Striking distance keywords: find positions 4 to 20 in Search Console
Striking distance keywords are queries ranking 4 to 20. Export them from Search Console, filter by position and impressions, then improve the ranking page.
LLaunchScaler·Published ·8 min read
Striking distance keywords are the search queries where your site already ranks just below the top results, usually an average position of 4 to 20 in Google Search Console. To find them, export the Queries table from the Performance report, filter the export to positions 4 to 20 with meaningful impressions, and then improve the page that already ranks for each one before you write anything new.
Search Console has no position filter in its filter bar, so the method is export-and-filter. The steps below work for any site; for sites with more than 1,000 queries, the API section shows how to pull the full list.
What are striking distance keywords?
Striking distance keywords are queries where Google already shows your page, but not near the top: positions 4 to 20 cover the rest of page one and page two. Google has already judged your page relevant for these queries, so a better page often moves faster than a new page starting from nothing.
They are the best starting list for a content plan for three reasons. You own the data, so there is no guessing about search volume from a third-party tool. The impressions prove people search for them. And each query comes with a page attached, which tells you exactly what to improve. The SEO content strategy for a SaaS builds a whole month's plan from this list.
How do you find queries ranking 4 to 20 in Search Console?
Open the Performance report, switch on the Average position metric, set a 3-month date range, choose the Queries tab, and export. Then filter the export in a spreadsheet, because the report itself cannot filter rows by position. The whole job takes about 15 minutes.
In Search Console, select your property and open Performance, then Search results.
Click the Average position box above the chart so the metric is on. Keep Clicks and Impressions on too.
Set the date range to the last 3 months. The report can reach back up to 16 months, but recent data describes where you rank now.
Leave Search type on Web.
Click the Queries tab under the chart.
Click Export and pick a format. The export includes both the chart and the table data.
Questions, answered
What people ask about this
01
What are striking distance keywords?
They are search queries where your site already ranks just off the top results, usually average positions 4 to 20 in Search Console. Google already treats your page as relevant, so improving that page is often the fastest way to gain clicks.
02
How do I find striking distance keywords in Search Console?
Repeat with the Pages tab, so you have a list of pages with their own positions.
In the table, the Average position for each query row is the average position of your site's topmost result for that query. On the Pages tab, data is aggregated by page, so the same page's position can differ from what the Queries tab shows. That is expected, not an error.
How do you filter the export to positions 4 to 20?
Filter the exported sheet to rows where position is between 4 and 20 and impressions are above a threshold that suits your site. Then sort by impressions, highest first. The rows at the top are the queries with the most searchers who already see you and mostly do not click.
If your export has the columns in the order query, clicks, impressions, CTR, position (A to E), this Google Sheets formula on a new tab gives the list:
Adjust the column letters to match your file. Pick the impressions threshold from your own data:
Site size
Impressions threshold over 3 months
Why
New or small site
20 to 50
Low totals; you need enough rows to plan a month
Established small site
50 to 200
Filters out one-off queries
Larger site
200 or more
Keeps the list to queries worth a page each
These thresholds are working numbers, not Google figures. Two limits in the data affect what you see. Anonymized queries, which Google's deep dive describes as queries not issued by more than a few dozen users over two to three months, never appear in the table. And values shown as ~ or - in the report export as zeros, so a zero is not always a real zero.
Why can't you filter Search Console by position directly?
Search Console's filter bar filters by dimensions: query, page, country, device, search appearance, date and search type. Position is a metric, not a dimension, so it is not among the filter bar's options. The table can show at most 1,000 rows, so any sorting inside the interface only sees those rows.
That is why exporting is the reliable method. Even the export is limited to 1,000 rows from the interface, which is enough for most small sites. If your Queries tab shows the table cut off at 1,000 rows, or your filtered list looks thin for the traffic you get, use the API below.
How do you match each query to the page that ranks?
Match each query to its ranking page inside Search Console: click the query in the Queries table to filter the whole report to it, then open the Pages tab to see which URLs appeared for it. Google's own help describes this exact step. Write the URL next to the query in your sheet.
