ARTICLE AD BOX
Most SEOs volition beryllium comfortable/familiar with utilizing Google Search Console arsenic portion of their SEO toolkit. But determination are immoderate large ways to amended utilize this information without introducing further outgo oregon complexity into your reporting.
In this blog, we’ll screen tips and tricks to getting the astir retired of Google Search Console information erstwhile conducting time-based SEO tests.
Why Use Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is simply a treasure-trove of indispensable SEO data, and what’s much - it’s free! The Performance Report and the quality to filter pages and URLs utilizing regex make a compelling mode to compare/segment information quickly.
One caveat we request to beryllium alert of present is that if you are utilizing the information straight from the User Interface, you are constricted to 1,000 rows of data.
This means that the accuracy and extent of information whitethorn suffer. If you are moving comparatively tiny tests, this would beryllium a immense issue. However, you tin side-step these limitations by utilizing Google Data Studio and connecting it to Google Search Console.
Your Testing Hypothesis
As we are discussing testing, we are looking to spot the interaction of a peculiar alteration made astatine a circumstantial clip connected circumstantial pages. If you haven’t already, it’s clip to make a hypothesis. The much detailed, the better, but it needs to screen (at least) the 2 questions:
- Which pages would you expect to spot the interaction on?
- Is this measurable wrong the Google Search console?
If you cognize the URLs and are assured that you’ll spot an interaction successful Clicks, Impressions, oregon Click Through Rate (CTR), past support this accusation successful your head, and let’s get into the testing!
Time-Based Testing Vs Split-Testing
There are antithetic methods to trial changes wrong SEO. Split-testing removes variables by investigating x2 antithetic buckets of pages and measures them implicit the aforesaid time, portion a time-based trial compares a play earlier a alteration (the power period) with the play aft (the trial period).
Split-testing is desirable successful galore circumstances but has much exacting requirements connected the fig of pages, postulation to those pages, and often further bundle to facilitate the changes themself. Even if you are split-testing, determination are times erstwhile you request to tally a time-based test:
- When you bash not person a ample capable enactment of pages to measurement the interaction of a split-test
- Where you trial pages person less than 1,000 regular visits*
- You cannot hold for the trial pages to beryllium indexed and the trial to run
Time-based investigating is not perfect; seasonality and outer factors (algorithm updates, above-the-line campaigns) tin importantly interaction results. But for a speedy mode to trial the interaction of deployments, you can’t often find better.
*You tin enactment astir this by pulling the information successful Google Data Studio - more accusation here.
Using Google Search Console to Run a Time-Based Test
Select the investigating window
When was the trial deployed & however agelong did it instrumentality for google to scale a important information of the change/pages.
For example, 2-6 weeks post-deployment should beryllium what you are aiming for here. You would past comparison this with the adjacent play earlier the deployment.
Avoid a investigating model that is excessively long; the longer you’re monitoring, the much exposed you are to different factors that could power the test.
Next, look astatine the show information wrong this window, did thing other instrumentality spot astir the clip of the trial which could person impacted the test/reporting?
Were determination immoderate different ample deployments that took spot during this time, oregon were determination immoderate known algorithm updates? The Semrush Sensor tin assistance place thing important successful the past 30 days.
It is astir intolerable to power these elements, but being alert enables you to spot the due caveats connected the results and acceptable expectations. You tin besides usage leafage radical (and hunt query) segmentation to assistance region portions of postulation that you cognize volition upset your data. More connected that coming up!
Create Regex to Segment Page Groups & Queries
When monitoring the interaction of a alteration to a constricted acceptable of pages, Google Search Console doesn’t ever marque things easy. But since the instauration of Regex filters, you tin easy filter, truthful you are conscionable reporting connected those URLs you are funny in.
