Related searches are the list of other queries Google shows on a results page, usually at the bottom, that you can click to run a new search. They are one of the blocks covered in our guide to Google SERP features. This page sticks to what Google itself has said about them, how they differ from their neighbours, and how to use them when you research keywords.
What Google says about related searches
Google names the block in its Visual Elements gallery, the Search Central reference for the parts of a results page. Under “exploration features”, it says: “A related searches group is a cluster of related searches that other people have done. Tapping or clicking a related search takes the user to another search results page. These searches are automatically generated based on the initial query and other things people have searched for.”
Google’s Search Help page on refining searches says much the same: “After a search, you find related searches to what you originally searched for. Related searches are automatically generated based on what our systems understand about how people search.”
Both pages use the words “automatically generated”. Neither page describes a way for a site owner to add, edit or remove one.
Where related searches appear
The usual spot is the bottom of the results page. That is how Google described them in a March 2009 Official Google Blog post, when it expanded the feature: related searches are “the terms found at the bottom, and sometimes at the top, of the search results page.” The same post said the new version was rolling out “starting today in 37 languages all around the world.”
The position has been tested since. In February 2021, Search Engine Roundtable reported Google testing a related searches carousel that stuck to the top of mobile results as you scrolled, so “those related searches just hang out at the top of the search results even if you scroll past them.” It was reported as a test.
Are related searches real searches?
People ask. The top regular result in our DataForSEO SERP check for ‘related searches’, google.com US, 4 Nov 2026, was a 2012 WebmasterWorld forum thread asking whether Google’s related searches are actual user searches.
Google’s two descriptions point in slightly different directions. The gallery calls them searches “that other people have done.” The Help page is looser: they are based on “what our systems understand about how people search,” which is not the same as a list of exact queries. So treat each related search as a sign that people search in that direction, and check the demand in a keyword tool before you build a page around one.
Can you turn off related searches?
“How do I get rid of related searches?” was the first People Also Ask question in the same SERP check. The only Google control we found is on its help page for managing autocomplete predictions, under the heading “Turn off related searches”: “If you’re not signed in to your Google Account, Google shows you searches that are like your recent ones.” To stop them, Google says to turn off Search customization in Search settings.
That covers searches like your recent ones while you are signed out. It doesn’t say it removes the related searches block at the bottom of the results page, and we found no Google setting that does.
How related searches differ from People Also Ask and People Also Search For
People Also Ask is a box of questions rather than search terms. The same gallery calls it a “related questions group”: “a cluster of questions that are related to what the user initially searched for (also known as ‘People Also Ask’).” Expanding a question opens an answer inside the box, while clicking a related search takes you to a new results page. Our guide to what People Also Ask is covers the box in full.
People Also Search For is a separate block with its own behaviour. We explain it on our page about people also search for, so we won’t repeat it here.
How to use related searches for keyword research
Google suggests this use itself. In the gallery’s introduction to exploration features it says: “While you can’t control what shows up here, it can be helpful to pay attention to the related search queries when you’re thinking about topics you could write about for your site.”
A simple way to work through them:
- Search your main topic and scroll to the bottom. Note each related search. Some are rewordings of your query. Others point at a subtopic you haven’t covered yet.
- Click through one level. Each click opens a new results page, which often has its own related searches, so a few clicks show how the topic branches.
- Sort what you find. Decide which terms deserve their own page and which belong as a section on a page you already have. The question-shaped ones are question keywords, and they usually make the best headings.
- Check demand somewhere else. The block has no numbers, so confirm volume in a keyword tool before you commit.
Related searches give you short phrases. For full questions, People Also Ask is the richer source, and our guide to people also ask keyword research shows how to work through it. PAA Box is our Chrome extension, and it reads People Also Ask questions. It does not read related searches, so this block is still a job you do by hand.
Not the same as related searches in Google Trends
Google Trends uses the same name for something else. Its help page on finding related searches says that in Trends “you see searches related to your term in the related searches sections at the bottom of the page,” split into top searches and rising searches, usually with a growth percentage for each rising term. That makes Trends a useful second check on a term you found at the bottom of a Google results page.