Where does UtilitySEO's keyword data come from?
On this page
Your positions, clicks and impressions come from your own Google Search Console, and search volumes, bids and 12-month trends come from Google's Keyword Planner through your connected Google Ads account. New keyword ideas come from Google Autocomplete (the suggestions Google shows as you type) and Keyword Planner. These are Google's own figures for your site, not estimates from a third-party keyword database.
Each number and where it comes from
| What you see | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Position, clicks, impressions, click rate | Search Console, Google's free report of how your site shows in search |
| Search volume, bids, trend | Keyword Planner, through your project's Google Ads connection |
| Difficulty | Worked out from Keyword Planner's competition, bids and volume |
| Keyword research and topic ideas | Google Autocomplete, plus Keyword Planner's related ideas when Google Ads is connected |
| History older than 16 months | Our own weekly copy of your Search Console data |
Without Search Console the Keywords page has nothing to show, so connect it first: see How do I connect Google Search Console?. Search volumes need Google Ads connected for the project: see search volume.
Our weekly copy of your data
Google keeps about 16 months of Search Console data. Once a week we save a copy of your searches and positions for each project, so your history keeps growing after Google deletes its oldest months. Tracked keywords, the Plan's before and after figures and the year-on-year comparisons are read from this copy.
Why our totals can differ from Search Console
- Google holds back rare searches. For privacy, Search Console leaves out searches made by very few people. They count in your site's total clicks but never appear as keyword rows, so the table always adds up to less than the site total.
- The market filter. The country picker on the Keywords page shows positions in one market. Search Console's own screens blend every country unless you filter them.
- Timing. Search Console's figures usually run two to three days behind, and a brand new property needs a few days before any data appears.
If a figure disagrees with Google's own screens, Google's is the authority. More on this in Why are my results different from other tools?
Questions people ask
Do you scrape Google search results?
No. We never scrape Google. Positions come from your own Search Console, and volumes from Google's Keyword Planner through the official Google Ads connection.
Is my keyword data shared with other customers?
No. Each project reads only its own Search Console property, and your searches are never shown to anyone outside your account. See How we use your Google data.
Why is my Keywords page empty?
Search Console is not connected for this project, or the property is too new to have data yet. See No keyword data yet.