How to Use Google Search Console for Keyword Research

Google Search Console (GSC) is simply a escaped instrumentality champion known for measuring tract show 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 large 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, due to the fact that they already thrust important postulation to your site.

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

The hunt results show study volition display: 

• Total clicks: The fig of clicks to your website
• Total impressions: The fig of times your webpages appeared successful hunt results, careless of whether users scrolled to spot them
• Average click-through complaint (CTR): The fig of clicks divided by the fig of impressions
• Average position: The mean presumption 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 presumption 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 indicator that you could spot akin results with related keywords. 

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

The Keyword Magic Tool makes this easy. 

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

The study contains dozens of presumption connected to your effect 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 privation to screen connected your website. And optimize the content for the people keyword.

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

Keyword cannibalization is an contented wherever antithetic pages connected 1 tract vie with each different for the aforesaid keyword. It tin harm your hunt show and conversions.

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

For example, a steadfast gets postulation for a quality nonfiction astir caller restaurants successful Milan. They could besides make a caller leafage listing the champion restaurants successful Milan without cannibalizing the quality article. The 2 pieces conscionable antithetic needs—the archetypal is simply a factual update; the 2nd offers adjuvant guidance.

Method 2: Find Underperforming Keywords to Optimize For

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

Finding these presumption successful GSC volition assistance you place existing contented successful request of optimization. A fewer tweaks could assistance you fertile higher truthful you tin make much postulation to your site.

How? 

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

Here’s however 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 presumption you fertile for that aren’t driving meaningful traffic. Depending connected the size of your website, determination could beryllium anyplace from a twelve to a fewer 1000 terms.

So however bash you fig retired which keywords to prioritize from this list?

Find keywords wherever you already fertile connected the 2nd oregon 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 presumption 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 mode to find underperforming keywords is with 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” filter and participate a customized range: from 11 to 30. Click “Apply.”

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

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

Here are a fewer optimization tips to get you started:

• Incorporate the people keyword. Make definite 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 definite your contented meets the user's intent.
• Write a compelling meta description. Think of it arsenic a telephone to enactment (CTA) for your webpage. It should person users your leafage 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 amusement up for naturally. 

Once you’ve identified those keywords, you tin people them. Then you’re apt to fertile adjacent 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 with their CTR and impressions data. Click the 1 you privation to optimize to spot its idiosyncratic show report.

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

You’ll spot each the presumption the selected leafage ranks for. And the fig of impressions and clicks it’s generated successful the SERPs.

Look for presumption with 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 leafage you privation to optimize. 

Otherwise, you hazard 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 probe outcomes successful GSC ensures you cognize what’s moving and what isn’t. 

The archetypal spot to cheque is the “Performance” illustration connected GSC’s “Overview” page. 

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

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

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

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

Different metrics suit antithetic objectives. 

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

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

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

Boost Your Keyword Research with Semrush

Google Search Console is large for free, easy, and basal keyword research. But Semrush offers much broad keyword investigation and hunt show 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 integrate GSC with the SEO Dashboard to harvester each of your show and keyword insights into 1 place.