Before Search Analytics, you probably relied greatly on Search Queries reports to gain understanding of how users see your website and how your content fairs on Google’s search results. However, data shown on the old tool did not include traffic comparisons on desktop and mobile. Neither did it compare metrics in different time frames or between different countries.
On May 6th, 2015, Google announced Search Analytics, the recent reporting tool that enables deeper and more specific traffic analyzes, designed to improve on Search Queries. This new report allows you to break down search data on websites and filter the information in different ways, thus allowing for more precise analyzes. For instance, comparing your data to see how the April 21st Mobile update affected your mobile and overall traffic is now possible. You can determine as well as measure brand impressions, to find countries where people do the most searches for your brand name. These are only two out of many more ways that you can use the new Search Analytics to really look into the nature of your website’s traffic. These types of data can help you make the most informed decisions that will affect your site’s performance.
Search Queries report is fundamentally different than Search Analytics because data here is calculated differently. This makes results much more accurate. However, Search Queries reports are still available in your Google Webmaster Tools for at least the next three months, so you can still use them as reference for your next search strategies.
More changes and updates can only be expected from Google, but we trust that they are all designed for the betterment of the web and how we consume the bulk of information it provides. These changes are the only proof that their engineers and designers are listening to what webmasters and users are demanding, and following through with favorable responses.
