companies with improved findability in Google in a sustainable and transparent way. For this you can consult my portfolio, references and collaborations.

This article was originally published on 2 February 2025. The last update of this article was on 2 February 2025. The content of this page was written and approved by Ralf van Veen. Learn more about the creation of my articles in my editorial guidelines.