Striking-distance keywords: the quickest SEO wins (positions 11–20)

Striking-distance keywords are searches where your site already ranks just off page one, usually in positions 11–20. Google has decided your page is relevant; it just isn’t quite the best answer yet. A focused improvement to the page that already ranks often moves it onto page one faster than a brand-new article would.

Why positions 11–20 are worth your time

Most clicks go to results on the first page. A page sitting at position 14 gets impressions (people see it if they scroll to page two) but very few clicks. Move the same page to position 7 and the clicks can change noticeably, without writing anything from scratch.

New pages take time to be crawled, indexed and trusted. A page that already ranks has done that work. You are improving something Google already understands, not starting over.

There is no guarantee, of course. Some keywords are dominated by big sites or by search features such as videos and AI answers, and no amount of polishing will change that. That’s why choosing well matters.

Finding them in Google Search Console

You need a verified site in Google Search Console. Then:

1. Open Performance → Search results.
2. Set the date range to the last 3 months, so one odd week doesn’t mislead you.
3. Tick Average position and Impressions above the chart.
4. In the Queries table, use the filter icon to show rows where Position is greater than 10 and smaller than 21.
5. Sort by Impressions, highest first.

Remember that “average position” is an average across every time you were shown. A query at 12.4 might be at 8 one day and 18 the next. Treat it as a rough guide, not a fixed spot.

If you use OZMAICO, the SEO → Keywords view has an “Almost page 1” filter that lists your Search Console searches in positions 11–20, so you can skip the manual filtering.

Picking the right keywords

Not every row deserves work. Look for keywords that tick most of these boxes:

• Real impressions. A query with 900 impressions a month is a better bet than one with 9.
• Matching intent. The searcher wants what your page offers. If someone searches “free invoice template” and your page is a blog post about invoicing law, ranking higher won’t help much.
• Business value. The keyword relates to something you actually want people to find: a product, a service, a guide that leads somewhere.
• One clear page. Use the Pages tab with the query filter applied. If two or more of your pages share the impressions, you may have a keyword cannibalization problem to fix first.

Pick five to ten keywords to start. Working on fifty at once makes it impossible to see what helped.

Improving the page that ranks

Open the ranking page and search Google for the keyword yourself (a private window helps). Look at what the top results cover that yours doesn’t. Then:

• Answer the question early. Put a clear, direct answer near the top, in plain words.
• Fill the gaps. Add the sections, steps, examples or comparisons that the better results include and you don’t. Don’t copy them; cover the topic more usefully.
• Use the words people search. If the query is “how to reset a router”, make sure that phrase, or a natural version of it, appears in a heading and the opening paragraph.
• Update what’s stale. Old screenshots, prices, years and broken steps make a page less useful.
• Check the basics. The page should be indexable, fast enough and readable on a phone.

Adding words isn’t the goal. A tighter page that answers better often beats a longer one.

Titles and descriptions

Your title is the first thing a searcher sees. If the keyword or a close variant is missing from it, that’s an easy fix. Keep it specific and honest; promise what the page delivers. See title tags and meta descriptions for how to write both.

Google may rewrite your title or description in results. That’s normal; a clear, accurate title still makes a rewrite less likely.

Internal links

Links from your other pages tell search engines which pages matter. For each chosen keyword:

1. Find two or three related pages on your site that mention the topic.
2. Add a link to the ranking page using descriptive anchor text, such as “router reset steps” rather than “click here”.
3. Prefer pages that already get traffic or links themselves.

More on this in the guide to internal linking.

Measuring the result

Write down the date and what you changed for each page. Then wait. Google needs to recrawl the page, and rankings often move around before they settle. Check again after four to six weeks, comparing the same length of time before and after.

Compare position, impressions and clicks for the keyword and the page. If nothing moved after two months, look again at intent: perhaps the results favour a different type of page altogether. Resist rewriting the same page every week; frequent changes make it hard to learn anything.

In short

• Filter Search Console queries to positions 11–20 over the last three months.
• Choose keywords with real impressions, matching intent and one clear ranking page.
• Improve that page: direct answer, missing sections, fresh details.
• Tighten the title and add internal links with descriptive anchors.
• Note your changes, wait four to six weeks, then compare.