Discover the exact keywords driving your organic and paid traffic, understand rankings, analyze performance trends, and uncover opportunities to grow visibility.

## **🧭 How to Access Keywords**

![Keywords in the left sidebar](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/xx2wxnfz/2185786023/607bb638f126d9a1ea61979774e3/image.png?expires=1786860000&signature=c05092c85be474477f8aa9f57edd3f4cf17a784424e186391499d859c46b5203&req=diEvE852m4FdWvMW3nq%2BgeHl7y1FiJ9SpFEpsM5KqwFIdjoj9KR%2B8fTr2YEm%0A4SzqrGYtF%2F9X0Tg2MUwnFKJe9m8%3D%0A)

![Keywords link in the left-side navigation](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/xx2wxnfz/2185781438/70ee4d6a8523eb30a6c6e5e3ee86/image.png?expires=1786860000&signature=1bc9a75e4cc2fbe3a1ce475dc2d2fc6fa900cabcfb2b2b4291d0158dfc3a871a&req=diEvE852nIVcUfMW3nq%2BgT9pPhFFBUFY9BsapwjKF68vOkiq7xx5eeFRVAUe%0A9yK69bGVRsHKDB71TfkYmcJkw3E%3D%0A)

Click Site Metrics in the left sidebar, then click Keywords in the left-side navigation. Enter your domain (for example, nike.com) in the search bar, select Domain, choose a country (for example, United States), and click Search.

## **🧱 Keywords Module Overview**

![Organic Keywords and Paid Keywords tabs](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/xx2wxnfz/2185787774/90828f86fc3257da56c713228e41/image.png?expires=1786860000&signature=8843ec825505c07c98aed790958b41a8396405c9ecc6ad70851425c01d259775&req=diEvE852moZYXfMW3nq%2Bge%2B08hE%2FMupALYCIf88ilsEDREK3d9OxXk6TgYGD%0AJseUeChxKPX%2BIchJnvux6716XYc%3D%0A)

Inside the Keywords section, you'll find two main tabs: Organic Keywords and Paid Keywords. Each tab provides a different perspective on how your domain performs in search.

## **🌱 Organic Keywords**

This tab shows all the keywords your domain ranks for in organic (non-paid) search results. At the top of the page, you'll see three key metrics:

- **Organic Keywords** — the total number of keywords your domain ranks for within the top 100 Google results.
- **Organic Traffic** — the estimated number of monthly visits your domain receives from organic search.
- **Organic Traffic Cost** — the estimated cost of acquiring that same traffic via Google Ads (CPC equivalent).

## **📋 Paid Keywords**

Similar to organic, but focused on paid performance, including keywords, positions, traffic, volume, CPC, and landing pages.

## **📈 Keyword Position History**

![Keyword position history chart](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/xx2wxnfz/2185790921/12a3c2216b7fd73c749131260dc6/image.png?expires=1786860000&signature=eff17e271551dea175e223c4c9326291701855dafc91a74937695c4732831f4b&req=diEvE853nYhdWPMW3nq%2BgfnH6aoN8sfMjEk14ATNXz26xHuTb61YlHB5y2nO%0A3bT8OuWhM3WJcPwVQC2t4S71nAo%3D%0A)

This chart visualizes how keyword rankings evolve over time. You can toggle between Keyword Position History, Traffic, and Traffic Cost. For organic keywords, positions are grouped into Top 3, Position 4–10, Position 11–20, Position 21–50, Position 51–100, and SERP Features. For paid keywords, groups are Top 3, Position 4–9, Position 9+, and SERP Features. Time ranges include 3M, 6M, 1Y, 2Y, and All time.

## **⚡ Table Actions**

When at least one keyword is selected, an Add to dropdown lets you add keywords to a Keyword List or Rank Tracker, and a Create article action opens a Select BrandVault modal so each selected keyword can be used to create a separate article. An Export action downloads the keyword dataset, and columns such as Traffic and Monthly S. Volume can be sorted by clicking their headers.

## **📋 Keywords Table**

![Keywords table with performance columns](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/xx2wxnfz/2185789651/1bae8efb050a9e54d1ac8a86a59f/image.png?expires=1786860000&signature=68a61093f8917190e12ab5976e55d312684221b9b3c33751c23445c42b7e7ebd&req=diEvE852lIdaWPMW3nq%2BgdZ6UsMpnX%2FzPB8Kq82u%2BXvrMc%2FE9tn5aYlhS8Lj%0A1CtvxSW3mYRLmZwgbggLexGrCVg%3D%0A)

Below the chart, the full keyword dataset is displayed with columns for Keyword, Search Intent, Prev, Curr, Diff, Position Serps, Traffic, Monthly S. Volume, CPC, KD, URL, and SERP Feat.

- **Keyword** — the search query your domain ranks for, with a checkbox for bulk actions.
- **Search Intent** — labeled Informational, Navigational, Commercial, or Transactional; a keyword can carry more than one intent.
- **Position Serps** — displays SERP feature type using icons.
- **Traffic** — the estimated organic traffic of the analyzed domain (per country).
- **Monthly S. Volume** — estimated monthly search demand.
- **CPC** — estimated cost-per-click in Google Ads.
- **KD** — Keyword Difficulty score, shown as a numeric badge.
- **URL** — the ranking page for the keyword.

## **🎛️ Filters and Controls**

You can filter by reporting month, by keyword (Contains, Word match, Exact match, Begins with, Ends with, Does not contain), by search intent, by position range (Top 3/10/20/50, #1, #4–10, #11–20, #21–50, #51–100, or a custom range), by traffic or search volume range, by CPC range, and by position type (All, Organic, SERP Features). An advanced filter builder lets you combine multiple conditions with include or exclude logic.

## **🧠 Key Differences: Organic vs Paid**

- **Traffic source:** Organic keywords come from SEO (Google rankings); paid keywords come from Google Ads.
- **Cost:** Organic traffic is free (with an estimated value shown); paid traffic has a real spend.
- **Strategy:** Organic relies on content and SEO; paid relies on bidding and ad campaigns.
- **Metrics:** Organic tracks rankings, traffic, and difficulty; paid tracks spend, CPC, and ad positions.

## **🎯 How to Use Keywords Strategically**

Filter for keywords ranking in positions 4–20 and optimize pages to push them into the Top 3. Use Search Intent to align content type, and Create Article to scale content production. Analyze high-volume, low-KD keywords to identify gaps in ranking coverage, and use Organic Traffic Cost alongside Paid Traffic Cost for budget and ROI decisions.

The Keywords section in Site Explorer gives you a complete view of how your domain performs across search queries, whether through organic rankings or paid campaigns. It lets you track keyword rankings over time, understand traffic potential and value, filter and segment keyword data, and build SEO and PPC strategies based on real performance.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.