---
title: "Understand Search performance"
description: "Read the report period, KPI comparisons, chart, query and page panels, and the supporting search breakdowns."
canonical: "https://crawlraven.com/docs/search-performance"
markdown: "https://crawlraven.com/docs/search-performance.md"
product: "CrawlRaven v2"
last_verified: "2026-08-19"
---

# Understand Search performance

> Read the report period, KPI comparisons, chart, query and page panels, and the supporting search breakdowns.

This guide documents current CrawlRaven v2 behavior. UI labels are written exactly where relevant. Bounded Search Console rows are evidence, not guaranteed exhaustive totals.

## Start with the report scope

The line above the report shows the date range actually returned and the latest date available from Google. CrawlRaven uses finalized Search Console data, so “updated” can be earlier than yesterday when Google is still processing recent dates.

On an unfiltered Performance view, `Since your last visit` appears when new report days, opportunities, or notes have arrived since the last recorded visit. It is a change summary, not another date filter, and it stays hidden while report filters are active.

- The default view is the last 90 days unless a saved URL carries another date range.
- For comparison-enabled ranges, deltas compare the current period with the immediately preceding period of the same length.
- The 16-month view has no preceding 16-month comparison, so trend filters and row deltas are unavailable.

> **Do not read a stale indicator as lost data:** A small warning dot means CrawlRaven is showing cached Search Console data while Google refreshes or while a quota cooldown is active. Existing report rows remain usable.

## Read the KPI tiles and chart

| Metric | What it answers | How to read movement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Clicks | How many clicks came from Google Search results. | Higher is normally better. |
| Impressions | How often your result appeared in Search. | Higher can mean broader visibility, even before clicks grow. |
| CTR | The share of impressions that became clicks. | Read it with position and query intent; a lower value is not automatically a title problem. |
| Position | The average ranking position for your property in the selected report scope. | A smaller number is better; moving from 12 to 8 is an improvement. |

Select a KPI tile to add or remove its line from the chart. At least one metric remains enabled. Use `Line` for precise crossings or `Area` when you want a stronger sense of volume over time.

![CrawlRaven Search performance chart with KPI tiles and event markers](/images/changelog/changelog-performance-line-markers-2026-08-14.png)

*KPI tiles control the chart. Event markers add the context behind changes without changing the report scope.*

## Use the Queries and Pages panels

The compact panels show the leading returned queries and pages for the active report scope. Sort by Clicks, Impressions, CTR, or Position. Select a row to apply an exact filter to the entire dashboard; KPIs, chart, and both panels then describe that one query or page.

- **Growing:** The row has more clicks than in the preceding comparison period.
- **Declining:** The row has fewer clicks than in the comparison period.
- **New:** The row has meaningful current impressions and little or no prior-period presence.
- **Lost:** The row had meaningful prior impressions and little or no current-period presence.

Select `All queries →` or `All pages →` for the full explorer, searching, pagination, detail drawers, and export controls.

## Use the supporting breakdowns

- **Branded split** compares queries containing your configured brand terms with non-branded queries. Edit classification from Settings.
- **Ranking distribution** groups queries into position ranges so movement toward the first page is easier to see.
- **Countries** shows where search demand is coming from for the active scope.
- **Devices** separates desktop, mobile, and tablet behavior.

> **Query and page rows are not site totals:** Google can omit anonymized queries and return bounded dimensional rows. Do not add the query or page table together to recreate the Clicks or Impressions KPI; the KPI is the correct site total for the report scope.