Something does not add up with WMTs search analytics data
-
we recently replatformed our main site and switched to https. For the first 2-3 weeks after we moved organic traffic was great, we did not lose any ( increased a little), but then it dropped off significantly. Attached is a screenshot from one of our main keywords that dropped off.
You can see click (blue) and impressions (red) dropped off, and the position became unstable, but in the last week it has stabilised to about the same position it was before, but the clicking and impressions are still very low.
The keyword is generic (for our industry) and there would not be any major seasonal changes in the search volume. I can't make sense of this data, could be be wrong?
-
Hard to match up with analytics since the landing page is the home page. Over all there has been an drop in organic traffic, but it looks like most of it is long tail and some smaller drops on some keywords, but that keyword was the standout loss.
Yes I track on Moz, it show no major drops at any stage ( just from 2-4, but that should not have effected impressions I would have thought)
attached is an update of WMTs, which is started to show impressions and clicks starting to come back, not to what it was, but its something
I thinking John might have been on to something and that maybe that a local results or something like that had been pushing the result down
-
Thanks! Does the "click" data and trends match up with your visits from Google Organic search in Analytics?
Also - do you track rankings separately (in Moz or another rank tracker) - have those changed?
-
Paddy
Is there a "new" news feed on the SERP?
I have a site where we were in position 6 - trading ok and have now been pushed to page 2 - in position 6. Impressions plummeted as well...
-
I understand why you might come to that conclusion, but its very generic keyword for our industry, and the number of searches have constant for years. For example its like saying users are not searching for "cars" anymore.
-
yes the graph is from the https version, but I have attached a picture of the last 90 days for the http version
-
Did you register a "new" site in webmaster tools for the https version? The old account for http won't work anymore, and you should have all your new impression data in the new https version. Google calls these different "site variants".
-
Ok, nope cannot assist. There are some discrepancies between SA beta and old SA I thought that may explain it.
It maybe people are just searching less for that keyword... really only conclusion I can think of at the moment.
-
search analytics beta, but I also checked with the old version as its showing the same thing
-
Paddy
I think I know the answer. Are you now using the new "search analytics beta"? or the old search analytics.
-
Hi John
My main point is that the WMTs is reporting the same position but the impression have dropped off which does not make any sense to me.
"but I am starting to get concerning on backlink issue" what do you mean, I have done 1000s of redirects linking the correct old pages to the new pages. Also I have been keeping an eye on the crawl errors, and most errors are for pages that have been removed off the site years ago (wmts doesn't ever give a link to where the source of the links are from)
But even if there was an issue with back links it does not explain why wmts is reporting no drop in position, but a drop in impressions
-
Paddy
Hard to work out from the data we have - but I am starting to get concerning on backlink issue. Two weeks after the site went live and time for the google bots to do a clean sweep.
I note impressions should be similar in position 2 as to 4 - it should be your CTR that changes.
Good luck not sure I can assist.
-
There are other oddities like this with other keywords, but nothing as extreme as this
-
yeah, unfortunately, its the home page, which gets a traffic from a few keywords. But it has had a drop in traffic. Other metrics, bounce rate sightly higher, less page views, longer sessions, but no huge spikes/drops
-
Yes, the search engine optimization part is taken from WMT--I was asking about the actual Google Analytics piece. The keyword in question is associated with a particular web page, yes? If you look at the Google Analytics stats on that page, what do you see? Presumably a big drop in sessions. Has anything else changed about the behavior associated with the sessions?
-
Ah ok, get you. But yeah yeah about the same data, High impressions for the first week of so , then a drop, but yeah more impressions I got I was in position 2-4
-
Are you talking about "Search Engine Optimisation"? its that not use pulled from WMTs?
But yeah its showing the same type of thing
-
I think that what John is referring to is the two ways you can look at search analytics in WMT. You can toggle back and forth between the way it used to be reported and the beta view that was more recently rolled out.
-
Oh, and one other question, is it just this keyword, or are there others like this?
-
The chart is from WMTs not analytics
The average impression is now 12, but before the drop it was over 100
-
Do your Google Analytics numbers for the webpage associated with this keyword line up? They wouldn't be the same of course, but does it show the same drop?
