The Top search queries page provides information about search queries that have returned pages from your site. Try to make sure that your site provides content that is relevant to these searches, so that users find your site valuable and link to it.
If the data you see on the Top Search Queries page doesn't match what you're seeing in Google Web Search, keep in mind that by default, this page shows queries from all Google properties where people have found your site. You can filter the list to show only queries from Web Search. In the Show list, click All searches and then click Web Search.
You may find that the data on the Top search queries page does not match the data in your site's log files. This is because Webmaster Tools aggregates query information, and displays keywords once the number of queries reaches a certain threshold. For example, your logs may show a particular query as having a high rank for a certain day or period, but that query does not appear in Top search queries. If the query continues to be a top referrer, however, it will move to the top of our aggregate results and will appear on the Top search queries page.
Also, Webmaster Tools stats show only search queries from Google. Your log files may combine search results from all search engines.
Each table contains the following columns:
- #: The ranking of the search query.
- %: The percentage of the top 100 queries represented by each query. For example, if the top 100 queries represent 1,000 user searches, and those users searched for cheeseburger recipe 270 times, that query would represent 27% of the total number of searches for the top 100 queries.
- Query: The search terms used.
- Position: The highest position any page from your site ranked for that query, averaged over the last week. Since our index is dynamic, this may not be the same as the current position of your site for this query.
Stats that may be available are:
- Impressions: The top Google searches in which your site appeared, along with your site's average ranking in those search results.
- Clickthrough: The top Google searches from which users clicked through to your site.
This data can provide valuable information about your site. We recommend the following steps:
- Review the Impressions list for expected keywords. If keywords you expect to see don't appear, your site may not have enough useful content relevant to those keywords.
- Compare Impressions and Clickthrough to identify how you can improve your content. There are several steps you can take to make your content appear more compelling so that users click your site in search results pages. Your page title appears in the results, so make sure it's relevant and accurate. Google can display the text in your pages' meta descriptions in search results, so review your meta descriptions.
- If you have an AdWords account, review the Impressions list for keyword ideas. (Looking for more ideas? Check out the Publisher's Guide to Toolbar.)
The data we display may differ from the data displayed in other tools, such as Google Analytics. Possible reasons for this include:
- Webmaster Tools does some additional data processing—for example, to eliminate duplicates and visits from robots—that may cause your stats to differ from stats listed in other sources.
- Some tools, such as Google Analytics, track traffic only from users who have enabled JavaScript in their browser.