How to find searches you almost rank for

Google Search Console lists every search your site was shown for, with your average position for each. The ones at roughly position 11 to 20 are searches you rank for on page two, just out of sight. Google has already judged your page relevant to them, so improving that page is usually quicker than ranking a new page from nothing. SEO people call these striking distance keywords.

Why are page-two searches the quickest wins?

Because almost all the clicks are on page one.

Page one

Where the clicks are

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9
10. 10

Page two

Searches you almost rank for

1. 11
2. 12
3. 13
4. 14
5. 15
6. 16
7. 17
8. 18
9. 19
10. 20

A page at position 14 gets impressions and next to no visits; the same page at position 6 starts to get clicked.

A new page for a search starts with no relevance to build on. A page already at 14 has some, and Google is placing it just below a handful of others.

How do you find them in Search Console?

1. Open Search Console and go to Performance, then Search results.
2. Set the date range to the last three months.
3. Turn on Average position alongside clicks and impressions.
4. Open the Queries tab and export the list.
5. Keep the rows where average position is between 11 and 20 and impressions are above about 50.

That is your shortlist. On a young site, expect it to be short and specific.

Which ones should you work on?

Sort the shortlist by impressions, then drop any that fail one of three questions:

• Does it match what you sell? A search can have thousands of impressions and bring people who will never buy.
• Is there a page for it already? If one page ranks at 13, improve that page rather than writing a second one. If two of your pages are both being shown for it, merge them first, or they keep splitting the clicks (keyword cannibalisation).
• Can you answer it better than page one? Read what ranks now. If the top results are thin and you have real experience, that is an opening. If they are thorough and specific, pick another search.

What do you change on the page?

For an existing page that is close, these edits usually matter most:

• Make the search the clear subject of the page title and main heading.
• Answer it directly in the first paragraph, in a few sentences that make sense on their own.
• Add sections for the related questions people ask, with the question as the heading and the answer straight after it.
• Link to the page from your other relevant pages, using words that describe it.

Google finds and weighs pages through links, so a page nothing links to is found late and looks unimportant.

How long before you see a change?

Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and positions then take time to settle.

If it moved, do more of the same on the next search. If it did not, the page may not be the problem: the results above you may have far more sites linking to them. See what affects Google rankings.