Keywords & Search Terms

Knowing which Keywords and Search Terms are being used to find your pages can be very helpful when you try to determine whether or not your content is meeting the needs of your visitors.

• If the Keywords and Search Terms listed are in-line with how you view the content of your site, your Average Time on Page should be high (people are satisfied with what they are finding and are staying to consume it.)
• If the Keywords and Search Terms listed are off from how you perceive the content of your site, your Average Time on Page will be lower, and your Bounce Rate will be higher because people are not finding what they expect when they follow a link from their search engine.

What's the difference between Keywords and Search Terms?

In day-to-day English, they are pretty similar. Google Analytics, however, uses each differently:

• Keywords are associated with search engine referals. They are the words used by visitors who come from search engines -- they are the words they used to search for your pages in Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.
• Search Terms are the words used by visitors when they use the York Search in the York Header to find your pages.

How to find the Keywords visitors are using:

One step: in the left sidebar, click through Acquisition > Campaigns > Organic Keywords.

(Paid Keywords are only relevant if running an AdWord campaign.)

How to find the Search Terms visitors are using:

One step: in the left sidebar, click through Behavior > Site Search > Search Terms.