Google updates Search Console performance analysis guidance

Google Search Advocate Daniel Waisberg published new guidance on December 4, 2024, explaining how to analyze website performance using Search Console's performance reports. The video addresses the complete workflow for interpreting search traffic data across Google Search, Discover, and Google News platforms.

The guidance focuses on three main reporting sections available through Search Console. Search Results provides data for Google Search impressions, clicks, and positions across Search, Image, Video, and News tabs. Discover shows data from Google Discover, including impressions and clicks for specific pages, though this report only appears for properties that have reached a minimum threshold of impressions. The News report covers data from news.google.com and the Google News app on Android and iOS, excluding the News tab in Google Search, which appears in the Search Results report when filtered to include the news search type.

According to the video, Search Console users should follow a specific analytical sequence: understand what data they are examining through controls and filters, review the chart area for quick performance overviews, then examine the table section for detailed insights. This methodology addresses a common challenge where marketers jump directly to data without first establishing proper context for their analysis.

Data controls represent the first critical element. The default date range spans three months, but users can adjust to view the last 28 days, seven days, or 24 hours with hourly breakdowns. All dates display in Pacific time except the 24-hour view, which shows data in local time based on browser settings. By default, Search Console shows only complete days, requiring users to select custom dates to view data from today or yesterday.

Compare mode enables temporal analysis across different periods. Users can compare last month's data to the previous month or the same month last year, helping identify significant changes in pages, queries, or countries driving traffic. This functionality has become increasingly important as Search Console added comparison mode for 24-hour data on July 16, 2025, addressing user demands for granular analysis tools.

Search type selection represents another important data control. By default, charts show only Web, which refers to the main tab on Google Search. Waisberg recommends checking performance on other tabs including Image, Video, and News when traffic originates from these sources. Users can compare two search types simultaneously to analyze how query and page performance differs between them.

Query filters provide specific analytical capabilities. Users can examine queries containing or excluding certain words or groups of words. The system also supports Branded and Non-branded query analysis. Branded queries mention the site's brand, domain, or brand-specific products and services, including common misspellings. Non-branded queries exclude these mentions. This categorization helps identify areas where audiences search for content directly related to brands versus general topic searches.

Chart analysis reveals audience behavior patterns and performance trends. According to the video, examining line shapes provides immediate insights about user engagement. The example site shown demonstrates significantly higher search volume during weekdays than weekends because it contains developer documentation primarily read when professionals work. Marketers can monitor drops or spikes in traffic through chart visualization and begin investigating underlying causes.

The guidance highlights custom chart annotations as a particularly valuable feature. Annotations enable users to add context about events affecting search traffic directly on performance charts. Users can mark important milestones such as feature launches or bug fixes on their websites. To add an annotation, users right-click the chart on the specific date they want to annotate, verify the date using the date picker, type their note in the text field, and click "Add."

Annotations appear for everyone with access to the property, including colleagues and vendors granted access by property owners. They remain visible regardless of applied filters but do not display in comparison mode or 24-hour views. Google officially launched annotations on November 17, 2025, with a 120-character limit per annotation, addressing what the platform described as a persistent challenge in tracking when specific changes occurred that might affect traffic patterns.

Performance metrics available through the chart include impressions, clicks, average click-through rate, and average position. Users click the metrics themselves to add or remove them from the chart. Adding or removing a metric from the chart automatically updates the table below, maintaining consistency between visualization and detailed data.

Tables enable detailed analysis of what drives performance changes. Users can examine queries, pages, countries, devices, search appearances, and specific dates. The guidance provides specific use cases for table analysis. If expected search queries do not appear, the site might lack sufficient useful content relevant to those queries. If important pages are missing from the Pages list, there might be technical issues requiring investigation through the Inspect URL tool.

When impression counts significantly exceed clicks, or when click-through rate remains very low for a query or page, Waisberg suggests considering the addition of images or structured data to make pages more attractive to search users. This recommendation aligns with broader content optimization strategies that leverage visual elements and structured markup to improve search visibility.