Regex connected Pages
The cardinal is to cognize which pages you are investigating and make a regular look that matches conscionable those pages. This volition beryllium wildly connected your website’s URL operation and the scope of the test, but present are immoderate examples you tin use:
- .*keyword.* - lucifer thing containing a keyword
- .*/directory-name/.* - lucifer immoderate URL which contains a circumstantial directory
- .*[0-9]{8}.* - lucifer immoderate URL with an 8-digit string
If you person a database of URLs, you tin usage the following sheet (please make a copy) to make the Regex you’ll need:
Just enactment that you’ll beryllium constricted connected the fig of characters successful the filter - truthful if the URLs are overly agelong oregon you person excessively many, this method whitethorn not enactment for you.
Either way, Regex is beauteous powerful, and I haven’t encountered a script wherever I haven’t been capable to make a filter that would assistance maine study connected conscionable what I needed.
Regex connected Queries
Filtering retired keywords to region marque sound - oregon keywords you cognize aren’t portion of the trial pages - is arsenic elemental arsenic utilizing regex.
Ruling retired marque interaction & above-the-line enactment tin sometimes beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic viewing the marque inclination against the non-brand trend. Assuming determination is simply a noticeable quality successful branded postulation (a crisp uplift), that volition alteration you to place the probable interaction of different activities.
In the beneath example, we’re comparing the marque regex with the non-brand regex. This tin beryllium achieved with arsenic per the following:
This volition alteration you to comparison brand/non-brand performance, and you’ll spot the interaction of each connected the wide performance.
You tin past use leafage filters, query filters, and day scope simultaneously, which should assistance you commencement to recognize however a peculiar alteration is performing.
It is not arsenic blase arsenic immoderate of the analyses you tin tally connected A/B testing, but generally, it tin place changes that were not apt owed to the trial itself.
Comparing the Performance
If contempt each the filtering & comparisons, you’re uncovering that seasonality is excessively overmuch of a origin - oregon the information is excessively noisy, determination is 1 different step. The year-over-year show volition besides assistance if you privation to trial your alteration against past year’s expectations.
GSC has pre-built year-over-year comparisons, oregon you tin make your own.
You cannot usage antithetic types of examination (queries oregon pages) erstwhile utilizing a day comparison, but you tin download the information to CSV/Google Sheets and past filter it arsenic a spreadsheet. This is mostly much powerful, but little convenient!
Causal Impact (when time-based isn’t working)
If you conflict to spot the interaction successful Google Search Console data, this method of investigation isn’t moving for you. There is ever a Causal Impact.
Google developed causal Impact, and without getting excessively technical, it helps america to recognize if a alteration could beryllium positive/negative based connected the expected performance. You tin work much here if you’re interested, but truly what we privation is this.
Apply the leafage filters you request successful Google Search Console, download the data, uploaded it to the Causal Impact instrumentality & acceptable the day ranges.
The outputs volition look thing similar this - it predicts what the show should beryllium aft the alteration and past compares it with what really happened.
Again, without getting excessively into the detail, what we truly request (at least) present is to reappraisal the last graph. If the shared bluish country is each the supra (or below) the dotted “0” line, past the trial is statistically significant. Above the enactment means that the alteration caused a affirmative result, whereas beneath the enactment is apt a antagonistic one.
If the shaded enactment isn’t each the mode supra oregon below, past we’re looking astatine a trial that looks similar it could beryllium affirmative oregon negative, but it is not statistically significant.
Wrapping up
So we’ve walked done the antithetic ways to adhd greater powerfulness to however you usage Google Search Console to study connected changes/tests.
There are much precocious methods of doing this and immoderate almighty tools to assistance you. Tools similar SplitSignal tin instrumentality a batch of the legwork/analysis here. Investing successful the close tooling tin level up your sophistication and accelerate your returns if you privation to absorption much connected creating beardown hypotheses and making the changes hap (rather than investigation itself).
But if you had lone been utilizing basal hunt reports (without filters) before, past hopefully, you person respective caller tools astatine your disposal. So commencement utilizing the already unfastened information and commencement interrogating the information down your SEO changes today.
English (US)