The searches you are closest to winning are the ones where Google already shows your site, just not high enough to get clicked. Open Search Console, go to Performance, turn on Average position, and sort your queries by position. Anything sitting around positions 8 to 20 with a steady number of impressions is a search Google already connects with your site. Those are your best next articles, because you are improving a page Google already trusts for the topic instead of starting from nothing.
The rest of this post walks through it step by step, then explains what to do with the list.
Why page two is the place to look
Google's own definition is the key. Search Console's average position is "the average position of the topmost result from your site" (Search Console Help). A query where your average position is 14 means Google is already ranking you for it, roughly at the top of the second page of results.
My take: almost nobody clicks through to page two, so those impressions earn you close to nothing today. But they are proof of relevance. Moving a page from position 14 to position 6 is usually far easier than ranking a brand-new page from zero. That is a judgment from practice, not a published statistic, and it is the whole idea behind this method.
Step by step in Search Console
- Open Google Search Console and pick your site.
- Click Performance, then Search results.
- Set the date range to the last 3 months. Short ranges are noisy; you want searches that keep coming back.
- Above the chart, click the Average position box so it turns on. Position now shows as a column in the table below.
- Stay on the Queries tab and click the Position column header to sort.
- Scroll to where positions pass 8. Note every query from about 8 to 20 that has a meaningful number of impressions for your site's size.
- For each one, click the query, then the Pages tab, to see which of your pages Google is showing for it.
That last step matters. It tells you whether you need a better page or a new one.
What to do with each query
Sort your list into three groups.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The query matches a page's main topic | The page is relevant but not the best answer yet | Improve that page: answer the question in the first paragraph, add what is missing, update old facts |
| The query is a side question on a page about something else | Google found a passing mention | Write a new article that answers that question directly, and link to it from the page |
| Several of your pages show for the same query | They compete with each other | Pick one to own the topic, strengthen it, and link the others to it |
The middle row is where most new articles come from. A page about your pricing that ranks 15th for "how long does setup take" is telling you that people want a straight answer to that question and nobody on your site has written one.
A quick quality check before you write
Before you start an article from this list, ask three questions:
- Would a buyer search this? "Cost of X" and "X vs Y" usually beat "history of X". Start with searches that sit close to a purchase.
- Do you already have a page that should answer it? If so, improve that page instead of writing a second one.
- Can you answer it better than what ranks now? Search it yourself. If the top results are thin, you have an opening.
How often to repeat this
Search Console data moves every day, but page-two positions change slowly. In my experience, checking once a month is enough for a small site, and once a week once you publish often. Each article you publish creates new page-two queries, so the list refills itself.
Doing this every week without doing it by hand
Full disclosure: we make Paperboy, which does exactly this, so weigh this section accordingly. Paperboy reads your Search Console data every day, finds the page-two searches and unanswered questions, writes a researched article for the best one, checks every claim against its sources, and publishes it. The reason for each pick is shown on your dashboard in plain words, so you can see the same logic described above.
Paste your site address and get your first article free.
Frequently asked questions
What position counts as page two in Google?
Roughly positions 11 to 20, since a results page usually shows about ten regular results. Search Console reports the average position of your topmost result (Search Console Help), so an average of 14 means you usually appear near the top of page two.
How many impressions does a query need before it is worth an article?
There is no official number. In my view, look for queries that appear week after week rather than a single spike, and compare them with your own site's typical numbers rather than a fixed threshold.
Should I write a new article or update the page that ranks?
If the query is the main topic of the ranking page, improve that page. If it is a side question the page only mentions, write a new article that answers it directly and link the two.
Do I need Search Console to do this?
Yes. Search Console is the only free source of the searches Google already shows your site for. It is free to set up for any site you own.