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How to use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO

Compare Search Console clicks with Analytics sessions, find pages worth a closer look, and learn what the two tools cannot tell you about your wider market.

By Dean Cruddace · 45 minutes to do · Updated 11 October 2026 · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

What Search Console and Analytics each measure

Google Search Console and Google Analytics are two free tools that describe different halves of a visit. Google says Search Console provides data about how your site performs in Google Search: impressions (times a link to your site was seen), clicks and the queries that brought people. It focuses on what happened before someone arrived.

Google Analytics provides data about what visitors do on your site, such as which pages they visit, how long they stay and what actions they take. Used together they can show which pages are worth a closer look. This guide shows a simple way to do that.

Why to use the two together

Google says using both tools together gives a more comprehensive picture of how your audience discovers and experiences your site, and that comparing them is particularly helpful when attributing actions such as sign-ups or enquiries to Google Search traffic. It also says the source of truth for search performance is Search Console, and for behaviour inside your site it is Analytics. See Using Search Console and Google Analytics data for SEO.

What you need to use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO

Access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics for the same site
A date range to examine, for example the last three months
A spreadsheet or document for notes
Optional: Google's free Looker Studio dashboard template, described in Google's guide

Use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO, step by step

1
Match the filters in both tools
Google advises choosing the same country and device filters in both tools, so you compare like with like: mobile in Australia in one with mobile in Australia in the other. Use the same date range too. Search Console data can be delayed by a couple of days.

You will know it worked when Both tools show the same dates, country and device.
2
Read your search performance in Search Console
Open the Performance report. Its default view shows clicks and impressions for the past three months. Switch on clicks, impressions, CTR (click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions) and average position, then look at the Queries and Pages tabs. See the Performance report help.

You will know it worked when You have noted your total clicks and impressions, and the top queries and pages by clicks.
3
Read the organic traffic in Analytics
In the Traffic acquisition report, find the channel Organic Search and the source Google. Google's dashboard template filters Analytics to session source google and session medium organic. Also open the Landing page report, filtered to Google organic sessions, which Google says shows how useful a page is to organic traffic and how well it drives engagement and conversions.

You will know it worked when You have a figure for Google organic sessions and a list of organic landing pages.
4
Compare clicks with sessions
Google recommends focusing on the two most comparable metrics: Search Console clicks and Analytics sessions. They are calculated differently, so the numbers will not match exactly. Google says a small difference can be ignored, and what matters is that the general trends follow the same pattern.

You will know it worked when You can say whether the two rise and fall together over your date range.
5
Investigate a big gap
If the difference is considerable, Google lists likely reasons: a missing or misconfigured Analytics tag on some pages, visitors opting out of tracking, different time zones (Search Console uses Pacific Time), different attribution, Search Console reporting only canonical URLs, non-HTML files such as PDFs that Analytics may not measure, and bot traffic.

You will know it worked when You have ruled each reason in or out, or noted it as unknowable.
6
Pick pages to look at more closely
Google says CTR shows whether your search snippets persuade people to click, and the Performance report can show which pages have the highest and lowest CTR. Note pages with many impressions but few clicks. In Analytics, Google describes engagement rate as the share of sessions that lasted over 10 seconds, had a key event or had two or more page views. Note pages that get clicks but low engagement. Reading these as two different problems, visibility versus relevance, is our interpretation, not Google's.

You will know it worked when You have a short list of pages, each noted as low click-through or low engagement.
7
Write down what the data cannot show
Search Console reports only where your site appeared. Google also notes that a listed query may not show your site when you run it yourself, because results depend on the time, place, device and recent history of the searcher. Analytics reports only visits that arrived. Neither shows searches your site was never shown for. Google's pages do not cover sizing a market or competitor analysis, so label any conclusion about those as needing other evidence.

You will know it worked when Your notes separate what the data shows from what it cannot show.

Common mistakes when you use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO

Expecting clicks and sessions to match exactly. Google says they will not.
Comparing different countries, devices or dates in the two tools.
Ignoring a big gap. Google says a considerable difference is worth investigating.
Treating average position as a fixed rank. Google says it averages the position value across all impressions, because the position differs each time a link is seen.
Assuming the data describes your whole market. It describes only searches where your site appeared and visits that arrived.

Terms used when you use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO

Impression: A time your site's link appeared in search results, whether or not anyone clicked.
Click-through rate (CTR): Clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage.
Session: In Analytics, a period of time during which a user interacts with your site.
Engagement rate: The percentage of Analytics sessions that count as engaged, using criteria Google sets out.
Organic search: Visits from unpaid search results, as opposed to paid ads.

Sources for how to use Search Console and Analytics together for SEO

Go deeper

StrategyUsing Search Console and Analytics together to find where the opportunity isSearch Console shows how a site appears in Google; Analytics shows what visitors do once they arrive. This article covers what Google says about combining them,…Read the in-depth article → Understand the marketHow search opportunity analysis, competitor analysis and keyword research with search intent work, and where they fit in an SEO strategy.See the service guide → MeasureHow to design SEO measurement, report in a way that answers business questions, and keep a strategy honest over time.See the service guide → Next in the pathHow to find the cause of a drop in Google search trafficLearn to read your Search Console chart and rule out the simple explanations first, so you know whether a fall in clicks…Open the guide →

Two tools, two sets of numbers, no agreed answer?

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