What are impressions in Google Search Console?

Impressions in Google Search Console count how often a link to your site appeared in Google's results. Google counts an impression when your link is on the page of results a person is viewing, whether or not they scrolled down to it. Inside a carousel or a section that opens with a click, the item must be scrolled into view or opened before it counts.

What does average position mean in Search Console?

Average position in Search Console is where your site's topmost link appeared in Google's results, averaged across searches, with 1 as the top position. Google's example: if one search shows your site at positions 2, 4 and 6 and another at 3, 5 and 9, the average position is 2.5. A smaller number means your link appeared higher on the page.

How is click-through rate calculated in Search Console?

Click-through rate in Google Search Console is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, so it shows how often people who saw your link chose to click it. Google's help says a high click-through rate means your content seems to match what people are searching for. Compare it month by month for the same pages and queries.

Why is my Google ranking different when I search myself?

Your Google ranking looks different when you search yourself because the Search Console position is an average over all searches, and each page of results depends on the time, place, device and recent history of the person searching. Google gives the example of a page the report places at position 5 that appears at position 8 in the owner's own search.

Does Search Console show traffic from AI Overviews?

Yes, Google Search Console includes traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google says sites appearing in these AI features are included in the overall search traffic in Search Console, reported in the Performance report under the Web search type. Google also says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.

What is a good click-through rate for SEO?

Google's Search Console help publishes no target for a good click-through rate, so the useful comparison is your own site over time. Watch whether click-through rate holds or rises on your important pages month after month. For queries with many impressions and a low click-through rate, Google suggests reading your page titles and snippets and asking whether they answer the search.

How long should I wait before judging an SEO change?

Wait a few weeks before judging an SEO change, as Google's SEO Starter Guide suggests. The guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months. For your monthly check, compare whole months with the Compare option in the Performance report, and write down the date of each change so you can see what followed it.

How can I check if my SEO agency's report is accurate?

To check an SEO agency's report, keep your own access to Google Search Console, open the Performance report, set the same dates as the report, and compare clicks and impressions. Small gaps can come from grouping, since Google says the chart counts by site and the table can count by page. Google advises granting an SEO read access during an audit, so you stay the owner.

What does it mean if words like casino appear in my Search Console queries?

Words such as 'casino' or 'Viagra' among your Search Console queries are a warning that Google itself describes: its help says that if unexpected words like these appear, your site has likely been hacked. Open the Security Issues report in Search Console, which shows whether Google found evidence of hacking, and ask your web developer to check the site at once.

How to read your own search results, once a month

Google gives every site owner the same report an SEO provider reads. Here is what its four numbers mean, and how to read them in one short visit each month.

See if customers can find you

To check SEO results yourself, open the Performance report in Google Search Console once a month. Clicks count visits from Google Search, impressions count how often your site appeared, click-through rate is clicks divided by impressions, and average position shows where your topmost link appeared, with 1 as the top. Compare each month with the month before, page by page.

Why Search Console is the place to check

When you pay someone for SEO, or do the work yourself, you need a way to see whether it shows in search. Google offers one at no cost. Its guidance on third-party SEO tools says it strongly encourages every site owner to use Google Search Console, because the data comes directly from Google Search. Third-party tools, Google adds, have no access to its internal ranking data.

Inside Search Console, the Performance report answers most of the questions an owner has. Google describes what it is for: to see how your search traffic changes over time, to learn which queries bring traffic to your site, and to see which pages have the highest and lowest click-through rate from Google search results. A query is the words a person typed into Google.

How often should you look? Google's getting-started guide for Search Console says many users need only a quick check of their site once a month, unless Google alerts them to a problem. Search Console sends an email when a new security issue appears or when a manual action is applied (a manual action is a demotion Google applies to pages that break its spam policies). A monthly visit therefore matches Google's own advice, and urgent problems reach you by email in between.

The four numbers, in plain words

The Performance report opens on a chart with four totals, and by default it shows the past three months. Here is what each total counts, in the words of Google's own help pages.

Clicks: how often someone clicked a link from Google Search to your site. Google counts a click when the link takes the person to a page outside Google. If a person clicks your link, comes back to the results and clicks the same link again, Google counts one click.
Impressions: how often a link to your site appeared in Google's results. Google counts an impression whenever your link is on the page of results the person is viewing, whether or not they scrolled down to it. Inside a carousel (a row of results you scroll sideways) or a section that opens with a click, the item must be scrolled into view or opened to count.
Click-through rate, shown as CTR: the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions. Google's help adds that a high click-through rate means your content seems to match what people are searching for.
Average position: where your link appeared, with 1 as the topmost position, 2 the next, and so on. For each search, Search Console takes the topmost position of your site, then averages across searches. Google's example: if one search shows your site at positions 2, 4 and 6, and another at 3, 5 and 9, the average position is (2 + 3) divided by 2, which is 2.5.

