Use Google Search Console for a quick view of clicks, impressions, click-through rate, or average position by country. Use Looker Studio when you need a reusable report, a presentation for stakeholders, or a view that combines Search Console with other data. For a report showing both site-level and page-level impressions, build two Search Console data sources in Looker Studio: one for each aggregation.
Which tool should you use?
| Reporting need | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Check search performance by country | Search Console Performance report | Country is a native dimension, and the report supports filters and comparisons. |
| Compare one country with another for a quick investigation | Search Console | The Performance report supports country comparisons, though only one comparison can be active at a time. |
| Build a reusable report for stakeholders | Looker Studio | Its Search Console connector provides data sources for charts and controls in a report. |
| Show site-level and URL-level impressions together | Looker Studio with two Search Console data sources | Each source uses one aggregation type; Google documents creating separate sources for a side-by-side view. |
| Combine search performance with other business data | Looker Studio | It can combine Search Console with sources such as Google Analytics and Google Ads. |
This is a workflow choice, not evidence that one tool is universally more accurate. Looker Studio presents Search Console data; it does not make data unavailable in Search Console appear. See Google’s Performance report guide, the Search Console connector guide, and Google Cloud’s connector documentation.
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How to compare countries in Search Console
Open the property in Search Console and go to the Performance report. Its table can be grouped by Country, and the report’s controls let you filter or compare countries. The country dimension means the country where the search originated; it does not provide city-, state-, province-, or language-level grouping. The country comparison flow lists countries for which the property has data. See Google’s Performance report documentation and its country dimension guidance.
Choose a country dimension, filter, or comparison
- Use the Country table dimension to inspect the countries represented in the report.
- Use a filter to narrow the report to a country while applying other filters as needed.
- Use a comparison when you want to examine the difference between countries in the report.
Filtering and comparing are different controls. Filters across dimensions can be applied together, but the report permits only one comparison at a time. For example, adding a country comparison after a date comparison replaces the date comparison; you cannot keep both as separate comparison axes in the same Performance report. See Google’s instructions for comparing report data.
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What Looker Studio adds
Looker Studio is useful when the report needs to be reused, shared, or presented alongside other business data. Its Search Console connector creates a data source that can feed report charts and controls. Google describes extending Search Console reporting with sources including Analytics and Ads. See the connector guide and Google Cloud’s Search Console connection guidance.
Connect a Search Console property
- In Looker Studio, add the Search Console connector and select the property you want to report on.
- Choose either Site Impression or URL Impression as the table type, then select the search type.
- Build report charts and controls from that data source, and set its credentials to match who should be able to access the data.
You need at least view permission on the Search Console property. If the property does not appear in the connector’s selection list, make sure Looker Studio and Search Console are being used with the same Google Account. The connector documents owner, viewer, and service account credentials; the choice affects who can see the data through a shared report. See Google’s connector setup and credential guidance.
Use two sources for site and URL impressions
Site Impression and URL Impression are different aggregation methods, not interchangeable labels for the same total. A connector data source uses one table type. To present both, create one Site Impression source and one URL Impression source and add them to the same report. Google’s connector documentation gives the instruction: “To see your site impressions and URL impressions side by side, create two data sources and add both to a single report.” Avoid adding their totals or treating them as directly equivalent without explaining the different aggregation methods. See Google’s Search Console connector documentation.
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The available search types differ by table type. Site Impression supports web, image, video, and news. URL Impression also supports Discover and Google News. Do not assume the two sources offer identical search-type options. See the connector’s supported search-type details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Limits to account for in international reports
Country data is not a complete query inventory
Search Console omits some anonymized queries from query rows for privacy, although those queries may still contribute to totals. Displayed rows can also be truncated. A country or query table should therefore not be described as a complete list of every search or query. See Google’s Performance report guidance.
Recent data and date boundaries need care
The newest Search Console values can be preliminary. Google says dates are in Pacific Time outside the 24-hour view, which can matter when an international team interprets daily totals across local time zones. Make the report’s date boundaries clear to its readers. See Google’s data availability guidance.
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