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22 Comments

How do you track organic search terms?

A few years back (quite a few) Google Analytics stopped showing Organic Search Terms for most sessions. They've claimed it's because people are searching using httpS but some tools have been able to surface these terms anyway.

The last tool I used for this has disappeared.

What are you using to track Organic Search Terms? Is it no longer possible?

  1. 5

    I use Google Search Console to track which keywords are performing best and I have tried some free tools for tracking the SERP result. Most are quite expensive though so haven't invested in a paid tool yet. What do you want to achieve with your tracking?

    1. 1

      I'm helping a client understand their customers, and they currently have no way of looking at their search terms.
      GSC is a good solution. Is it granular, or just a huge aggregation of searches?

      1. 1

        It's quite granular. One thing I'd dig into is the branded terms (brand + term) where you can see what kind of thing people are looking for and attaching to the brand.

        Additionally, dig through the other terms where the impressions are high and the clicks are low. It might warrant a new page, better messaging, etc.

        1. 1

          Great tips, thank you! Will definitely dive into that.

  2. 1

    What's your goal exactly here ?

    It's likely that you can achieve what you want with SEOwl (https://www.seowl.co) but I'm happy to dive further in your needs to give you the most appropriate recommendations.

  3. 1

    I use Google Search. You just only to place your desired keyword in search box and they would share a list of such terms with you. Similarly, I also use one site called keywordtools to search such terms according to the countries.

    I also use Google Adwords to find keywords data. But Google search suggestions are the best if you want organic ones.

  4. 1

    I use Neil Patel's Ubersuggest (https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/). I tried SEMRush and decided it's just too expensive.

  5. 1

    We use a mix of Google Search Consol and Ahrefs. Ahrefs is super useful and they continuously improving the product.

  6. 1

    Tool you are looking for is called "Keyword Hero" and does exactly this. If you are paid user, you can add 1 Goal to track and look from which terms performs better from conversation point of view.

  7. 1

    Google Search Console (GSC) is the fastest way to track them.

    From there, there's a bunch of other tools that'll show aggregate rankings over time, but those tools tend to miss the most interesting (long tail) terms folks are using to find you, so don't neglect GSC in favor of Ahrefs, SEMrush, or similar.

  8. 1

    Among many comments here.

    I also opting for Google Search Console, the most intuitive, low entry level and accessible tool. It’s really hard to find a more compatible solution given that they’re controlling most proprietary data.

    Apart from that, I also benchmark data from KWfinder and Ubersuggest.

    1. 1

      Thanks for detailing why. :) Seems most people are saying GSC, but it doesn't really allow me to segment on terms.

  9. 1

    Google Search Console, stats directly from the source.

  10. 1

    https://ahrefs.com/ has a free version now with some great stuff, including info on keywords (look at the Site Explorer).

    1. 1

      Nice, I didn't know that. Thanks!

  11. 1

    Unfortunately you're limited by what Google offers you here: GSC

    You could also enter your site in a tool like SemRush and regularly track what you rank for.

    1. 1

      Thanks, I was hoping there were better alternatives. :/

      1. 1

        You can also use some free versions of tools like ubersuggest. But for deep analysis go with paid version

    1. 1

      I'll have a look. Thanks!

  12. 1

    Yes GSC all the way - the most useful feature I find is to do a comparison of performance for a given search term over the previous period, with the same period directly preceding that. You can rank these in a list from worst to best: that way you know which pages to update.

    Otherwise there are tons of rank trackers out there, all paid of course.

    1. 1

      Less interested in rank and more in what my specific visitors are searching for. In a perfect world I'd love to segment my conversions on search terms. 😅

  13. 1

    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

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