Why your own Google search shows something different

It is natural to search for your own service, find your site in another place than the report says, and conclude that the report is wrong. Google answers this directly. The position in the report is an average over all searches, and each page of results is specific to the time, place, device and recent history of the person searching. Google gives the example of a page the report places at position 5 that appears at position 8 in the owner's own search.

Google also warns that one position number can mean different things. A position of 11, for example, could be the first result on the second page of a desktop search, or the top of a box of facts shown on the right side of the page. Position is calculated only for Google Search results, and ads take no position. A smaller number means your link appeared higher. Google's advice is to watch how position changes over time, and sudden changes above all, together with the number itself.

The newest days can also move. Google marks preliminary data, which is still being collected, with a dotted line on the chart, and says it may change in the next few hours. For your monthly record, use complete days.

AI Overviews and AI Mode are in the same report

Owners now ask whether Google's AI answers send them visitors, and where to see it. Google says that sites appearing in its AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, are included in the overall search traffic in Search Console, and are reported in the Performance report under the Web search type. Google also says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode: the ordinary basics of SEO apply.

For Microsoft's AI answers, Bing Webmaster Tools has a free AI Performance report, in public preview since 10 February 2026, that shows how often Microsoft Copilot and the AI-generated summaries in Bing cite your pages, and which pages they cite. Our guide to the free tools explains how to set it up.

A monthly routine, step by step

Choose one day each month, for example the first Monday, and follow the same steps each time. Keep a simple spreadsheet with one row per month, so that after a year you can read the whole pattern in one table.

Open the Overview page of your property first. Google shows important issues there, such as security issues or manual actions, together with small charts of your performance. If nothing is flagged, move on.
Open the Performance report. Click the date filter, choose Compare, and compare the last full month with the month before. When comparing periods, Google suggests the Weekly or Monthly view, because grouping by week or month removes the difference between weekdays and weekends.
Write the four totals in your spreadsheet: total clicks, total impressions, average click-through rate and average position.
Open the Queries tab. Are the searches you expected there? Google's help suggests looking for queries with many impressions and a low click-through rate, then reading the titles and snippets Google shows for those pages, and asking whether they answer the searcher's question.
Look for words you did not expect. Google says that if words such as 'Viagra' or 'casino' appear among your queries, your site has likely been hacked.
Open the Pages tab. Note your best pages, and any important page that has fallen or is missing.
Look at the Countries and Devices tabs. Google suggests checking whether your pages perform worse on mobile phones than on computers.
Write one action for the coming month next to the numbers. Next month you will see what followed it.

What you see, and what it means

The table below turns the most common patterns in the Performance report into a meaning and a next step. Each meaning comes from Google's Search Console help pages.

Common patterns in the Search Console Performance report, their meaning and a next step. Based on Google's Search Console help pages, read on 27 September 2026.
What you see	What it means	What to do
A query with many impressions and a low click-through rate	Your page appears for that search, and few people choose it	Search it yourself, see what appears near you, and make the page title and description answer the question
Searches you expected are missing	Google's help says the site may lack enough useful content on those words	Plan a page that answers those searches
Queries you did not expect, such as 'casino'	Google says the site has likely been hacked	Open the Security Issues report and ask your web developer to check the site at once
The position number grows larger	Your link appeared lower on average	Find which pages and queries moved, and from which date
A dash (-) where the position should be	Your site had no impression there, so no position was recorded	Compare another period or device
A dotted line at the end of the chart	Preliminary data, still being collected	Judge the month on complete days
Chart totals differ from table totals	The chart counts by site, the table can count by page, and some private queries count in the chart and are left out of the table	Use the chart totals for your monthly record
Clicks fall from a specific date	Something changed on that date, on your site or in the results	Compare the weeks before and after, page by page, to find where the fall is

What good progress looks like over time

Owners often ask what a good click-through rate is, or which position they should reach. Google's Search Console help publishes no such target, so we give none here. What Google does describe is how to read change over time, and this is the honest measure.

So judge your site against itself. Progress looks like more impressions for the searches that bring you customers, a click-through rate that holds or rises on your important pages, and more clicks month after month, compared over periods of the same length. Google's help adds a sensible reminder: aim for meaningful impressions, which means being seen by people who will find your information useful. It also reminds owners that many things decide which result a person clicks, so no page receives every click for a search.

Patience matters too. Google's SEO Starter Guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months, and it suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change helped. One weak month after a change is a reason to watch closely and to keep your notes.

