Your page can appear in Google for search terms that you did not plan to target. Google Search Console (GSC) shows many of these terms. It calls them queries.
Use these queries to find information that your page needs. Then make one change that helps the reader.
Why use this method?
This method helps you:
- Select content changes from your own search data.
- Improve an existing page before you create a new one.
- Help readers find the details they need to make a decision.
Allow 2–5 minutes for the first check. A content change can take longer. Adding a keyword alone does not guarantee more traffic.
Step 1: Open the search performance report
- Open GSC and select your website.
- Open Performance, or Performance → Search results.
- Open the date filter. Set a custom range for the latest 90 days with complete data.
- Select Search type: Web.
- Enable Total clicks, Total impressions, and Average position.
- Click Pages below the chart.
Use the latest date with complete data as the end date. Set the start date 89 days earlier to include 90 days. Exclude dates with preliminary data, which Google marks with a dotted line. See Google's explanation of preliminary data.
Step 2: Select a page to improve
Click Impressions to put the largest values first. Impressions show how often a page appeared in search results.
Choose a page that is important to your readers or business. Click its URL to show data for that page.
Example: Consider an online shop that sells laptop backpacks. The shop and figures are invented for this guide.
Its /collections/laptop-backpacks/ page has 12,600 impressions, 252 clicks, and an average position of 10.4 over these 90 days. The page shows product photos and prices. It gives little information about laptop sizes or bag features.
Select this page to check which product details shoppers need.
Step 3: Find a query the page can answer better
Click Queries. Sort Position to put the smallest values first.
A smaller number means a higher average position. It is not a fixed rank. See Google's explanation of search performance metrics.
Select a query that matches the page's purpose. Check its impressions and clicks. Give priority to a useful answer that the page does not yet provide.
For example, the shop's page appears for these queries during the same period:
| Query | Clicks | Impressions | Average position |
|---|---|---|---|
| backpack for 15.6 inch laptop | 36 | 2,400 | 9.2 |
| water resistant laptop backpack | 13 | 1,300 | 12.6 |
| laptop backpack with luggage strap | 19 | 760 | 7.4 |
The luggage-strap query has the best average position. The laptop-size query has the most impressions of these three. Start with laptop size because the page gives little information about fit.
This table shows selected queries. It does not contain all the page's search traffic.
Step 4: Add useful information to the page
Read the page before you edit it. Check whether it already answers the query with different words.
If information is missing, add a short explanation, an example, or a useful resource. Use the query's words where they help the reader.
Use these queries to check for possible improvements:
- Laptop size: Add Backpacks for 15.6-inch laptops if the shop sells suitable bags. Give compartment measurements and link to the matching products. Check the fit against product specifications.
- Water resistance: Explain which bags have water resistance that the manufacturer confirms. State its limits and link to those products. Do not promise waterproof protection without evidence.
- Luggage straps: Add Backpacks with a luggage strap if the shop sells them. Explain how the strap fits over a suitcase handle. Include a link to each suitable product.
For the laptop-size query, a short edit could change the page introduction:
Before: “Explore our laptop backpacks.”
After: “Shop backpacks for 15.6-inch laptops. Check the compartment measurements on each product page before you choose your bag.”
These are suggested edits. Add only details that you can confirm from the products. Make one change first so you can review its results.
Step 5: Record the change and check the results
Save the page URL, query, edit, and date. Review the results after a few weeks. Google explains that search results take time to reflect content changes.
Compare equal periods before and after the change. Keep the same page, query, and search type filters. Check clicks, impressions, and average position.
For the shop, track “backpack for 15.6 inch laptop” after you add the size information. Use the shop's analytics to check sales.
These results help you choose the next edit. They do not prove that your change caused a traffic increase or decrease.
Recipe: Find a content improvement with SearchConsole.ai
- Open your website project in your AI client. In a coding client, open the website's code project. In a chat client, open a chat for that website.
- Connect SearchConsole.ai to the client if needed.
- Copy and paste this recipe into the chat:
Use SearchConsole.ai for this project's website. Check the latest 90 days with complete Web search data. Exclude preliminary data and show the property, start date, and end date. Select one page with many impressions that is important to my readers or business. Get its queries for the same dates. Show clicks, impressions, and average position. Sort average position from smallest to largest. Read the page before you suggest a change. If you cannot read it, ask me for the text. Find one relevant query that the page could answer better. Check whether it already answers the query with different words. Use only facts you can confirm, including product features. Suggest one useful edit and show where to add it. If no useful edit is needed, say so. Identify conclusions based on few impressions. Give me a change record with the page URL, query, proposed edit, and a blank field for the publication date. Plan a review after a few weeks. Compare equal periods before and after publication, using the same page, query, and search type filters. Check clicks, impressions, and average position. Do not assume that the edit caused a change in traffic.