-
-
not sure what you are asking
-
yes I used an exhaustive list of redirects ( over 10k of redirect rules
3) Not sure what you mean
Still its not really the drop in traffic I'm questioning, ( could be related to issue with TTFB we has and with has been addressed 2 weeks ago), but more why is wmts saying we are ranking about the same for that keyword, but the impressions (and clicks) have crashed
-
-
I used $pws=0 and we are 4th
but when I used a proxy, we are not on the first page . But moz's tracking is showing us in about 4th place too.
But no, there is now note about the certificate
-
Nothing obvious.
I noticed a possible similar problem on impressions - a few weeks ago, I looked into it - I changed from old search analytic's to the search analytic's (beta). I found out if you have not ticked page, then impressions for keywords often dropped considerably to the old search analytic's.
Old Search analytic's counted impressions differently and would double up if the URLs was listed twice in the SERP etc. Have you crossed checked your data with old search analytic's?
Also perhaps consider changing your title and meta description to something more clickable. 12 impressions is not much.. data, but maybe worth considering down the track.
-
Transitioning a site is a very sensitive build out.
-
Do you have the old URL structure and the new - I will look into a bit.
-
Did you use 301 redirects ?
-
Did you take down the old site of the server?
There are plenty more questions but this should get the ball rolling.
Web therapist,
Chenzo
-
-
Have you done an anonymized search for the keyword and looked at the result? Is there anything funny there, like a note about your certificate?
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does Search Console data include GMB traffic? Branded CTR is 37.8%- Good or Bad?
Hey all, Per Search Console our branded keyword CTR is 37.8%. But when that keyword is searched our GMB listing shows up on top of the #1 result. For the same 90 day period GMB shows another 35% visits to our GMB (based on the number of impressions and visits to our GMB page) listing when the same keyword is searched. My question is this. Does Search console data include clicks that came from our GMB listing or not? My thinking is like this: If GMB traffic is not calculated in search console then it means that 72.8% of people looking for our brand will end up on our site on way or another 9organic #1 result plus GMB listing visits) We are also doing PPC for this very keyword that has gets almost 20% of the remaining traffic. So after adding all up we are loosing about 8% of our branded traffic to people who are doing adwords. When you search our brand you normally see 2, 3 competitor's adwords ads. Does anyone know how this works exactly? And if you don't mind sharing your branded keyword CTR's, so I can compare to ours please. I would love to compare to a site that actually has a GMB listing ranking for the same keyword Thanks in advance, Davit
Reporting & Analytics | | Davit19850 -
Important updates on Google Analytics Data Retention and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Hi Everyone, I'm sure many of you received the email from Google over the past few days with the subject line: [Action Required] Important updates on Google Analytics Data Retention and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). I hope I'm not alone in not knowing what exactly this whole notification was in regards to. I realize it's for Data but are we no longer able to pull stats from the past? If anyone has a "dumbed down" explanation for what this update entails, I would be very interested - I don't want to miss out on any important updates and info, but I'm just not grasping this content. Below is the full email in its entirety for those who are interested as well: Dear Google Analytics Administrator,
Reporting & Analytics | | MainstreamMktg
Over the past year we've shared how we are preparing to meet the requirements of the GDPR, the new data protection law coming into force on May 25, 2018. Today we are sharing more about important product changes that may impact your Google Analytics data, and other updates in preparation for the GDPR. This e-mail requires your attention and action even if your users are not based in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Product Updates
Today we introduced granular data retention controls that allow you to manage how long your user and event data is held on our servers. Starting May 25, 2018, user and event data will be retained according to these settings; Google Analytics will automatically delete user and event data that is older than the retention period you select. Note that these settings will not affect reports based on aggregated data.
Action: Please review these data retention settings and modify as needed.
Before May 25, we will also introduce a new user deletion tool that allows you to manage the deletion of all data associated with an individual user (e.g. site visitor) from your Google Analytics and/or Analytics 360 properties. This new automated tool will work based on any of the common identifiers sent to Analytics Client ID (i.e. standard Google Analytics first party cookie), User ID (if enabled), or App Instance ID (if using Google Analytics for Firebase). Details will be available on our Developers site shortly.