The Branded and Non-branded filter helps identify queries mentioning or excluding the site's brand, domain, or brand-specific products and services, including common misspellings. This analysis might reveal interesting areas where people search for content directly related to brands, informing both content strategy and brand awareness initiatives.

The guidance emphasizes that these examples represent only a fraction of information available through Performance tables. Waisberg encourages users to explore data comprehensively, suggesting "the sky is the limit" for analytical possibilities.

The training material arrives during a period of substantial Search Console development. Google integrated Search Console Insights into the main interface on June 30, 2025, replacing the standalone beta version to provide streamlined workflow access to essential performance insights. The platform has also addressed technical challenges, including data freezes affecting reporting and zero-traffic display bugs that temporarily disrupted performance monitoring.

The complexity of Search Console reporting has increased significantly with the integration of AI Mode data into performance totals starting June 17, 2025. Unlike previous search features that received separate categorization, AI Mode data merges with existing Web Search totals, preventing website owners from isolating AI Mode performance from traditional search results.

Search Console has also introduced query grouping using AI to consolidate similar search queries into unified clusters, addressing fragmentation challenges where dozens of query variations represent similar user intent. This feature, announced October 27, 2025, is available only to properties with large query volumes.

Recent enhancements include export functionality for 24-hour performance data, announced January 8, 2025, enabling detailed hourly data analysis. The platform also updated its icon design in July 2025 to feature a magnifying glass and bar chart, reflecting its dual function of analytical insights and technical problem identification.

For marketing professionals, Search Console remains the primary interface for organic search performance analysis. The platform provides essential metrics informing content strategy, technical optimization priorities, and resource allocation decisions. Waisberg's guidance establishes a systematic approach to navigating increasingly complex reporting environments where traditional metrics combine with AI-powered search features.

The methodology emphasizes understanding data context before interpretation, using visualizations for quick assessments, and leveraging detailed tables for actionable insights. This three-step process—data controls, charts, tables—provides a framework for consistent performance monitoring as Search Console continues expanding its analytical capabilities.

Timeline

• December 4, 2024: Daniel Waisberg publishes Search Console performance analysis guidance video
• June 17, 2025: AI Mode data begins counting toward Search Console totals
• June 30, 2025: Google integrates Search Console Insights into main interface
• July 14, 2025: Search Console Insights rollout continues expanding to additional users
• July 16, 2025: Google launches comparison mode for 24-hour performance data
• July 21, 2025: Google updates Search Console icon design
• October 23, 2025: Search Console performance data freezes since October 19
• October 27, 2025: Google introduces query grouping feature for Search Console Insights
• October 28, 2024: Search Console bug causes zero-traffic displays, resolved by 1:00 PM Eastern Time
• November 17, 2025: Google launches custom annotations for performance tracking
• January 8, 2025: Google adds export functionality to 24-hour performance view

Summary

Who: Daniel Waisberg, Google Search Advocate, published the guidance for website owners, SEO professionals, digital marketers, and content creators who use Search Console to monitor organic search performance across Google's platforms.

What: Comprehensive video guidance explaining how to analyze Search Console performance reports through a three-step methodology: using data controls to understand what data is being examined, reviewing chart visualizations for quick performance overviews, and examining detailed tables for actionable insights into queries, pages, countries, devices, and search appearances.

When: Published December 4, 2024, during a period of substantial Search Console development that includes AI Mode integration, query grouping features, custom annotations, comparison mode for 24-hour data, and enhanced export functionality.

Where: The guidance applies to Search Console performance reports globally, covering data from Google Search Results, Google Discover, and Google News platforms, with metrics displayed in Pacific time except for 24-hour views which use local browser time.

Why: The guidance addresses the need for systematic performance analysis as Search Console becomes increasingly complex with AI-powered features, multiple search types, and enhanced reporting capabilities that require users to understand data context before interpretation to make informed optimization decisions.