Google Search Console Bug?

[Barb Davids]

I have a client whose GSC dashboard is showing a large decrease in all things. Google Analytics isn't showing the same issue.

Could this be some bug and how long do I wait for it to self correct?
Or should I try support?

I don't see it happening with any other clients.

Have you experience this? TIA!

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Barb Davids, I see drop-offs like that only when I go into GSC for the first time for a new client who's (a) trying to come back from a penalty, or (b) who had one high-visibility page or post that fell out of favor

It's unlikely you're looking at a broken GSC installation, because the graph doesn't show a flat line for impressions, and because the drop-off spans a few days. So it's probably still installed OK.

Analytics won't show you impressions in search, of course, but rather only clicks. So you'll want to compare the clicks you see in GSC to the clicks you see in GA for exactly the same time period. If they match up closely, you can be pretty sure there's no bug.

It's probably not the May 2020 core update, given that the drop-off you show is from just last month.

I'd look at the "coverage" report in GSC, and make sure no important pages have been excluded from the index.

Assuming you see nothing concerning in there, then I'd look in the "Performance" -> "Pages" area of GSC, and compare your highest-impressions pages before late September to your highest-impressions pages since late September. Was there one page or a hit blog post that brought you a ton of impressions until last month? If so, then at least you can do an autopsy on that page and have some peace of mind that the whole site hasn't been whacked.

 

[jeff_taylor]

I agree with the above. But, the first thing I would do is look at the comparison date range for that drop-off. Then investigate further.

GSC > Performance > use only impressions and select date right after the drop to now and compare previous.

Let us know what you find?