Over the last few weeks, Google Search Console has been experiencing some difficulties in updating the data on its Search Analytics. Logging in to your screen, you will realize that both the click data and the Impression indicated by the Search Analytics are not current. This should be received as a surprise because it was only last week that Google begun fixing it after having stalled for over a week. Now it is almost over a week and we are still experiencing the same problems. I wonder what could be the problem with Google Search Console because the problem is becoming too much.

What is the role of Search Analytics Report?

The Search Analytics Report indicates how frequently your site appears in Google search results. Additionally, it filters and groups data by categories such as date, device, or search query. You can use these results to improve your site’s search performance, as follows:

• Observe which pages have record the lowest and the (highest) click-through rate from Google search results.
• Find out which queries are made on Smartphones, and exploit this to advance your mobile targeting.
• Learn where your search traffic comes from, how it changes over time, and what search queries are more likely to show on your site.

How to Read the Report

The following are easy ways of reading the Search Analytics Report:

• To change how data are grouped: Pick a grouping property, such as Pages, or queries.
• To change the metrics shown: Pick one or more metric checkboxes at the top of the report.
• To filter your data: Choose the filter dropdown located below the group type as described in the “Filtering your data.”

To compare different group values: Choose Compare in the dropdown under a “grouping selection.” With the compare feature, you can easily compare values in one grouping category one at a time.

Choosing Which Metrics to Display

The following metrics are accessible on the Search Analytics Report:

• Clicks – The total count of clicks from a results page that directed the user on your property.
• Impressions – Total number of links to your site that were seen by a user saw on Google search results, albeit the link was not scrolled into view.
• Click-through rate (CTR) –The sum of all the users who click on your site’s link. In case a row of data does not have Impressions, the CTR will be indicated as a dash (-). This is because if there are no Impressions CTR would be divided by zero.
• Position – The average of the topmost result from your site.

Normally, Clicks, CTR, Impressions, Position, and Values change depending on whether you aggregate the results by page or by site.

Update from Google Regarding the Current Problem with the Search Analytics Report

An update posted on Google+ by Zineb Ait Bahajji, an analyst expert at the Google Webmaster Trends indicates that Google is aware of the delays and is working hard to fix it. Here is the real update by Bahajji:

“Since 12th November 2015, Google has been aware that the Search Analytics feature has not been normally functioning.

The team in charge is currently busy trying to fix it.

We expect the Search Analytics to start performing as normal as soon as possible.”

This is good news, particularly because the data on the Search Analytics will prove critical to most of the users especially as we are approaching the busy December holiday festive. Most people would be looking to take advantage of the data provided by the Search Analytics to better their sites in readiness for the December shopping spree.