In today’s marketing world, providing the content that the audience needs and figuring out how you will reach the audience is of utmost importance.
Thankfully, Google Search Console keywords answer two of these essential questions.
By learning how to use Google Search Console for keyword research, you can get information on the current best-performing keywords and unleash new opportunities.
Read on to learn everything about Google Search Console keywords and the right way to use the platform.
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Google Search Console: What is it?
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free Google tool that assists you in maintaining the digital presence of your website, diagnosing technical SEO issues, and monitoring the SEO performance of your website.
Because it offers the most up-to-date, real-time SEO data accessible, the tool is a crucial component of an SEO strategy.
Due to its myriad features, it has become a great option for SEO for startups and marketers learning about SEO optimization.
Read More: SEO Basics: Learning the Foundation of Search Engine Optimization
Why Conduct Keyword Research Using Google Search Console?
With Google Console Console Keywords, you get the following benefits:
It doesn’t cost a penny: GSC is an excellent place to start for quick, simple, high-level keyword research because it has no usage limits. Less risk results from no expense.
It’s easy to use: Google Search Console keywords are easy to use, and the interface makes them accessible. Additionally, you can use your current Gmail account to log in.
It works with additional tools: You can add Google Search Console Keywords in your IT stack with tools such as Semrush to expedite tasks and maintain data accuracy. By linking Google Analytics and GSC to tools like Semrush, you can bring all of the data from your website in one place.
Google Search Console Keywords is a good starting point: You can become acquainted with GSC’s data, reports, and features by conducting some simple keyword research. These can be used in subsequent SEO-related steps of the procedure.
Importance of Google Search Console For Keywords
Google Search Console Keywords are one of the dimensions of the Performance Report that is shown in the queries.
The top 1,000 search terms that generated traffic are displayed in the queries report.
The low-performing Google Search Console Keywords queries are particularly interesting.
Because they are uncommon, some of those queries help in attracting long-tail traffic.
Additionally, some of the Google Search Console keywords come up from pages that need advancements.
For instance, the pages may need more internal links or keywords added to the webpage.
Fixing the issues with Google Search Console keywords may lead to a noticeable rise in traffic.
Features of the Google Search Console Keywords Performance Report
Users may learn a lot about the search engine performance of your website from the Performance Report.
This report’s first section highlights search features, including highlighted snippets.
Four search types are available for you to investigate: Web, Image, Video, and News.
You can modify the default Web search by clicking the Search Type option.
Four measures are shown at the top of the Performance Report:
Total Clicks: The frequency with which searchers click on your website from the results.
Total Impressions: The number of times a search result showed your website.
Average CTR: The proportion of average click-throughs that occur when users click on your website from the search results.
Average Position: This refers to the average position of your website in search results.
Besides that, the metrics at the bottom of the Google Search Console keywords performance reports are:
Queries: Shows the most popular search terms and their performance.
Pages: Shows the websites with the highest rankings.
Devices: Displays the mobile, tablet, and desktop devices users use the most frequently.
Search Appearance: Indicates the categories in which the website was shown.
Dates: Uses dates to order the impressions and clicks.
Related Blog: Essential SEO Tracking Metrics for Business Growth
How to Use Google Search Console for Keyword Research
Here are the steps to use for Google Search Console Keywords research:
1. Access the Search Performance Report on GSC
Open your Google Search Console and select the search performance report to get started.
Select Performance in the main navigation menu to get your search performance report.
You can view your site’s current ranking keywords and some related indicators in the search performance report.
Under the Performance tab, you may see several performance reports divided into Search results, Discover, or News if you get organic search traffic from Google News or Discover.
The performance area of Google Search Console’s performance report displays divided reports.
So, select Search results to get your search performance analysis.
Your search performance report will display your site’s performance in Google Search, along with the average click-through rate (CTR), average ranking position, and total clicks and impressions.
The Google Search Console keyword report will display this information from Google’s normal web search by default.
The search type filter is highlighted in the search performance report.
Leave the search type filter at the top of your report set to Web by default if you want to do keyword research for Google’s normal web search.
To conduct keyword research for Google picture, video, or news searches, adjust the filter to display the data appropriately.
2. Set a Suitable Date Range
By selecting the date button, you can modify the date range to suit your requirements for Google Search Console keywords.
Getting a broad overview of the best-performing terms in your keyword research is better. Thus, a year to 16-month time frame is more beneficial.
You won’t be able to view data older than 16 months because Google Search Console only keeps data for that long.
Click Apply in the upper right corner of the filter after choosing your date range.
Your report will then be updated with the information from the time period you have chosen.
GSC divides the traffic into distinct inquiries beneath the first chart. To find out which terms bring in the most visitors to your website, sort these based on Clicks.
After selecting the date range, you can start exporting the useful Google Search Console keywords data.
3. Take Out Your Google Search Console Keywords
Click Export in the upper right corner of the search performance report to export the ranking keywords for your website from Google Search Console.
Next, select whether you want to export your keyword data as an Excel, CSV, or Google Sheet.
The export button is highlighted in the search performance report from Google Search Console.
Your Google Search Console keywords can be more easily sorted, filtered, and chosen if you export them to a spreadsheet.
The information from your search performance report will be exported into the chosen spreadsheet type as soon as you click on one of the file types.
4. Organize Your Google Search Console Keywords Data
Open the exported spreadsheet after you’ve saved your Google Search Console search performance report in the format of your choice.
The Queries tab will open by default. For your Google Search Console keywords research, this will be the primary tab that you work with.
The top keywords for your website are displayed in a table on the queries tab.
Along with the corresponding clicks, impressions, average CTR, and ranking position, add the keywords for which your site is ranking at the moment.
