Rising Keywords Report

Keywords gaining momentum with significant position improvements

The Rising Keywords report highlights keywords where your rankings are improving rapidly. These are keywords gaining momentum, and they represent your best opportunity to turn small wins into big ones by doubling down with targeted optimization.

When Google starts ranking you higher for a keyword, it means your content is resonating. A little extra effort at this point can push you significantly higher.

How the report works

The report identifies keywords that meet these criteria:

  • 25% or greater position improvement week-over-week
  • At least 30 impressions in the current week

The report is sorted by position change percentage, so the fastest-improving keywords appear first.

Example: rising keyword momentum

Your keyword "project management for remote teams" moved from position 20 last week to position 14 this week.

Position improvement: (20 - 14) / 20 = 30%
This keyword qualifies for the report and is heading in the right direction. With some targeted optimization, you could push it to page 1.

Why keywords rise

Several things can cause a keyword to gain ranking momentum:

  • Fresh content: You recently updated or published the page, and Google is rewarding the freshness
  • New backlinks: Someone linked to your page, boosting its authority for that keyword
  • Improved engagement: Users are spending more time on your page or clicking through at a higher rate, signaling quality to Google
  • Competitor decline: A competitor's page dropped, and yours moved up to fill the gap
  • Internal linking: New internal links from other pages on your site are passing authority

How to capitalize on rising keywords

A rising keyword already has momentum. The goal is to keep it going and push it as high as possible. Here's how:

  1. Don't change what's working: If the page recently got an update that triggered the rise, don't overhaul it. Make incremental improvements instead
  2. Add internal links: Find 3-5 relevant pages on your site and link to the rising page. This gives it an additional authority boost right when Google is already favoring it
  3. Improve the content: Add more depth, answer related questions, or include better examples. Make it the definitive resource for that topic
  4. Create supporting content: Write related articles that link back to the rising page. This builds topical authority and sends stronger relevance signals
  5. Optimize on-page elements: Make sure the target keyword is in your title tag, H1, meta description, and first paragraph
  6. Watch it closely: Track this keyword daily for the next few weeks. If it stalls, try additional optimizations. If it keeps climbing, let it ride
Strategy: Rising keywords that are currently at positions 11-20 deserve the most attention. They're gaining momentum and close to page 1. A targeted push now could break them through to page 1 where traffic increases dramatically. Cross-reference with your Quick Wins report to find keywords that appear in both.