Search visibility doesn't have a single formula that all tools share. The meaning of the numbers varies depending on whether you are looking at actual search exposure or estimating the ranking of selected keywords.
First, decide what visibility you want
Impressions in Search Console are the number of times your site appears in Google search results. On the other hand, a rank tracking tool's visibility score may be an estimate using selected keywords, search volume, ranking weight, etc. Instead of comparing the two figures in the same unit, the target search engine, keyword list, and aggregation method are included in the report.
Search Console performance report Provides number of clicks, impressions, click-through rate, and average position. Average position is an average of aggregated search results, so it may differ from the ranking you get when you manually enter a specific search term.
The same increase in exposure is interpreted differently
- Increase in brand searches: Let's check whether demand for the brand has increased through advertisements or news.
- Increase in product line searches: Look for exposure to categories and key product pages that new customers are looking for.
- Increase in informational searches: Check whether the document answers the visitor's question and links to the page required for further verification.
For example, if overall impressions have increased but clicks on your priority product page have decreased, it is difficult to determine improvement based on totals alone. Conversely, if exposure to searches unrelated to your business decreases and relevant inquiries increase, decreased exposure does not mean failure.
Set comparison conditions
Match the period, country, device, and search type and compare changes by page group. Seasonality and changes in search demand should also be checked. Guide to analyzing traffic loss from Google It also explains how to distinguish between seasonality and changes in interest, as well as technical issues.
Visibility measures an early stage before sales. Separate conversion data is used to check whether interested people actually visited and whether they made inquiries or purchases. We do not confirm business attribution to a page just because it ranks high.