Google Search Console is a valuable tool for diagnosing drops in organic traffic, especially for those who are not yet using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or are finding inconsistencies in their GA4 reports. In a recent guide released by Google, they outline some of the most obvious Search Console reports for identifying traffic declines, such as date-based comparisons, search types (web, images, video, news), average position trends, and page reports. However, there are also lesser-known reports within Search Console that can provide valuable insights into traffic issues.
One such report is device segmentation. Rankings and where your listing is displayed can vary greatly between mobile and desktop searches. Google has become more aggressive with search features and ads on mobile, which can lead to changes in rankings and ultimately result in significant drops in traffic. Understanding the different rankings on different devices and how the search results have shifted on both mobile and desktop can be key to understanding why traffic has dropped. By drilling down into the Performance > Search Results > Devices section within Search Console, you can analyze device-specific data and compare it to previous periods to identify where traffic is dropping most aggressively.
The Search appearance report is another useful tool for identifying the impact of specific search features on clicks and impressions. Not all traffic drops are due to algorithm updates or manual actions; sometimes, changes in the SERP layout or how your listings appear within certain SERP features can result in decreased traffic. Third-party tools can also help track featured snippets across your primary keywords.
The Crawl stats report, although somewhat hidden within the Search Console interface, offers valuable insights into crawl issues. By analyzing errors, redirected URLs, URLs crawled by subdomain, and specific URLs getting crawled, you can identify issues such as broken links, redirects, changes in crawl budget allocation, or technical issues on your site. While log file data and analysis may be more useful for larger sites, the Search Console crawl stats report is a valuable resource for diagnosing crawl issues for many sites.
In conclusion, Google Search Console provides a range of reports that can help identify and analyze traffic declines. In addition to the more obvious reports, lesser-known reports such as device segmentation, search appearance, and crawl stats can offer valuable insights into the causes of traffic drops. By leveraging these reports and analyzing the data provided, website owners can gain a better understanding of why their organic traffic has declined and take appropriate actions to address the issues.
