To use Google Search Console for keyword research, you can dive into the “Performance” report to discover which search queries are driving traffic to your website and identifying opportunities for optimization and content creation based on those queries.
However, It is not a replacement for other keyword research tools, such as Ahrefs or SEMrush, that help you tap into topics that you are not familiar with. Use both of them wisely to get a better overview of the search landscape.
In this tutorial, I will show you how I use Google Search Console for keyword research and find keyword opportunities.
1. Open Search Performance Report in Google Search Console
Go to Google Search Console and select the domain property you want to study. Then choose the search performance report in the left-hand menu.
Google Search Console’s Search Performance Report provides valuable insights into how your website is performing in Google search results. The report shows you data on clicks, impressions, click-through rates, and average position for specific search queries or pages on your site.
2. Select the date range
Then select your date range, simply click on the date filter and select what you need. I would recommend using at least 12 months of data if possible so that you could also avoid seasonality and get a more accurate result.
You can also customise the date range if you would like to see the performance of a specific period, such as tracking the result of a seasonal marketing campaign.
3. Filter Query or Page (optional)
Depending on your goal of the keyword research, you can narrow your report by adding conditions to suit your need. Click the “+ New” and select “Query” from the drop-down menu.
For example, if you want to work on a specific topic, filter the query to contain only the seed keyword to show only relevant keywords.
If you want to optimise your existing page and looking for keyword opportunities, filter by the URL of the page.
4. Export your data
Next export your data to your desired format – open as Google Sheet or download as .csv or Excel file. When you open the exported report, you will find different tabs – Queries, Pages, Countries, Devices, Search appearance, Dates and Filters.
Usually I will just keep the queries tab but that’s up to you.
5. Analyse the search queries by keyword grouping
Just like doing regular keyword research, you can organise your list of search queries by grouping them based on search intent and topic. You can also further divide them into sub-topic so you know how to structure your
You can either do this manually by using the Sort and Filter function of Google Sheet or Excel, or using Google Sheets formula like Index Match if you have a huge list of keywords.
After categorising your keywords, you can start to map your keywords to your page (either create a new page to cover a new set of keywords or optimise existing page).
Sort your CTR in ascending order to see if you need to optimise meta title or meta description
FAQs
Can I use Google Search Console for keyword research?
Yes, you can use Google Search Console for keyword research if you already have a website that has collected enough data. However, it can only show you the queries that your website is already ranking for. So if you want to cover a new topic for your website, Google Search Console might not be the best tool.
How do I see keywords in Google Search Console?
In your Google Search Console performance report, you will find the “Queries” table, which shows the search queries (keywords) that people used to find your website.
How to check keyword search volume in Google Search Console?
Google Search Console does not provide keyword search volume data per se. However, you can still use Google Search Console to check individual search queries and the impression it gets for your website. Even though impressions don’t exactly equal to search volume, you can still get an idea of the number of people who are interested in that query.
Are impressions equal to search volume?
No, impressions and search volume are not the same thing. While there may be some correlation between impressions and search volume, they are not interchangeable metrics.Impressions refer to the number of times your website or webpage appears in search results when a user searches for a particular keyword or phrase. Search volume refers to the total number of searches that are conducted for a particular keyword or phrase over a given period of time.
Conclusion
Google Search Console can help you identify the keywords driving traffic to your website. By analysing this data, you can identify keywords that are performing well and optimise your content around those keywords.
You can also discover new keywords that your website is already ranking for but you may not have optimised your content for. This provides an opportunity for you to create new content around those keywords and update your existing content.
