gsc-performance-analyzer

GSC Performance Analyzer

Purpose

Provide expert-level interpretation of Google Search Console data. Transform raw metrics (clicks, impressions, CTR, position) into actionable SEO insights with proper context for benchmarks, seasonality, and data quality.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke when user mentions:

• Performance analysis: "How is my organic search doing?"
• CTR optimization: "My CTR is low, what should I do?"
• Position tracking: "Am I ranking well for this keyword?"
• Trends: "Why did my traffic drop last week?"
• Search appearances: "What are rich results?"
• Discover/News: "How is my content doing in Google Discover?"
• Data quality: "Is my GSC data accurate?"

Required Tools

Tool	Purpose
gsc_search_analytics	All organic search data queries
gsc_list_sites	Property discovery
gsc_manage_url(action="inspect")	Page-level indexing diagnostics
gsc_search_analytics(dimensions=["page"])	Page-level performance overview

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Part 1: CTR Benchmarks by Position

Expected CTR by Average Position (Web Search, 2024-2026 data)

AI Overviews impact: Google AI Overviews (formerly SGE) are shown for a large portion of informational queries. For queries where an AI Overview appears, CTR for positions 1-3 can drop 20-60% compared to the benchmarks below. The effect is strongest on "what is", "how to", and definition queries. Navigational, commercial, and brand queries are less affected.

Position	Expected CTR	Range	Interpretation
1	27-32%	22-39%	#1 should capture ~30% of clicks — lower if AI Overview shown
2	15-18%	12-22%	Strong second position
3	10-13%	8-16%	Still above the fold
4	7-9%	5-11%	Often below ads on mobile
5	5-7%	3-9%	Bottom of first visible results
6-7	3-5%	2-6%	Requires scrolling on mobile
8-10	2-3%	1-4%	Bottom of page 1
11-20	0.5-1.5%	0.2-2%	Page 2 — very few clicks

CTR Modifiers

Factor	CTR Impact	Notes
AI Overview present	-20-60%	Informational queries most affected; answer shown inline
Rich snippets (FAQ, How-to)	+20-50%	Higher visibility, more SERP real estate
Sitelinks	+15-30%	Authority signal, more click targets
Featured snippet (position 0)	+40-80%	Dominates SERP, but may reduce position 1 CTR
Brand query	+50-100%	Users specifically looking for you
Long-tail (4+ words)	+10-20%	Higher intent, less competition
SERP features (maps, shopping)	-10-30%	Competing visual elements push organic down
Ads above organic	-15-25%	Especially on mobile, ads push organic below fold

CTR Diagnosis Framework

IF actual_ctr > expected_ctr × 1.3:
    → Excellent! Strong titles/meta descriptions
    → Consider: Are you getting enough impressions?

IF actual_ctr is within ±30% of expected:
    → Normal performance for this position
    → Focus on improving position rather than CTR

IF actual_ctr < expected_ctr × 0.7:
    → Below expected — investigate:
    1. Title tag: Is it compelling? Under 60 chars?
    2. Meta description: Does it include a CTA? Under 155 chars?
    3. SERP features: Are rich results/ads pushing you down?
    4. Search intent mismatch: Does your page match what searchers want?
    5. Competing sitelinks: Does a competitor have expanded sitelinks?

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Part 2: Performance Patterns

Seasonal Analysis

To detect seasonality, query with dimensions=["date"] over 90+ days:

Pattern	Detection	Action
Weekly cycle	Compare Mon-Sun averages	B2B: weekday peaks; B2C: weekend peaks
Monthly cycle	Compare week-over-week	E-commerce: paycheck cycles, month-end
Seasonal	Compare month-over-month	Holiday, weather, industry events
Trend	3-month moving average	Gradual decline = content aging; rise = growing authority

Common Traffic Drop Causes

Symptom	Likely Cause	Diagnosis
All queries drop equally	Algorithm update	Check Google Search Status dashboard
Specific page drops	Lost ranking for key terms	Check position changes for that page
Impressions stable, clicks drop, position stable	AI Overviews absorbing clicks	Check if query type is informational; AI Overview is answering the question in SERP
Impressions up, clicks down	Position dropped below fold OR AI Overview	CTR decline with impression growth; check query types
Impressions down, CTR stable	Lost rankings broadly	Compare positions period-over-period
Single-day cliff	Technical issue	Check gsc_manage_url(action="inspect") for crawl errors
Gradual decline over weeks	Content freshness decay or AI Overview rollout	Content needs updating; check if informational queries are affected
Mobile-only drop	Mobile usability issue	Check mobile-specific metrics

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Part 3: Search Type Analysis

Web (Default)

Standard organic search results. Primary metric for most sites.

