John Mueller: Impressions Do Not Equal Search Volume ✋

[RealDaddy]

Mueller clarifies how impressions do not equal search volume:

“The impressions are the impressions your site received in search. It’s not necessarily all the impressions shown to all users. It’s not the search volume. Also, all tools guess & simplify search volume, so the numbers you see in search volume tools will always be wrong.”

Syed Sufiyan, the Twitter user who posed the initial question, replied again:

“Thanks for the clarification, but still I’m confused! For Instance: I have a keyword/query (Suppose “Buy Shoes”) in the Search Console that is ranking on 1st position and getting 1000 impressions in one month so the search volume should be 1000 too?”

Mueller quickly dismisses that theory:

"Not necessarily. Just because you’re ranking 1st in some cases, doesn’t mean the page is always shown.”

 

[tazarbm]

I can't believe I'm saying this (as I don't like the Mueller) but he's right this time

 

[Sartre]

I can't believe I'm saying this (as I don't like the Mueller) but he's right this time

a broken clock is right twice a day

 

[Enlightened Orangutan]

BHW needs more posts like these

 

[Roger Marquez]

Finally, I can say...I agree with John Muller

 

[RealDaddy]

Finally, I can say...I agree with John Muller

You always agreed with him, I know that deep down.

 

[HenryObi]

I can't believe I'm saying this (as I don't like the Mueller) but he's right this time

What he's saying makes sense. I believe search volume would always be higher than the impression count we see on GSC.

 

[MisterF]

I can't believe I'm saying this (as I don't like the Mueller) but he's right this time

He must have gone off topic here as this is actually believable. Maybe he's retiring and this is a farewell gift?

 

[Roger Marquez]

You always agreed with him, I know that deep down.

That´s not true, I don´t know what you´re talking about...

 

[RealDaddy]

That´s not true, I don´t know what you´re talking about...

​

 

[Tronbatt]

This guy is full of shit I must say

 

[jstover77]

Well hur-derr - if the keyword isn't ranking on the first page, you aren't going to see all the impressions. 99% of searchers don't go past the first page. Not to mention, you could be ranking #1 in New York City, but #11 in San Fran. That's why GSC shows you average ranking. There's a multitude of other factors, but meh.... I generally use impressions as a measuring stick of how well the overall rankings are doing (impressions up = good, impression down = not good), but it's only one metric I factor in from a holistic standpoint.

Also hur-derr - all search volume estimates are just that. Estimates. The only somewhat accurate way to find true SV is to run that keyword as an exact match in Google Adwords, but that can get expensive real fast. Although, if you are running a concurrent PPC campaign with the SEO, that data can be invaluable for search volume and conversion rates.

Honestly, the reason I can't stand Mueller is he's intentionally vague. No one should listen to this guy. He makes Matt Cutts somewhat likable.

 

[tazarbm]

a broken clock is right twice a day

true, true

What he's saying makes sense. I believe search volume would always be higher than the impression count we see on GSC.

yeah, it's higher

He must have gone off topic here as this is actually believable. Maybe he's retiring and this is a farewell gift?

if only he did retire... maybe someone more credible would replace him. But if this obvious, meaningless piece of info is his gift to us then he's not too generous

 

[RealDaddy]

maybe someone more credible

it's not a word found in the dictionary of people who will be the successors of John Mueller's position.

 

[RealDaddy]

I generally use impressions as a measuring stick of how well the overall rankings are doing (impressions up = good, impression down = not good), but it's only one metric I factor in from a holistic standpoint.

do you think that one can at least predict the search volume using impressions, Is there a way?

 

[jstover77]

do you think that one can at least predict the search volume using impressions, Is there a way?

If a specific keyword stays on the first page consistently, yes. It's a good indicator, but there are other variables like Country, time of year, overall fluctuations, etc.. Over time though, if that keyword stays on the first page, you get a pretty good idea of the volume it's getting by averaging out the impressions, checking PPC data (if available), and comparing it to estimated volume from Google and other software.

 

[Sartre]

If a specific keyword stays on the first page consistently, yes. It's a good indicator, but there are other variables like Country, time of year, overall fluctuations, etc.. Over time though, if that keyword stays on the first page, you get a pretty good idea of the volume it's getting by averaging out the impressions, checking PPC data (if available), and comparing it to estimated volume from Google and other software.

better question is how to judge a keyword that is on page 2 and you got the impressions data for that. how to judge that. When do you pursue keywords that are on pages 2-3-4. I got a script that automates finding these easy wins.

 

[Surfdbreak]

it's not a word found in the dictionary of people who will be the successors of John Mueller's position.

The system is working exactly as designed

 

[SirLouen]

"Not necessarily. Just because you’re ranking 1st in some cases, doesn’t mean the page is always shown.”

Could be, at first, pretty obvious, given that we all know Google narrow results given multiple factors.

But if #1 has 1K views and #2 has 1K views, it's 1K search volume hands down and this could be very valuable information to give insights to many.

And who owns the data from #1 and #2? This is what many tools try when they ask you to connect your GSC to them

But at least, regardless of the fact that Mr. Mule points out, they get better approximations with just one connection compared to those tools that doesn't have them.

Also they can bypass the zero volume that GKP API suggest by knowing that certain keywords are sometimes receiving 200 and 300 impression for a given keyword. And then show this to their clients. So basically through your connection they share real volume data to people that are completely unware of its existence

Conclusion: Mueller is half-right and never link your GSC to those data-hungry tools.

 

[RealDaddy]

The system is working exactly as designed

Yes, it's designed to fool people about what's actually working.