Build a filter for this table so that it will aid in your keyword research in the following stages.
You can create a filter if you export your search performance data as a Google Sheet by selecting Data from the top menu, selecting Create a filter, and then selecting all of the data in the table.
Sort your keyword table next, going from highest to lowest in the impressions column. Your greatest impression keywords will rise to the top of the table as a result.
After that, you are prepared to choose some target keywords as you have filtered your Google Search Console keyword data and arranged the table according to impressions.
Difference Between Impressions & Clicks
You most likely rank fairly high for that keyword right now if you see it with a lot of impressions and clicks.
To confirm the performance of your keywords, launch your web browser in private or incognito mode, copy the search term, and enter it into Google.
You know you’re hitting all the necessary marks for that keyword on that page if your website appears first on Google’s first page.
Before focusing on your on-page SEO, you should conduct a competitive analysis on the websites that rank higher than you if you are not already in the top spot.
Identify High-Performing Terms That Require Further Work
When a keyword has a high impression count but a low click-through rate (CTR), it indicates that you are ranking for the phrase but are too far down the SERPs for users to see.
By looking up such Google Search Console keywords, you can determine what material already exists and needs to be optimized.
You may increase the amount of visitors to your website by making a few on-page optimizations to improve your ranking.
To identify neglected keywords:
On the GSC summary page, select Search Results under the Performance tab.
The Search results tab on the GSC overview page is highlighted.
At the top of the page, select a period of time.
This time, you can use a date range of three months to assess what has lately performed successfully.
If we select a longer time frame, the data may contain irrelevant content that was once popular but is no longer relevant.
Now arrange the keyword list in decreasing order by Impressions.
You’ll see phrases that appear in the search engine results page at the top but aren’t generating any traffic.
Certain terms on the Google Search Console keywords list will be too general and competitive.
Since more specialized terms have lower keyword difficulty scores and more impressions, they will be easier to rank for.
Many easy adjustments can be made to move underperforming material higher in the SERPs.
5. Look Up Your Page One Ranking Keywords
The first group of Google Search Console keywords you need to search for are those that show up on Google’s first page of results.
You should keep optimizing for these keywords, as Google is already giving you great rankings for them.
Use the filter that you established in the preceding step to locate these terms in your keyword table.
To ensure that the values in the position column are equal to or less than 10, use a filter.
The position column filter for values less than or equal to 10 is displayed in a Google Sheet spreadsheet.
After that, review the sorted list and underline any terms that are relevant to your website or company.
Pay attention to the Google Search Console keywords that are bringing you more impressions.
That is because these are the ones that are nearer the top in the impression sorting.
Google Sheets keyword list with values less than ten filtered by position column.
Using Google Search Console Keywords Correctly
You may see that Google is ranking you for certain irrelevant keywords when you approach the bottom of your table, and your impressions start to decline.
As a result, be careful that the keywords you choose are not random.
Once you’ve chosen the keywords, you should see if any of them are already being used on any of your current pages.
It’s likely that you already are, which is why Google has you ranked highly for them.
Plus, you can add new pages specifically targeted at these keywords or map them to already existing pages on your website.
Mapping a keyword to an existing page is the best option if it can be seamlessly and naturally incorporated into the copy of the page.
Look up the keyword on Google and examine the search engine results page (SERP) if you’re not sure.
You should map the new keyword to the old page if similar ranking pages show up in the search engine results for the keywords.
To learn how you can build a great keyword strategy, you will find some great tips here.
6. Find Keywords that Offer Guaranteed Results
Some Google Search Console keywords are those that your pages now rank rather well for.
Most of the time, you can raise your rankings in search results for those quick-win keywords by making a few small tweaks here and there.
These are the three position ranges for quick keywords that are worth targeting:
- Top ranking keywords on page two (positions 11–14): You may strive to get your pages to appear on page one of the search results.
- Keywords ranked at the bottom of page one (position 6-19): For these keywords, you may be able to push your page to the top of Google’s search results.
- Keywords that appear in the top three spots (position 2–3) of the search results: Your goal is to get your website to rank number one for those particular keywords and possibly earn a featured snippet. It gives you the maximum visibility in the industry in which you are competing.
7. Determine New Scope for SEO
You can search for the keywords that you have not yet covered in your content.
It’s possible that your website is ranking for these keywords because you discuss them in one of the paragraphs or because they are relevant searches.
But none of your writings particularly address this subject. As a result, you may get inspiration for your new page from this subject.
These are often the searches with an average position higher than thirty. You can use such Google Search Console keywords to experiment with your content strategy.
FAQs
What should I do if the CTR of the keywords is low?
It is an indication that you need to work on the relevance of the keywords in the title tags and meta description.
Why are Google Search Console keywords useful?
It helps analyze and troubleshoot a website’s performance in the SERPs.
How frequently should I log in to check Google Search Console keywords?
It depends on the performance of your website. Some log in weekly, while others may check it monthly.
How do you use Google Search Console for keyword research?
- Head to search results in the performance tab.
- Try varying the ranges and observe the results.
- Select the rows to filter, then select position.
- Using Google Search Console to apply position-based keyword filters
- After selecting the top-ranking keywords for additional optimization, you should always keep an eye on the SERPs after selecting high-ranking keywords for more improvement.
In Conclusion
Using Google Search Console keywords makes it easier for you to create a functional content strategy.
If you learn how to use Google Search Console for keyword research in the correct way, it will serve as an asset.
Nevertheless, not everyone can build plans that prove to be successful SEO. In such a scenario, you can outsource the work to a professional.
To hit your targets before it’s too late, contact The Dreams Agency.