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Check Website Keywords: What Your Site Ranks For
Learn how to check website keywords in Google Search Console, spy on competitor keywords, and pick targets you can win by volume, difficulty and position.
To check website keywords, connect Google Search Console and open the Performance report. It lists the real searches that showed your site on Google, with impressions, clicks and average position. For competitors, you need a third-party keyword tool, because their Search Console data is private.
Seeing the list is the easy part. The useful part is deciding which keywords to chase next. This guide covers both, step by step, in plain language.
How do you see which keywords your website ranks for?
The most accurate source is your own data. Google Search Console is free and shows what Google actually served, not an estimate.
Use Google Search Console
- Verify your site in Search Console (a DNS record or an HTML tag usually does it).
- Open Performance, then Search results.
- Click the Queries tab to see each search term.
- Turn on Impressions and Average position next to Clicks and CTR.
- Set the date range to at least 3 months so rare searches show up.
A brand-new property may show little or no data at first, so give it time. Search Console also hides some rare queries for privacy, so the list is never 100% complete.
Filter by page
Click a single URL in the Pages tab, then switch to Queries. You will see which searches that page earns. This is handy when you want to know if a service page ranks for the terms you wrote it for.
Read the columns the right way
- Impressions: how often your page appeared. High impressions with few clicks means you are visible but not compelling, or sitting low on the page.
- Average position: an average across all appearances. Roughly, position 8 sits near the bottom of page one and position 14 on page two, though layouts vary.
- CTR: clicks divided by impressions. Compare it against your other queries, not against a universal benchmark.
Third-party tools as a second view
Paid and free-tier keyword tools estimate what a domain ranks for by tracking a large database of searches. Their numbers are modeled, so treat them as directional. They are useful for sites without Search Console history, but your own data wins when the two disagree.
Do a quick manual check
Search a keyword in a private window and see where you appear. Results vary by location, device and search history, so this is a spot check, not a measurement.
How do you check a competitor’s keywords?
You cannot open a competitor’s Search Console, so you rely on estimates. The method is the same across most tools: enter their domain or a specific page and read the organic keywords report. To understand why they rank, you can also check backlinks to a competitor’s website with a free tool.
What to look at
- Top pages: which URLs bring them the most search visibility.
- Keywords per page: the terms each page ranks for, including ones you may not have thought of.
- Positions: terms where they sit in positions 4 to 20 are often beatable.
Pick the right competitors
Your real search competitors are not always your business competitors. A local dentist may compete with a national health site for informational queries and with two nearby clinics for local ones. Search your main keywords and note who keeps appearing.
Find the gaps
A keyword gap compares your domain with theirs and lists terms they rank for and you do not. Do not copy the list blindly. Filter for keywords that fit what you actually sell and where your buyers are.
Free ways to peek
- Read their page titles and headings; they usually contain the target keyword.
- Look at Google’s autocomplete and People Also Ask boxes for their topic.
- Check their blog categories to see which themes they invest in.
Which keywords are worth targeting next?
Not every keyword deserves an article. A good target meets three tests: buyers search it, you can realistically rank for it, and it leads somewhere useful for your business.
Start with what you already almost rank for
In Search Console, sort queries by impressions and filter to average positions roughly 8 to 20. These are searches where Google already considers you relevant. A sharper page or a dedicated article can move them up. This is often faster than starting from nothing. It is also where Dex looks first.
Match the intent
- Informational: “how often should I get a dental check-up”. Good for trust and top-of-funnel traffic.
- Commercial: “best wedding photographer in Lisbon”. Buyers comparing options.
- Transactional: “book teeth whitening”. Closest to a sale.
A balanced plan mixes all three, leaning toward the ones that bring customers rather than just visitors.
Look at what is already ranking
Search the keyword and read the top results. If they are all huge brands or marketplaces, the door is narrow. If small sites and thin pages appear, there is room.
Avoid common traps
- Chasing the biggest volume number without checking difficulty.
- Targeting terms that bring readers who will never buy.
- Writing several pages for the same keyword, which makes them compete with each other.
How do volume and difficulty change the picture?
Volume tells you how many people search a term per month. Difficulty (often shown as KD, a 0 to 100 score) estimates how hard it is to rank. Each tool calculates them differently, so compare keywords within one tool rather than across tools.
An illustrative example
The numbers below are illustrative, not real data.
| Keyword | Volume | KD | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| bakery | 200,000 | 80 | Too broad and too hard |
| sourdough bakery near me | 1,500 | 25 | Strong local target |
| gluten free birthday cake order | 300 | 12 | Small but winnable, high intent |
The third keyword has far less volume, yet it may bring more customers than the first, because the searcher knows what they want and you can actually reach page one.
Volume is not traffic
Even at position 1, you will not capture every search. Some searches end with no click at all because Google answers on the page. Use volume to compare opportunities, not to forecast visits.
Add a third factor: how close you already are
Difficulty is a general score. It does not know your site. A domain that already has related pages and some impressions is closer to ranking than a keyword’s KD suggests. The best shortlist weighs volume, difficulty and your current distance together.
A simple scoring rule
- Drop keywords that do not fit your offer.
- Drop those with difficulty far above what your site has ranked for before.
- Among the rest, prefer ones where you already have impressions.
- Then sort by volume.
How does Dex pick the keywords in your free plan?
Dex starts by reading your pages. It learns what you sell, who you sell to and how you talk, so the keywords reflect your real business instead of a generic list for your industry.
Then Dex scores every keyword by volume, difficulty and how close your site already is to ranking. The focus is on searches you can actually win, not vanity terms that look big on a chart.
What you do
- Paste your website URL.
- Wait about 60 seconds.
- Read your free SEO plan.
No card is required. You see the plan before you pay anything, so you can judge whether the keywords make sense for your business.
What happens after the plan
If you continue, Dex handles the rest as one agent: research, fact-checked articles of 1,000 to 3,000 words, daily publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix or Framer, and reporting of clicks from Google Search Console. You can use review mode and approve the content plan before anything is written, or go full autopilot. Results depend on your competition and site history, and Dex does not guarantee rankings.
FAQ
Can I check website keywords for free?
Yes. Google Search Console is free and shows the queries your site appears for. Dex also gives you a free SEO plan from your URL, with no card required.
Why does my site show so few keywords?
New or small sites often have little search visibility. A newly added Search Console property may show little data at first, and it hides some rare queries. Publishing helpful pages on specific topics widens the list over time.
Can I see exactly what keywords a competitor ranks for?
Not exactly. Tools estimate it from large search databases. The results are useful for spotting patterns and gaps, but they are approximations. For a broader look at your site, try an SEO checker to test your website.
How often should I check my keywords?
Monthly is enough for most small sites. Rankings move around daily, so look at trends over weeks rather than reacting to one day.
Is a high-volume keyword always the best choice?
No. High-volume terms are usually harder and less specific. A smaller, clearer keyword you can win often brings more relevant visitors.
Want Dex to do the keyword work?
Tired of sifting through query lists? Dex has answers. Ask Dex SEO for a free plan. Paste your URL, see which keywords Dex would go after, and decide from there. No contracts, and published articles stay on your site.
Dex SEO is an AI SEO agent for small businesses. Every article here is planned from search data, drafted by Dex, fact-checked against the sources it cites, and reviewed by the team before it is published.
How this article was made: drafted with AI, fact-checked against the sources listed above, then edited and approved by the Dex SEO team.