Decision rule and boundaries
A search query is the words or symbols a person submits to a search engine; it is evidence of a momentary information need, not a fixed intent label. A query is an input at a moment in time, not a complete person profile. The same words can be informational, navigational, or commercial depending on modifiers, language, device, location, and the result options shown.
How to inspect it
Parse the phrase into entity, action, qualifier, and ambiguity. Inspect representative results and note whether they surface guides, products, maps, tools, or official destinations before assigning one intent label.
Practical workflow
Group variants that ask the same question, map the group to one useful canonical destination, and leave unsupported variants unassigned. Review the mapping when results or the offered service materially change.
Common mistakes and measurement limits
Tool match types and word counts are not intent. Do not multiply thin pages for every word order or promise an answer where the query lacks enough context to resolve safely. The common failure mode is mapping every variation to a separate thin page or mistaking a tool’s match type for user intent.