Positions 4 to 20: the fastest SEO wins you already have

Why this range matters

Most clicks on a results page go to the first few organic results. Below them, clicks fall away quickly, and page two gets very little attention at all. That makes the gap between position 8 and position 3 far more valuable than the gap between 40 and 30.

Keywords ranking between roughly 4 and 20 sit in a useful spot. Google already considers the page relevant to the query, otherwise it would not rank there. The page is indexed, it has some authority, and it matches the topic. What it lacks is enough of something, whether that is relevance, depth, internal support or click appeal, to edge past the results above it.

Compare that with a new keyword you do not rank for at all. You need a new page, it has to be crawled and indexed, and it must build authority from nothing. That can take months. Improving a page that is already in striking distance usually shows results faster, because you are adjusting something that already works.

How to find them in Search Console

Google Search Console gives you this data free, straight from Google.

• Open Performance, then Search results.
• Set the date range to the last three months so you are not misled by a few odd days.
• Turn on Average position, Impressions and Clicks.
• In the Queries table, add a filter for position greater than 3, then sort by impressions.
• Export the table to a spreadsheet and filter out anything averaging worse than about 20.

You now have a list of queries where Google already shows you, people already search, and you are not yet near the top.

A few tips make the list more useful.

• Check the page as well as the query. Click a query, then open the Pages tab to see which URL ranks. Sometimes two of your pages split the same query, which holds both back.
• Favour commercial intent. A query that signals someone ready to buy or enquire is worth more than a broad informational one with bigger impressions.
• Ignore your brand name. Branded queries behave differently and will distort the list.
• Treat average position with care. It averages across locations, devices and days. Use it to find opportunities, then check the live results yourself.

What to fix first

Once you have your list, group the queries by the page that ranks for them. Then work through each page in this order, because the early fixes are quick and the later ones take longer.

1. Match the intent

Search the query yourself and study what ranks above you. Are those pages guides, product categories, service pages or comparisons? If the top results are all buying guides and your page is a product listing, Google has decided the searcher wants something different. No amount of tweaking will fully close that gap. You may need to change the page format, or create a better-matched page and link it from the old one.

2. Rewrite the title and description

If a page ranks well but gets few clicks, the result itself may be the problem. Make sure the title contains the main phrase people search, says plainly what the page offers and gives a reason to click. Write a description that answers the query in a sentence. This is the cheapest change on the list, and it can lift clicks even before rankings move.

3. Cover the topic properly

Compare your page with the ones above it. What questions do they answer that you do not? What details, examples, prices or specifics are missing from yours? Add what is genuinely useful, not padding.

Check the queries your page already appears for in Search Console. They often reveal subtopics people want covered. A short section answering each one can widen the page's reach and strengthen its main ranking.

4. Strengthen internal links

Internal links tell Google which pages matter on your site. Find your strongest related pages, such as popular blog posts, key categories or the home page, and link from them to the page you want to lift, using descriptive anchor text. Make sure the page is not buried several clicks deep. This is a quick change that is often overlooked.

5. Fix technical problems

Check the page loads fast on mobile, is indexed under the URL you expect, and has the right canonical tag. Look for duplicate or near-duplicate pages competing for the same query and merge them where it makes sense, with a 301 redirect from the weaker one. Add structured data where it fits the content.

6. Build authority where needed

If the pages above you have far stronger link profiles, on-page work may only get you so far. A few relevant links from well-read sites pointed at the page itself, not just your home page, can make the difference. Do this after the on-page fixes, so the links point at a page that deserves to rank.

Measure and repeat

Note the date of each change and the page's position, clicks and impressions before you made it. Check again after a few weeks, compared with the same period before. Expect some movement up and down while Google reassesses the page.

Then repeat the exercise. Your striking distance list changes as pages move up and new queries appear, so working through it regularly turns one-off wins into a steady habit.

Where to go next

For a quick health check of your site, try the free site score. If you want a senior strategist to find and work through these opportunities with you, read about our SEO service.