Comparison feature in the Google Search Console in performance reports

Google has a comparison feature in the Search Console performance report. This comparison feature seems to allow you to compare by queries or pages by clicks, impressions, and other metrics.

Turns out this isn’t new, it’s been around for a while now and I’ve had some fog in my brain. I updated the story to reflect that this is not new, and I decided to leave it because it can help others.

How does it look. Andrew Shotland shared screenshots of this on Twitter showing how the comparison feature allows you to enter two parameters or strings and compare them to each other. In this case, it compares queries that contain “new” with queries that contain “tools.”

Here is a comparison tool that you can find when you go into any of these parameters.

Here is the report it generates when you use these parameters:

More details. There is aid document available, which contains more details on this theorem:

You can compare data between two values ​​in any aggregation dimension, regardless of whether it is the currently selected aggregation or not. For example, if they are sorted by queries, you can compare clicks between two dates (this week and last week) or two countries (US vs. France). You can compare by page or search appearance change the metric calculation for CTR, impressions, and clicks. When you compare the values ​​for each measurement, the results table will show a The difference column to compare values ​​in each row.

To compare group data:

1. The comparison is managed by filters (e.g. Date oz Search type). Edit an existing filter or click New to add a new filter.
2. In the Filter Properties dialog box, select Compare.
3. Add dimensions or times to compare and click apply.
4. You can only have one comparison at a time. Adding a new comparison filter will replace the existing comparison. For example, if you compare dates and then add a cross-country comparison, the country comparison will replace the date comparison.

Why we care. Adding more advanced reporting features that can help you analyze the performance of your site in Google Search is always helpful. Being able to delve into specific queries and compare with each other, or delve into specific pages and compare with each other, can be very helpful in debugging SEO.

About the author

Barry Schwartz, co-editor of Search Engine Land and a member of the SMX events program team. He is the owner RustyBrick, an online consulting firm based in NY. It also flows Search engine roundtable, a popular search blog on highly advanced SEM topics. Barry can be traced on Twitter here.