Google Discover

gsc_search_analytics(site_url="...", search_type="discover", days=28)

Metric	Good	Average	Poor
CTR	> 8%	4-8%	< 4%
Impressions/article	> 5,000	1,000-5,000	< 1,000

Discover optimization:

• Large, high-quality images (min 1200px wide)
• Compelling, non-clickbait titles
• E-E-A-T signals (author bios, expertise)
• Fresh, timely content
• Topics the user has shown interest in (personalized)

Google News

gsc_search_analytics(site_url="...", search_type="news", days=28)

News-specific considerations:

• Timeliness is critical (24-72 hour window)
• Headline quality directly impacts CTR
• Structured data (NewsArticle schema) improves visibility

Image Search

gsc_search_analytics(site_url="...", search_type="image", days=28)

Image optimization:

• Descriptive alt text
• Relevant file names
• Proper image sitemaps
• WebP format for speed

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Part 4: Data Quality Guide

Data Freshness

Data State	Availability	Accuracy
final (default)	3-4 days delay	High — confirmed data
all	1-2 days delay	Medium — may be revised

Known Limitations

Limitation	Impact	Workaround
Max 16 months history	Can't compare YoY beyond 16 months	Export monthly for long-term tracking
25,000 row limit per query	Large sites may miss long-tail data	Use filters to segment queries
Position is average	Position 5.3 could be 1 sometimes, 10 others	Add date dimension for daily positions
Anonymized queries	Very low-volume queries hidden	~10-20% of impressions may be anonymized
Click/impression counting	Deduplicated per query per day per user	Lower than raw pageview counts
Fresh data revisions	"all" data may change after finalization	Use "final" for reporting

Sampling

GSC does NOT sample data (unlike GA4). All reported metrics are based on actual data. However:

• Very rare queries may be anonymized (privacy threshold)
• Position is an average — a query at position 1 and position 20 shows as 10.5

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Part 5: Output Format

================================================================================
                     ORGANIC SEARCH PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
                     Property: [site_url]
                     Period: [start_date] to [end_date]
================================================================================

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
─────────────────
Total clicks: [X] ([+/-Y%] vs previous period)
Total impressions: [X] ([+/-Y%])
Average CTR: [X%] (benchmark: [Y%] for avg position [Z])
Average position: [X] ([improved/declined] by [Y])

HEALTH ASSESSMENT: [STRONG / STABLE / DECLINING / NEEDS ATTENTION]

TOP PERFORMING QUERIES (by clicks)
───────────────────────────────────
| Query | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Position | CTR vs Benchmark |
|-------|--------|-------------|-----|----------|-----------------|
| [kw]  | 450    | 12,000      | 3.8%| 4.2      | Normal ✓        |
| [kw]  | 320    | 8,500       | 3.8%| 2.1      | LOW ⚠️ (expect 15-18%) |

CTR OPTIMIZATION OPPORTUNITIES
──────────────────────────────
Keywords where CTR is significantly below benchmark for their position:

| Query | Position | Actual CTR | Expected CTR | Gap | Fix |
|-------|----------|-----------|-------------|-----|-----|
| [kw]  | 1.5      | 12%       | 28-32%      | -16% | Improve title tag — OR check if AI Overview present |
| [kw]  | 3.2      | 4%        | 10-13%      | -6%  | Add rich snippets |

Note: If an AI Overview is shown for an informational query, low CTR at positions 1-3 is expected and may not be fixable via on-page optimization. The strategic response is to target commercial/navigational queries where AI Overviews are less prevalent, or to optimize content to be cited within the AI Overview itself (structured data, E-E-A-T).

TREND ANALYSIS
──────────────
[Week-over-week or day-over-day trend observations]

SEARCH TYPE BREAKDOWN
─────────────────────
| Type | Clicks | Impressions | CTR | Trend |
|------|--------|-------------|-----|-------|
| Web | [X] | [Y] | [Z%] | [↑↓→] |
| Discover | [X] | [Y] | [Z%] | [↑↓→] |
| Image | [X] | [Y] | [Z%] | [↑↓→] |

RECOMMENDATIONS
───────────────
1. [Highest-impact recommendation]
2. [Second recommendation]
3. [Third recommendation]