Google Search Console (GSC) is a free Google service helping website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site’s presence in Google Search, offering tools to see how Google crawls/indexes it, fix errors (like indexing or spam), view search performance (clicks, impressions, queries), and submit sitemaps to improve visibility and traffic.
What Is Google Search Console Performance Report?
The Performance Report shows how your website performs in Google Search results.
If you want to improve your website’s SEO, Google Search Console Performance Report is one of the most powerful free tools available.
The Performance report shows how often your website appears on Google, how many people click it, which keywords work, and where SEO improvements are needed
- You can find all the questions like
- How many people saw my site on Google?
- How many users clicked my website?
- Which keywords bring traffic?
- Which pages rank on page 1 or page 2?
- Why impressions are high but clicks are low?
Main Metrics in Performance Report (Top Section)
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Total Clicks | How many times users clicked your site |
| Total Impressions | How many times your site appeared in search results |
| Average CTR | Click Through Rate (Clicks ÷ Impressions) |
| Average Position | Average ranking position on Google |
Here is Sample Data For You
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Clicks | 1,200 |
| Total Impressions | 45,000 |
| Average CTR | 2.7% |
| Average Position | 12.4 |
What actually the above table shows
45,000 impressions → Google showed your site 45,000 times
1,200 clicks → Users clicked 1,200 times
CTR 2.7% → Out of 100 impressions, 3 users clicked. Formula for CTR is CTR = (Clicks/Impression)*100
Position 12.4 → Mostly ranking on page 2
Graph Section (Clicks, Impressions Trend)
his graph shows daily performance.
Example:
Blue line = Clicks
Purple line = Impressions
How to analyze:
Impressions increasing = Google visibility improving
Clicks not increasing = Problem with title/description (low CTR)
Sudden drop = Algorithm update / technical issue
Performance Report Tabs (Very Important)
In Performance report queries, pages, countries, devices, search apperance days tabs are available. lets see one by one.
1. Queries (Keywords)
| Query | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seo intern interview questions | 320 | 4,800 | 6.6% | 5.2 |
| types of seo | 210 | 12,000 | 1.7% | 14.3 |
| on page seo checklist | 90 | 3,200 | 2.8% | 11.8 |
- High impressions + low CTR → Improve title & meta description
- Position 8–15 → Easy ranking improvement opportunity
- High CTR → Content matches search intent
2. Pages
| Page URL | Clicks | Impressions | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| /seo-intern-interview-guide/ | 450 | 8,200 | 6.1 |
| /types-of-seo/ | 380 | 15,500 | 13.8 |
| /ai-tools-digital-marketing/ | 200 | 10,000 | 10.5 |
- Pages with high impressions but low clicks need better CTR
- Pages ranking between 8–15 can be pushed to page 1
- Top pages = focus for internal linking
3. Countries
| Country | Clicks |
|---|---|
| India | 820 |
| USA | 210 |
| UAE | 90 |
| UK | 80 |
Use Case : Local SEO optimization, Language or content targeting, Country-specific keywords
4. Devices
| Device | Clicks |
|---|---|
| Mobile | 720 |
| Desktop | 420 |
| Tablet | 60 |
- If mobile traffic is high, mobile optimization is critical
- Low mobile CTR = poor mobile UX or long titles
5. Search Appearance
Shows rich results performance (if enabled) like FAQ Rich Results, Breadcrumbs, Video Results.
| Appearance | Clicks |
|---|---|
| Web Result | 1,050 |
| FAQ Rich Result | 150 |
Below is a complete, beginner-friendly table of all important terminologies / parameters used in the Google Search Console Performance Report, with meaning, formula, and SEO usage.
| Terminology / Parameter | Where You See It | Meaning (Simple) | Formula / Source | Why It Is Important for SEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clicks | Top metrics, Queries, Pages | Number of times users clicked your site from Google Search | Counted by Google | Shows actual organic traffic |
| Impressions | Top metrics, Queries, Pages | Number of times your site appeared in search results | Counted by Google | Shows visibility on Google |
| CTR (Click-Through Rate) | Top metrics, Queries, Pages | Percentage of users who clicked after seeing your result | (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100 | Low CTR = poor title/meta |
| Average Position | Top metrics, Queries, Pages | Average ranking position of your page or keyword | Google ranking average | Helps identify page 1 / page 2 keywords |
| Queries | Queries tab | Search terms users typed on Google | Search queries data | Helps find keywords bringing traffic |
| Pages | Pages tab | Website pages appearing in Google Search | URL-level data | Identifies top and weak pages |
| Countries | Countries tab | Countries from where users searched | Location data | Useful for Local & International SEO |
| Devices | Devices tab | Device used by users (Mobile, Desktop, Tablet) | Device tracking | Helps improve mobile SEO |
| Search Appearance | Search Appearance tab | How your site appears in search results | Rich result data | Improves CTR using schema |
| Date Range | Filter | Time period selected (7, 28, 90 days, custom) | User selection | Compare SEO performance |
| Search Type | Filter | Type of search: Web, Image, Video, News | Google data | Analyze different search channels |
| Web Search | Search Type | Standard Google web results | Default | Primary SEO focus |
| Image Search | Search Type | Traffic from Google Images | Image results | Useful for image SEO |
| Video Search | Search Type | Traffic from video results | Video results | Useful for YouTube & video SEO |
| Rich Results | Search Appearance | Enhanced results like FAQ, Breadcrumb | Schema-based | Increases CTR |
| Page 1 Keywords | Derived | Keywords ranking in positions 1–10 | Position metric | Primary traffic drivers |
| Page 2 Keywords | Derived | Keywords ranking in positions 11–20 | Position metric | Easy ranking improvement |
| Low-Hanging Keywords | Derived | High impressions, position 8–15 | Query analysis | Quick SEO wins |
| Branded Queries | Queries | Searches with brand name | Query analysis | Brand awareness tracking |
| Non-Branded Queries | Queries | Searches without brand name | Query analysis | Growth opportunity keywords |
| Average Daily Clicks | Derived | Clicks per day in selected period | Clicks ÷ Days | Traffic consistency |
| Performance Trend | Graph | Clicks & impressions over time | Visual graph | Identify growth or drop |
| Query Filter | Filter | Filter data by specific keyword | Manual filter | Deep keyword analysis |
| Page Filter | Filter | Analyze a single URL | Manual filter | Page-level SEO analysis |
| Country Filter | Filter | View data from one country | Manual filter | Local SEO insights |
| Device Filter | Filter | View device-specific data | Manual filter | UX & mobile optimization |
| Comparison Mode | Date filter | Compare two time periods | Date comparison | Track SEO growth |
The Google Search Console Performance Report is one of the most valuable tools for anyone learning or practicing SEO. It provides real, reliable data directly from Google, helping beginners understand how their website appears in search results and how users interact with it. By analyzing key parameters such as clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, queries, pages, devices, and countries, you can identify what is working well and where improvements are needed.
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