Stay organized with collectionsSave and categorize content based on your preferences.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Last year we relaunched an exciting feature in Webmaster Tools:Search Queries, an analysis
tool that visualizes your site's presence in our search results. It has two main parts: an
interactive graph, and a table containing detailed data related to queries for which your site
appears in our search results.
Two of the most important pieces of information in the table are 'impressions' and 'clicks.'
'Impressions' shows the number of times your pages were shown in the search results for a certain
query, and 'clicks' is how many times users actually clicked on a result from your site.
Based on webmaster feedback, today we're announcing a slight change in how these numbers are
represented in Webmaster Tools, to simplify their interpretation. Instead of showing numbers
rounded to two or three digits, the numbers will now be shown with one or twosignificant digits.
For example, instead of Webmaster Tools showing you 246,000 impressions, it will now show 250,000
impressions, which is a nicer representation for a better, less confusing experience. We have not
altered the way we calculate the numbers internally, but only changed how we round them in
Webmaster Tools. Generally, a difference of less than 10% between the numbers you see now and
those you saw prior to this change should not be considered significant.
We hope that this update makes Search Queries easier to understand. If you want to learn more
about this feature you can visit ourHelp Center.
If you have feedback or suggestions for Search Queries, please let us know in theWebmaster Help Forum.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Webmaster Tools' Search Queries feature, which helps website owners analyze their site's search performance, has been updated to display impressions and clicks with one or two significant digits for easier interpretation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis update simplifies the presentation of data in Search Queries by rounding numbers like impressions and clicks, without altering the underlying calculations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile you might notice slight variations in the numbers compared to before, differences of less than 10% are generally insignificant and should not cause concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Search Queries feature provides an interactive graph and detailed data table related to queries leading to your site's appearance in Google search results.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor more information on Search Queries, consult the Google Webmaster Help Center or share feedback and suggestions in the Webmaster Help Forum.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Webmaster Tools updated the display of 'impressions' and 'clicks' in the Search Queries feature. These metrics, representing how often a site appeared in search results and how often users clicked on it, are now shown using one or two significant digits instead of being rounded to two or three digits. For example, 246,000 impressions now display as 250,000. This change only affects the display and not the internal calculation, with differences under 10% considered insignificant.\n"],null,["# Update to Webmaster Tools Search Queries\n\nThursday, February 03, 2011\n\n\nLast year we relaunched an exciting feature in Webmaster Tools:\n[Search Queries](/search/blog/2010/04/more-data-and-charts-in-top-search), an analysis\ntool that visualizes your site's presence in our search results. It has two main parts: an\ninteractive graph, and a table containing detailed data related to queries for which your site\nappears in our search results.\n\n\nTwo of the most important pieces of information in the table are 'impressions' and 'clicks.'\n'Impressions' shows the number of times your pages were shown in the search results for a certain\nquery, and 'clicks' is how many times users actually clicked on a result from your site.\n\n\nBased on webmaster feedback, today we're announcing a slight change in how these numbers are\nrepresented in Webmaster Tools, to simplify their interpretation. Instead of showing numbers\nrounded to two or three digits, the numbers will now be shown with one or two\n[significant digits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant_digits).\nFor example, instead of Webmaster Tools showing you 246,000 impressions, it will now show 250,000\nimpressions, which is a nicer representation for a better, less confusing experience. We have not\naltered the way we calculate the numbers internally, but only changed how we round them in\nWebmaster Tools. Generally, a difference of less than 10% between the numbers you see now and\nthose you saw prior to this change should not be considered significant.\n\n\nWe hope that this update makes Search Queries easier to understand. If you want to learn more\nabout this feature you can visit our\n[Help Center](https://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35252).\nIf you have feedback or suggestions for Search Queries, please let us know in the\n[Webmaster Help Forum](https://support.google.com/webmasters/community).\n\n\nPosted by\n[Pierre Far](/search/blog/authors/pierre-far)\nand\n[Gary Illyes](https://garyillyes.com/+),\nWebmaster Trends Analyst team"]]
