Search Console · 7 min read
How to compare Search Console periods fairly
Keep the property and filters consistent, compare complete periods, and normalise unequal windows by days. A change in totals is an observation to investigate, not evidence of its cause.
Start with the same scope
Write down the property, search type, start and end dates, country, device, page and query filters before exporting either period. Keep those settings identical unless the difference itself is your question. A domain property and a URL-prefix property can cover different URLs.
Use complete days. A new day may be incomplete or preliminary. For a weekly routine, use the same weekday boundaries; for a seasonal business, also compare the relevant period last year. A prior year comparison is context, not a control experiment.
Fictional example: twice the clicks, unchanged daily clicks
Suppose an invented service page records 140 clicks and 2,800 impressions over 14 days, then 280 clicks and 7,000 impressions over 28 days. The second period is twice as long. These values were checked against Mapseen’s comparison logic; they are not customer results.
| Metric | Previous: 14 days | Current: 28 days | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clicks | 140 | 280 | Total +100% |
| Clicks per day | 10 | 10 | No change |
| Impressions per day | 200 | 250 | +25% |
| CTR | 5% | 4% | Down 1 percentage point |
Know what each calculation answers
CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100. Daily clicks = clicks ÷ days. Percentage change = (current − previous) ÷ previous × 100. CTR movement is also useful in percentage points: 4% minus 5% is minus 1 point, not minus 1%.
A zero previous value makes relative percentage change unavailable. If there are no impressions, CTR is unavailable too. That is different from zero clicks with positive impressions, which gives a valid 0% CTR. Do not replace an unavailable denominator with 1 to make a percentage appear.
Check the mix before rewriting a page
Break the change down by page, query, country and device. More exposure to lower-CTR queries can lower the combined CTR even when each query segment behaves the same. Totals may include information not shown in individual query rows, so the visible rows do not always add up to the chart total.
Daily averages remove unequal duration, but they do not remove changes in weekdays, demand, competition, query mix or the site itself. Compare the same page group and note anything else that changed.
Leave a reproducible next check
- Record both date ranges, their day counts and identical filters.
- Calculate total and daily changes. Keep unavailable values visible.
- Identify one affected segment, then inspect the relevant page or Search Console evidence.
- Record what remains uncertain and the date you will recheck the same segment.
Sources and editorial method
Written and maintained by Mapseen. Guidance is linked to primary documentation. Examples are fictional; they explain a calculation or decision rather than report customer outcomes. Provider behaviour and report availability can change.
Found a mistake? Open an email draft to Mapseen with the guide URL and the detail to review.