Google Search Console has traditionally given website owners lists of individual search queries.
That information is valuable, but it creates a practical problem.
People can search for the same thing in many ways.
For example:
- how to create an ebook
- create ebook with AI
- AI ebook creation
- how can AI help write an ebook
- make an ebook using artificial intelligence
Analyzing every wording variation individually can hide the larger subject.
Google introduced Query groups in Search Console Insights to solve part of that problem.
Query groups use AI to organize similar searches by underlying interest. Google’s official announcement explains that the groups are intended to provide a higher-level view of related queries and do not affect ranking.
For content marketers, the useful question becomes:
What broader problems and themes are bringing people to the website?
What Are Search Console Query Groups?
Query groups collect related search queries into a broader theme.
Google’s own example shows multiple searches for essentially the same guacamole recipe being grouped together even though the wording differs.
The feature is useful because search behavior is messy.
People:
- Reorder words.
- Ask questions.
- Use short phrases.
- Misspell terms.
- Add qualifiers.
- Search in different languages.
- Describe the same problem differently.
A keyword-by-keyword view can make one audience interest look like ten unrelated topics.
Query grouping attempts to show the larger pattern.
Where Are Query Groups?
Google places Query groups in the Search Console Insights report.
The Queries leading to your site card organizes groups into:
- Top
- Trending up
- Trending down
Google also provides group-level clicks and allows users to drill into the underlying individual queries through the Performance report.
This gives you both levels of analysis:
Theme first.
Individual queries second.
Not Every Site Will See the Feature
This is important for small websites.
Google says Query groups are available only to properties with a sufficiently large volume of queries, because grouping is less useful when a property receives relatively few queries.
If you open Search Console Insights and do not see the feature, that does not necessarily mean anything is broken.
You can still analyze individual queries manually.
Start With Top Query Groups
The Top section tells you which grouped themes receive the most clicks.
Do not immediately create additional articles about every top group.
First ask:
Why is this theme already working?
Suppose a top group revolves around:
Google Search Console traffic analysis
Examine the pages receiving those clicks.
Ask:
- Which article is driving the group?
- Does the page fully answer the search need?
- Are several articles contributing?
- Is the traffic relevant to the site’s audience?
- Does the visitor have a logical next step?
A strong theme may deserve internal-link support or an updated resource rather than another article.
Use Trending-Up Groups to Spot Momentum
Trending-up groups can be particularly interesting because Google identifies groups whose clicks increased most compared with the previous period.
Suppose a theme such as:
AI assistant traffic analytics
begins trending upward.
Before publishing five new articles, investigate.
Ask:
- Which individual queries are inside the group?
- Which page receives the clicks?
- Is the increase sustained or temporary?
- Does the existing article answer related questions?
- Is there a genuinely different follow-up topic?
A rising group is an investigation signal.
It is not an automatic publishing order.
Drill Down Into the Individual Queries
The group title summarizes the theme.
The underlying queries reveal what people actually ask.
Google allows you to drill from the group into the granular Performance data.
Suppose the group is:
Digital Product Pricing
Inside it you might find:
- how much should an ebook cost
- price digital download
- digital product pricing strategy
- how to price first online course
- should digital products be cheap
Now you can distinguish different needs.
Perhaps your current article answers general pricing but never addresses course pricing.
That might justify an additional article.
Or perhaps the existing page can be improved with one new section.
Look for the Problem Behind the Queries
Do not treat a group as a bucket of keywords to insert into one article.
Ask:
What is the person trying to accomplish?
A group around:
- email welcome email
- first email to subscribers
- welcome sequence
- new subscriber emails
may represent the underlying problem:
A beginner does not know what should happen after someone joins the list.
That is the topic.
The keywords are evidence about how people describe it.
Compare Query Groups With Customer Questions
Search behavior becomes even more useful when it matches questions you hear directly from customers.
Suppose your Query groups show growing interest in:
content audits
and three subscribers recently asked:
Should I delete old blog posts?
Now you have two evidence sources pointing toward the same reader problem.
LeeOneMedia’s guide to turning customer questions into better blog content explains how direct audience questions can support stronger content decisions.
Use Trending-Down Groups Carefully
A declining query group does not automatically mean your article needs to be rewritten.
Possible explanations include:
- Seasonal demand.
- Changing search interest.
- A ranking change.
- Search-result changes.
- Competitor improvements.
