How to find "striking distance" keywords in Google Search Console
Striking-distance keywords rank on page two (positions 11–20) with real impressions. They are close enough that a stronger page or a few internal links can move them onto page one.
Step by step
- 1In Performance → Search results, tick Average position.
- 2In the Queries tab, filter rows by Position greater than 10 and smaller than 21.
- 3Sort by Impressions: the top of the list is your shortlist.
- 4For each query, find the ranking page (Pages tab) and improve it: cover the query explicitly, add depth, and link to it from related pages.
Good to know
- Pick queries whose intent matches the page; otherwise create a dedicated page.
- Check that two of your pages aren't competing for the same query.
- Re-check in 4 weeks with a date comparison.
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