how to track referrer keyword when using htaccess

Hi guys,
I have my php site with the usual htaccess setup, so that i can use urls like: /article/name

however, how does one go about tracking a keyword variable with this setup....

because if i try using: /article/name?kw=whatever
or: /article/name?q=searchquery

the url works fine, but i just cant track the kw variable (or whatever the search var might be). I guess that after the .htaccess does its work, the kw variable doesnt seem to exist in a way that i can get its value. Is there a way to do this ??

thanks in advance

Maybe the $_SERVER["REDIRECT_QUERY_STRING"] variable would work?