- Technical problems.
- Content becoming outdated.
- Normal variation.
Investigate before editing.
Compare:
- Clicks.
- Impressions.
- CTR.
- Average position.
- Pages.
- Date ranges.
If several indicators decline together, examine the associated pages more closely.
Do Not Confuse a Query Group With Search Volume
Search Console reports how your own property performed.
It is not a general keyword-volume database.
A query group receiving many clicks on your site does not automatically mean it has enormous total Google search volume.
Similarly, a small group may still matter if it attracts highly relevant visitors.
Use the information for what it actually represents:
How search themes are interacting with your website.
Use Query Groups to Improve Existing Content
Suppose your article ranks for a group around:
beginner email marketing software
The underlying searches include:
- easiest email platform for beginners
- simple autoresponder software
- email marketing without complicated automation
- beginner newsletter platform
Your current article may discuss software features but ignore simplicity.
Instead of publishing another overlapping article, you could improve the existing page by adding:
What Makes an Email Platform Beginner-Friendly?
Then explain:
- Setup.
- Navigation.
- Forms.
- Welcome sequences.
- Automation.
- Support.
- Learning curve.
The group helped uncover an information gap.
Use Groups to Discover Legitimate New Topics
Sometimes the underlying search intent is clearly different.
Suppose an existing article is:
How to Use Google Search Console
but a rising query group centers around:
regex Search Console filters
That is a narrower technical task deserving separate depth.
LeeOneMedia already has a dedicated guide to using Regex in Google Search Console to find better content opportunities.
That is the kind of distinction you want.
The new article should do a different job.
Build a Three-Decision System
For each promising query group, choose one action.
Decision 1: Improve
Use when an existing article already matches the intent but needs more depth.
Decision 2: Create
Use when the queries reveal a clearly different question that deserves its own article.
Decision 3: Observe
Use when the trend is interesting but not strong enough to justify action.
This prevents every new data point from becoming another article.
Create a Query Group Content Worksheet
For each group, record:
Query Group:
[Theme]
Status:
Top / Trending Up / Trending Down
Primary Existing Page:
[URL]
Important Individual Queries:
[List]
Underlying Reader Problem:
[Problem]
Does Existing Content Answer It?
Yes / Partially / No
Best Action:
Improve / Create / Observe
Possible Internal Links:
[Existing pages]
Review Date:
[Date]
This creates a repeatable content-research process.
Use Google’s Other Search Data Alongside the Groups
Google’s July 2026 guidance for analyzing social and video content specifically points users toward top, trending-up, and trending-down Query groups as a way to understand themes that may deserve additional content attention.
The same principle is useful for website content.
But combine it with:
- Performance data.
- Your existing content inventory.
- Customer questions.
- Google Trends where appropriate.
- Conversion relevance.
- Editorial judgment.
No single report should control your content calendar.
Watch for Topic Duplication
One danger of query research is assuming every wording variation deserves a page.
Google’s Query groups exist partly because many differently worded searches express similar intent.
That should discourage unnecessary duplication.
If ten searches all mean:
How do I create a lead magnet?
you probably do not need ten articles.
You need one strong resource that answers the complete problem.
Combine Query Groups With Internal Linking
When several related topics exist legitimately, connect them.
For example:
Main Theme: Search Console Analysis
Supporting pages might cover:
- Regex.
- Traffic drops.
- Content audits.
- CTR.
- Branded queries.
- Query groups.
Each page should have a defined job.
Internal linking then helps readers move between those jobs.
LeeOneMedia’s guide on using internal links for SEO without stuffing links into every paragraph provides a practical linking approach.
A Monthly Query Group Routine
Once per month:
- Open Search Console Insights.
- Record the top groups.
- Record trending-up groups.
- Record trending-down groups.
- Drill into the most important ones.
- Compare them with existing articles.
- Choose one or two content actions.
- Ignore the rest until the next review.
That is enough.
You do not need to redesign the website every week.
Conclusion
Search Console Query groups can make search data easier to understand by combining related query variations into broader themes.
Use the Top groups to understand what already works, Trending Up groups to investigate emerging opportunities, and Trending Down groups to identify subjects that may deserve closer analysis.
Then drill into the actual searches before making a content decision.
The most useful outcome is not a longer keyword list.
It is a clearer decision:
Improve an existing page, create a genuinely different resource, or leave the topic alone.