Checking a provider's report against your own

If someone else does your SEO, give them access and keep your own. Google's advice is to grant read access to Search Console during an audit. In Search Console's roles, a restricted user can view most data and a full user can view all data and take some actions. Either way, you remain the owner and can open the same report they read.

When the monthly report arrives, open Search Console, set the same dates, and compare the clicks and impressions. Small gaps can come from how the data is grouped: Google explains that the chart counts results by site while the table can count by page, and that some queries are hidden from tables to protect the privacy of searchers. A large gap deserves a question. Google also advises asking an SEO to share every change it makes to the site with the reasoning behind it, and a good report places those changes next to the numbers.

If you want to show one view of the report to someone without giving them access to your account, the Share button creates a link to the current view of the report. Google says the link gives access to that view only and does not let the person take any action on your property.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Small business SEO. The other parts:

Questions people ask

What are impressions in Google Search Console?: Impressions in Google Search Console count how often a link to your site appeared in Google's results. Google counts an impression when your link is on the page of results a person is viewing, whether or not they scrolled down to it. Inside a carousel or a section that opens with a click, the item must be scrolled into view or opened before it counts.
What does average position mean in Search Console?: Average position in Search Console is where your site's topmost link appeared in Google's results, averaged across searches, with 1 as the top position. Google's example: if one search shows your site at positions 2, 4 and 6 and another at 3, 5 and 9, the average position is 2.5. A smaller number means your link appeared higher on the page.
How is click-through rate calculated in Search Console?: Click-through rate in Google Search Console is the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, so it shows how often people who saw your link chose to click it. Google's help says a high click-through rate means your content seems to match what people are searching for. Compare it month by month for the same pages and queries.
Why is my Google ranking different when I search myself?: Your Google ranking looks different when you search yourself because the Search Console position is an average over all searches, and each page of results depends on the time, place, device and recent history of the person searching. Google gives the example of a page the report places at position 5 that appears at position 8 in the owner's own search.
Does Search Console show traffic from AI Overviews?: Yes, Google Search Console includes traffic from AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google says sites appearing in these AI features are included in the overall search traffic in Search Console, reported in the Performance report under the Web search type. Google also says there are no extra requirements or special optimizations needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
How often should I check my SEO results?: Checking SEO results once a month follows Google's own advice. Google's getting-started guide for Search Console says many users need only a quick check of their site once a month, unless Google alerts them to a problem. Search Console sends an email when a new security issue appears or a manual action is applied, so urgent problems reach you between monthly visits.
What is a good click-through rate for SEO?: Google's Search Console help publishes no target for a good click-through rate, so the useful comparison is your own site over time. Watch whether click-through rate holds or rises on your important pages month after month. For queries with many impressions and a low click-through rate, Google suggests reading your page titles and snippets and asking whether they answer the search.
How long should I wait before judging an SEO change?: Wait a few weeks before judging an SEO change, as Google's SEO Starter Guide suggests. The guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months. For your monthly check, compare whole months with the Compare option in the Performance report, and write down the date of each change so you can see what followed it.
How can I check if my SEO agency's report is accurate?: To check an SEO agency's report, keep your own access to Google Search Console, open the Performance report, set the same dates as the report, and compare clicks and impressions. Small gaps can come from grouping, since Google says the chart counts by site and the table can count by page. Google advises granting an SEO read access during an audit, so you stay the owner.
What does it mean if words like casino appear in my Search Console queries?: Words such as 'casino' or 'Viagra' among your Search Console queries are a warning that Google itself describes: its help says that if unexpected words like these appear, your site has likely been hacked. Open the Security Issues report in Search Console, which shows whether Google found evidence of hacking, and ask your web developer to check the site at once.

Sources

Google Search's guidance on using third-party SEO tools, services, and advice, Google Search Central. Last updated 2026-06-05, accessed 27 September 2026.
Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Getting started with Search Console, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
What are impressions, position, and clicks?, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
How are you performing on Google?, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Performance report (Search results): Advanced filtering and comparison, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Performance report (Search results): About the data, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Performance report (Search results): Dimensions and data groupings, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Managing owners, users, and permissions, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.
AI features and your website, Google Search Central. Last updated 2025-12-10, accessed 27 September 2026.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide, Google Search Central. Last updated 2025-12-10, accessed 27 September 2026.
Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central. Last updated 2026-06-05, accessed 27 September 2026.
Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools (Public Preview), Microsoft Bing Webmaster Blog. Published 2026-02-10, accessed 27 September 2026.

Start your first monthly check with a clear grade

The free Get Found Check reads your homepage, DNS records and certificate and returns a grade in under 60 seconds, a useful first line in your monthly record.

See if customers can find you Talk to us about your site