- The fastest SEO gains usually come from pages that already rank, not from new content.
- Keywords in positions 8 to 20 are close to page one and often move with small changes.
- A page that ranks well but gets few clicks needs a better title and description, not more links.
- Check your quick wins once a month and work through them in order of impressions.
What counts as an SEO quick win
A quick win is a change that can bring more search traffic within weeks, usually to a page Google already ranks. Search Console holds the data to find them, but its Performance report shows everything at once. This tool does the filtering and sorting for you.
How the tool finds them
After you sign in, the tool asks Search Console for the last 28 days of queries and pages, and the 28 days before that for comparison. Then it sorts the results into four lists:
| List | What it looks for |
|---|---|
| Almost page one | Keywords with an average position between 8 and 20 and at least your chosen number of impressions |
| Low click-through | Pages in the top 10 whose click-through rate is under half of your own site's average at the same position |
| Losing clicks | Pages with at least 30% fewer clicks than the 28 days before, and at least 20 clicks lost |
| Competing pages | Keywords with at least your chosen number of impressions, where two or more of your pages get impressions and no single page gets most of them |
Each list is sorted by impressions, so the keywords and pages with the most room to grow come first. Click-through rates are compared with your own site's numbers, not an industry average, because they vary a lot between sites and searches.
How to improve striking-distance keywords
- Answer the search directly. Add a section that matches what the keyword is asking, near the top of the page.
- Use the keyword in a heading and in the first paragraph, written naturally.
- Link to the page from related pages on your site, with anchor text close to the keyword.
- Check the page is the right one. If a different page would answer the search better, improve that one instead.
How to fix pages with low click-through
If a page ranks in the top 10 but few people click it, the problem is usually the search result itself. Rewrite the title to lead with what people search for and say what they get, then write a description that answers the search. Check both in the SERP preview tool so nothing gets cut off. Give Google a few weeks, then compare the same date ranges in Search Console.
What to do about pages losing clicks
- Search the top keyword yourself. See what now ranks above you and what it covers that your page doesn't.
- Refresh the page. Update dates, numbers and examples, and add what's missing.
- Rule out technical problems. In Search Console, inspect the URL to check it's still indexed.
- Check the season. Some drops are normal for the time of year. Compare with the same month last year before making big changes.
Fixing pages that compete with each other
When two of your pages show up for the same keyword, Google has to guess which one to rank, and often ranks neither well. Decide which page should own the keyword. Merge the weaker page into it with a redirect, or rewrite each page so it targets a clearly different search, and link from one to the other.
What the tool can see
The tool asks Google for read-only access to Search Console. It can see the properties your account can see and their search data. It can't change settings, submit anything or see other Google products. Everything runs in your browser: your data goes from Google to your screen and is never sent to or stored on our servers. When you close the page, the access ends.
Analyse8 builds a Search Console report every month with striking-distance keywords, the pages to fix first and the reasons why, and sends it on a schedule to you or your clients.