How to Use Google Search Console for Keyword Research

Google Search Console (GSC) is simply a free instrumentality champion known for measuring tract capacity and fixing issues, but you tin besides usage it for keyword research.

GSC contains information connected the integrated queries (keywords) that pull users to your website. 

This makes it a awesome instrumentality for discovering the perfect keywords to turn your integrated tract traffic.

How to Find Good Keywords successful Google Search Console

Here are 3 methods erstwhile utilizing Google Search Console for keyword research. 

Method 1: Find High-Value Keywords to Keep successful Your Strategy

Keep your high-value keywords arsenic portion of your strategy, because they already thrust important postulation to your site.

To find these keywords, prime the “Search results” tab connected the “Overview” page of GSC.

The hunt results capacity study will display: 

• Total clicks: The number of clicks to your website
• Total impressions: The number of times your webpages appeared successful hunt results, sloppy of whether users scrolled to spot them
• Average click-through complaint (CTR): The number of clicks divided by the number of impressions
• Average position: The mean position of your webpages successful hunt results

Scroll down to “Queries.” These are the keywords that thrust integrated postulation to your website. Sort them by “Clicks” to spot which position get the astir traffic.

Once you person a database of high-performing keywords, usage them to observe related keywords to target.

Why?

Because your rankings are a bully parameter that you could spot akin results pinch related keywords. 

For example, let’s opportunity 1 of your apical queries is “what to sojourn successful rome.” And you want to observe hunt position related to this topic.

The Keyword Magic Tool makes this easy. 

First, participate the seed keyword (broad topic). Add your domain for tailored insights. And click “Search.”

The study contains dozens of position connected to your seed keyword. Such arsenic “what to sojourn successful rome successful 3 days​” and “what is the champion catacomb to sojourn successful rome.”

Then, prime the taxable you want to screen connected your website. And optimize the content for the target keyword.

Be mindful of keyword cannibalization erstwhile penning astir 1 taxable aggregate times. 

Keyword cannibalization is an rumor wherever different pages connected 1 tract compete pinch each different for the aforesaid keyword. It tin harm your hunt capacity and conversions.

Cannibalization occurs erstwhile 2 pages fulfill the aforesaid search intent (the searcher’s goal). 

For example, a patient gets postulation for a news article astir caller restaurants successful Milan. They could besides create a caller page listing the champion restaurants successful Milan without cannibalizing the news article. The 2 pieces meet different needs—the first is simply a actual update; the 2nd offers adjuvant guidance.

Method 2: Find Underperforming Keywords to Optimize For

An underperforming query successful GSC is 1 pinch precocious impressions but debased CTR. This suggests you’re ranking for the word but excessively acold down the hunt motor consequence pages (SERPs) to triumph searchers’ attention.

Finding these position successful GSC will thief you place existing contented successful request of optimization. A fewer tweaks could thief you rank higher truthful you tin make much postulation to your site.

How? 

Because complete two-thirds (68.7%) of Google clicks spell to the apical 3 integrated hunt results.

Here’s really to find underperforming keywords.

Open GSC and spell to “Search results” beneath the “Performance” tab connected the overview page.

Choose a clip frame.

Opt for a shorter 1 (such arsenic 3 months) to spot pages that person underperformed recently.

A longer clip play mightiness see contented that underperformed successful the past but is nary longer relevant.

Now benignant the database of keywords by “Impressions” successful descending order.

At the top, you’ll spot position you rank for that aren’t driving meaningful traffic. Depending connected the size of your website, location could beryllium anyplace from a twelve to a fewer 1000 terms.

So really do you fig retired which keywords to prioritize from this list?

Find keywords wherever you already rank connected the 2nd aliases 3rd page. (Also known arsenic striking region keywords.)

And past instrumentality on-page SEO techniques to amended rankings.

Unfortunately, it’s time-consuming to place these keywords successful GSC.

Because it doesn’t connection filters that isolate keywords wherever your mean hunt position is betwixt 10 (page one) and 30 (page three). So you’d person to click done the query database to find them.

The easiest and fastest measurement to find underperforming keywords is pinch the Domain Overview tool.

To start, participate your domain and click “Search.”

Then, click “View details” successful the “Top Organic Keywords” section.

Select the “Positions” select and participate a civilization range: from 11 to 30. Click “Apply.”

This will show only the keywords wherever your website ranks successful positions 11-30, i.e. the 2nd and 3rd page of hunt results.

Then, it’s a matter of deciding which pages to optimize.

Here are a fewer optimization tips to get you started:

• Incorporate the target keyword. Make judge it appears successful the title, introduction, and subheadings.
• Analyze the contented quality. Compare your webpage to the top-ranking contented and brainstorm ways to outdo it. Make judge your contented meets the user's intent.
• Write a compelling meta description. Think of it arsenic a telephone to action (CTA) for your webpage. It should person users your page is amended than the competition.

Method 3: Find Easy Wins (Low-Hanging Fruit)

Easy triumph keywords are the queries that unoptimized pages connected your tract show up for naturally. 

Once you’ve identified those keywords, you tin target them. Then you’re apt to rank moreover higher and summation much traffic.

To find these queries, spell to the “Search results” report. Then click the “Pages” tab:

You’ll spot a database of pages pinch their CTR and impressions data. Click the 1 you want to optimize to spot its individual capacity report.

Once you click connected a page, GSC will automatically move backmost to the “Queries” tab.

You’ll spot each the position the selected page ranks for. And the number of impressions and clicks it’s generated successful the SERPs.

Look for position pinch debased clicks but precocious impressions. Then, you tin people incorporated them arsenic secondary keywords successful existing content.

Ensure the keywords you take subordinate intimately to the page you want to optimize. 

Otherwise, you consequence making unnatural tweaks that alteration the content’s relevance—and perchance harm your SEO performance.

How to Measure Keyword Research Outcomes connected Google Search Console

Measuring your keyword investigation outcomes successful GSC ensures you cognize what’s moving and what isn’t. 

The first spot to cheque is the “Performance” floor plan connected GSC’s “Overview” page. 

It shows your full web hunt clicks complete the past 3 months.

So you tin spot whether your SEO and keyword investigation efforts person translated into integrated postulation growth.

Click “Full report” for a much elaborate type that includes impressions and clicks. Shorten aliases widen the play utilizing the “Date” fastener supra the chart.

Change the chart’s information by selecting the applicable checkboxes.

Different metrics suit different objectives. 

If you want to turn visibility, “Total impressions” and “Average position” are your champion markers. 

If you were already ranking but not getting overmuch traffic, salary attraction to “Total clicks” and “Average CTR.”

You tin cheque the aforesaid metrics for individual queries and pages.

Boost Your Keyword Research pinch Semrush

Google Search Console is awesome for free, easy, and basal keyword research. But Semrush offers much broad keyword study and hunt capacity tracking.

To get the champion of some tools, connect GSC to Semrush.

For example, link GSC to Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to import the keywords your tract ranks for automatically.

And merge GSC pinch the SEO Dashboard to harvester each of your capacity and keyword insights into 1 place.