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Discovery search

Definition

A discovery search is local-marketing vocabulary for a category-, product-, or service-led query that helps someone find a business without using its name or address.1

Topic
Local SEO
Updated
Sources
4 sources · 1 note · read Oct 16, 2026
Written by
By Sergey Sulimko, Founder

In this vocabulary, direct search is the nearest contrast: it names the business or its address. “Plumber near me” is a discovery search, while “Acme Plumbing” is a direct search.1

Google publishes no current Business Profile metric called Discovery search; its current owner-facing label is Searches, meaning the search terms people used to find a business.2 The phrase belongs to local-marketing trade vocabulary, and this definition is Maps Agent's, written against the cited Google and trade documentation.3

The historical API labels explain the older distinction. Google defined QUERIES_DIRECT for direct location searches, QUERIES_INDIRECT for categorical searches such as “restaurant,” and QUERIES_CHAIN for chain or brand searches, a subset of indirect queries.4 Google discontinued all three on March 30, 2023 and lists None as the replacement for each, so they are historical API labels rather than a current direct-versus-discovery split.5

For the broader place-based concept, see Google local search; for the profile entity, see Google Business Profile.

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Sources

  1. 1
    DashThis, Google Business Profile Insights explanation, category, product, or service searches contrasted with business-name or address searches, published 2025-06-19. Read the DashThis explanationdashthis.com
  2. 2
    Understand your Business Profile performance & insightsGoogle Business Profile Helpcurrent Searches label and definition, source date not stated on page
  3. 3
    The term itself has no formal platform owner; this definition is Maps Agent's, written against the Google and trade documentation above.
  4. 4
    Metric | Google Business Profile APIs | Google for DevelopersGoogle for Developershistorical definitions for QUERIES_DIRECT, QUERIES_INDIRECT, and QUERIES_CHAIN, last updated 2024‑10‑16
  5. 5
    Deprecation scheduleGoogle for Developersdiscontinuation record for the legacy query metrics and their None replacements, last updated 2026‑08‑28
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