As always, we remain committed to providing ways to safeguard your data. Google Analytics and Analytics 360 will continue to offer a number of other features and policies around data collection, use, and retention to assist you in safeguarding your data. For example, features for customizable cookie settings, privacy controls, data sharing settings, data deletion on account termination, and IP anonymization may prove useful as you evaluate the impact of the GDPR for your company’s unique situation and Analytics implementation.
Contract And User Consent Related Updates
Contract changes
Google has been rolling out updates to our contractual terms for many products since last August, reflecting Google’s status as either data processor or data controller under the new law (see full classification of our Ads products). The new GDPR terms will supplement your current contract with Google and will come into force on May 25, 2018.
In both Google Analytics and Analytics 360, Google operates as a processor of personal data that is handled in the service.
• For Google Analytics clients based outside the EEA and all Analytics 360 customers, updated data processing terms are available for your review/acceptance in your accounts (Admin ➝ Account Settings).
• For Google Analytics clients based in the EEA, updated data processing terms have already been included in your terms.
• If you don’t contract with Google for your use of our measurement products, you should seek advice from the parties with whom you contract.
Updated EU User Consent Policy
Per our advertising features policy, both Google Analytics and Analytics 360 customers using advertising features must comply with Google’s EU User Consent Policy. Google's EU User Consent Policy is being updated to reflect new legal requirements of the GDPR. It sets out your responsibilities for making disclosures to, and obtaining consent from, end users of your sites and apps in the EEA.
Action: Even if you are not based in the EEA, please consider together with your legal department or advisors, whether your business will be in scope of the GDPR when using Google Analytics and Analytics 360 and review/accept the updated data processing terms as well as define your path for compliance with the EU User Consent Policy.
Find Out More
You can refer to privacy.google.com/businesses to learn more about Google’s data privacy policies and approach, as well as view our data processing terms.
We will continue to share further information on our plans in the coming weeks and will update relevant developer and help center documentation where necessary.
Thanks,
The Google Analytics Team6 -
Google Analytic Bug For Browser Report
Hi All, I am checking browser report since many years today I was checking browser report what I find "DESKTOP" is showing in Browser & OS section with lots of traffic. Screenshot attached Is it google analytic bug? Can anyone please help me? PeGK7
Reporting & Analytics | | Arnold30 -
Block IP from analytics
How can I block an ip from analytics? basically so I do not see test orders from a certain ip in the sales performance section? Thanks for any help.
Reporting & Analytics | | tdigital0 -
Problem setting up new view in Analytics
Hi, I'm having problems finding where to set up a new view in Analytics. I have seen https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1009714?hl=en but get lost at point 3 (In the View column, click the menu, then click Create new view.) In the menu there is no option that I can see. If I go into the one view that is set up, I also can't see anything 'View Settings' that would allow me to copy the view and then modify it. Am I missing something? Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | Houses0 -
Analytics oddity
This one has me a bit puzzled... I was just conducting a bit of routine analysis on a client's site, when I noticed avg. traffic doubled on one particular day. Now, this was easy to spot, since avg daily traffic for this site is 100 per day. The site also has approximately 100 pages of content. Here is the odd part... the spike was clearly attributed to Direct traffic and from a specific network in Palo Alto. The Bounce Rate was 100% and it appears that every page on the site was visited - very briefly. Any clues as to what may have triggered this? A competitor maybe? An unkown bot? I am looking forward to your thoughts.
Reporting & Analytics | | SCW0 -
Campaign shows no traffic from Analytics
My campaaigns are connected to GA but traffic is zero for all campaigns
Reporting & Analytics | | berndheyer0 -
Tracing Google Analytics 'goal' back to original search phrase
I added Goals to my Google Analytics tracking. It's working; I get visitors who have completed Goals showing up in the reporting. My question is: Is it possible to trace backwards from a completed Goal to the original search phrase a user entered in Google to come to my site (for those who entered from Google.com via organic search result)? I'm trying to answer the question of which search phrases are resulting in completed Goals (as opposed to bouncing off the site or just any behaviour other than completing a Goal). It seems like this should be one of Analytics' default reports -- help identify which search phrases are converting well. It's probably there and I'm just not seeing it... Thanks.
Reporting & Analytics | | scanlin0