What are impressions?

An impression is each time a result from your site loads on a user's search results page. The user doesn't need to scroll to it or click it; if the results page loaded with your result on it, it counts. Search Console generally counts several links from your site in the same search as a single impression.

#Why it matters

Impressions are the raw measure of how visible your site is in search. Impressions have to grow before clicks can. Pages whose impressions rise but clicks don't are the clearest candidates for better titles and descriptions. A sudden drop in impressions can signal pages falling out of the index or losing rankings.

#Where you see it in SEOAsist

• The Organic Performance card on the Overview page compares the period's total impressions with the previous period.
• Keywords → Search Console has an Impressions column for every query.
• SEO Analysis flags pages with high impressions and low CTR as a “click opportunity”.
• Monitors → Index status prioritizes pages with impressions in the last 90 days when choosing URLs to inspect.

To connect your data: Connect Google Search Console.

#Example

Query: "boiler service price"
Impressions: 5,400   Clicks: 54   CTR: 1%   Position: 8.7

Lots of people see the query, but you sit at the bottom of page one. Moving up a few positions would lift clicks noticeably.

#Common mistakes

• Treating impressions as visitors; an impression is only a chance to be seen.
• Assuming more impressions is always good; showing for irrelevant queries drags down average position and CTR.
• Reacting to short-term swings; look at a trend of at least a few weeks.