Since this month, it has become apparent that the total impressions in the Google Search Console are lower compared to prior months. While it could look alarming, there is no reason to panic. In this article, we will explain why the total impressions in your Google Search Console are lower compared to prior months. Also, we will give you a brief explanation about the Google algorithm and how it could affect your position in Google. Read more.
Why is Google Search Console an important analytical tool?
The Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool offered by Google which helps you monitor technical SEO health and site performance based on metrics such as clicks, impressions, etc. It shows several metrics which can help website owners to create a better experience for users and gain more traffic. According to Semrush, there are a few possibilities in Google Search Console:
- Review how your site is performing on Google
- See which pages Google can find and index on your site
- Submit sitemaps and individual URLs for crawling
- Identify technical SEO errors
- And much more (2023)
In their article, they explain in depth how to set up the Google Search Console. You can read that here.
What changed in the Google Search Console and the view of total impressions?
At the beginning of September, some of our clients notified us that something was wrong in their Google Search Console. They explained to us that their impressions dropped hugely compared to months prior. So together with the client, we started to research exactly what was happening.
Google is in control of our impressions and experience. So in the first instance, it seemed as if Google made a change in their algorithm, which caused different results in the search engine. But this is not the case. We will explain our findings with the graphic you see below. More about the Google algorithm can be read below.
The graphic demonstrates two different measures. The purple one shows the total impressions and the orange one shows the average position in the search engine. A brief explanation of the two measures: total impressions demonstrates how many times your website is viewed in the search engine and the average position demonstrates if your website has a high position in the search engine.
By just looking at the graphic without any background information, it indeed looks like the impressions of your website has lowered. But it also shows that the average position has gone up. These two measurements are contradicting. So how is it possible that the average position has gone up, but the total impressions down?
Google Search Console changed their parameters for measuring total impressions
Several sources are reporting the reason for this sudden drop. They are stating that Google changed their parameter, which plays a big role in the measurement of the impressions. The parameter first allowed for 100 search results per page. Users and SEO tools made use of this parameter. However, and this is not confirmed yet by Google, but the sources are stating that Google got rid of the parameter.
This means that when you search in the Google search engine, only a few results are shown on the first page. To see more results, you have to navigate to the next page. But also on this page, only a few results are shown. The sources are saying that this has an effect on the way the total impressions are now being measured in Google Search Console.
The change in the parameter only has an effect on how the numbers are now shown, not on the actual impressions themselves.
But how do I know that my total impressions are not affected by the change of the parameter?
It is always important to check different analytics to see how your website is performing. Has your total impression gone down? Check other analytics such as clicks, traffic, and conversion rates to see if there is a change. If that is still stable, there is a big possibility that there is no problem with your website impressions. While website impressions are an important metric, the clicks, traffic, and conversion rates tell more about the performance of your website.
About the Google Algorithm and how it exactly works
Google is a big company with many services. One of the services we all know is the search engine. Millions of users use the search engine daily. But how exactly does it work? The search engine is built on an algorithm which is designed by Google. This algorithm, however, navigates in a black box. What is a black box? A black box is a system where we can see the inputs and the outputs, but the internal workings are unknown. What we can conclude is that we don’t have an understanding of how the Google algorithm in detail works.
However, we do know that affordances influence the Google Algorithm. How do we define an affordance? An affordance offers the possibility to take action on a certain object or environment. So, in simpler words, an affordance offers the potential to influence how the algorithm is picking up your website. A perfect example is the possibility for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). When websites have a solid SEO foundation, they are more likely to be picked up by the Google Algorithm, which offers them a higher position in the search engine.
In conclusion, we only know a few factors which influence the Google algorithm. But it remains a mystery how the Google Algorithm is exactly built. The downside of this is that Google can make changes in their algorithm, which changes websites’ positions in the search engine. This situation occurs from time to time, which leaves many individuals with questions about why their position in the search engine changed. It is important to keep this information in the back of your mind when a change occurs.
In this specific case, however, your position in the search engine is not changed. Only the way the numbers are shown in Google Search Console.
If you have any questions regarding this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact us via this link.