Then decide what to do with each pair:
What the Pages tab shows
What to do
One page, and it is about this query
Improve that page
One page, but it is about something else
Plan a new page for the query
Two or more pages with impressions for the query
Check for cannibalization before changing either
Improving a page for a striking distance query usually means four changes, in this order:
Answer the query in the first two sentences of the page, or of the section it matches.
Make the title and H1 describe what the searcher asked, in their words.
Add the subtopics the pages above you cover and you do not.
Link to the page from two or three related pages on your site, with anchor text that describes it.
The full method for updating a page without losing what already works is in the content refresh strategy. If two of your pages trade places for the same query, read keyword cannibalization before editing either.
How do you pull more than 1,000 queries?
Use the Search Analytics API when the interface export is not enough. It returns up to 25,000 rows per request, and Google's deep dive on the data says you can page through with startRow to reach up to 50,000 rows per day per site per search type. Group by both query and page to get each query paired with its ranking URL in one pull.
The request is a POST to the property's searchAnalytics/query endpoint:
Each row returns clicks, impressions, CTR and position for one query and page pair. If the response has 25,000 rows, send the same request with startRow set to 25000 for the next batch. Filter positions and impressions in your own code or spreadsheet, as above.
For sites beyond even that, Search Console's bulk data export sends the full data to BigQuery; Google's help calls it the most complete list of queries available. If you would rather ask questions of the data from an AI assistant than write requests, connecting Search Console through MCP covers that route.
Which striking distance queries should you work on first?
Work first on queries in positions 4 to 10 with the most impressions, where the ranking page is one you would be glad to send a buyer to. Then move to positions 11 to 20. A query that is close to the top, seen often, and tied to what your product does is worth more than a higher-volume query that has nothing to do with it.
A simple way to order the sheet:
Add a column that labels each query's position band: 4 to 10, or 11 to 20.
Add a column that marks whether the query relates to what your product does: yes or no.
Sort by band, then by the product column, then by impressions, highest first.
Take the top 10 to 20 rows as this month's list and leave the rest for next month.
Recheck the order each month, because positions move and new queries appear as your pages improve.
What do you do with the list once you have it?
Turn the list into a dated plan: group queries that share one intent into one article or one page improvement, put the improvements to pages ranking 4 to 10 first, and schedule new pages for the queries no existing page answers. Then measure each change in the same report four weeks later.
Grouping matters because many rows are variants of one question. "Export search console data", "search console export" and "how to export from search console" belong to one page, not three. Turning Search Console queries into a content plan walks through grouping by intent and mapping each group to a page.
To measure, filter the Performance report to each page you changed, compare the 28 days after the change with the 28 days before, and look at impressions and clicks first. Google's help advises focusing more on trends in impressions and clicks than on position alone.
Start from these queries automatically
LaunchScaler's content engine starts from exactly this list. It reads your own Search Console queries first, "the searches you already rank for just off page one," with your readiness audit and real keyword data filling in the rest, and turns them into a month of articles on a calendar, grouped into a handful of subjects your product owns. It writes one article a day from your product, and by default every draft waits for your review before it publishes. Approved drafts go to WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Shopify, Notion, Medium or a signed webhook. It is $99/mo per website, 3 days free. Start the engine and skip the export.
Open Performance, then Search results, switch on Average position, set the last 3 months, choose the Queries tab and export. In the spreadsheet, keep rows with a position from 4 to 20 and enough impressions to matter, then match each query to its ranking page.
03
Can you filter Search Console by position?
Not from the filter bar at the top of the Performance report, which filters by query, page, country, device, search appearance, date and search type. Position is a metric, so the reliable method is to export the table and filter the position column in a spreadsheet.
04
How many rows can I export from Search Console?
The interface exports up to 1,000 rows. The Search Analytics API returns up to 25,000 rows per request, and Google's documentation says you can page through to reach up to 50,000 rows per day per site per search type.
05
Should I write a new post for a striking distance keyword?
Usually not first. Find the page that already ranks for the query and improve it: answer the query near the top, tighten the title, and add internal links. Write a new page only when no existing page matches what the searcher wants.
A topic cluster is a hub page for a broad question plus spokes for narrow ones, linked both ways. How to build one from your own Search Console queries.
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