📘 This article explains how RealKeywords elevates Google Search Console data by combining the API’s comprehensive data set with Botify’s flexible analytics platform. RealKeywords is part of Botify's Analytics Suite, available with all Botify plans.
Overview
Botify’s RealKeywords provides your domain’s Google Search Console (GSC) data in the Botify Analytics suite. RealKeywords connects query, impression, position, and click data from the Google Search Console API with the advanced, technical SEO insights Botify offers. See Getting Started with RealKeywords for more information.
How RealKeywords Metrics Are Calculated
RealKeywords aligns with GSC metrics, showing you more relevant property metrics to better monitor keyword performance. With the increased amount of available keyword data in RealKeywords, it is important to understand its underlying behavior, especially how RealKeywords interprets the following nuances of GSC data collection:
Website vs. URL Level Metrics
In GSC, click and impression data in GSC is aggregated by one of the following methods:
At the website level: The metrics are aggregated based on the overall performance of the ranking domain. Google removes duplicates from the metrics, so when Botify displays metrics at the website level, only the best ranking result from a given Google search is considered. This type is referred to as "property" in GSC.
At the URL level: URL-level metrics focus on the click and impression metrics of the individual page. This type is referred to as "page" in GSC.
RealKeywords includes website and URL-level metrics for more robust reporting, displaying metrics aggregated by website whenever possible. Click and impression data at the URL level is useful when monitoring URL performance since it provides a breakdown of which queries rank for specific URLs. However, URL-level metrics do not tell the full story when multiple URLs rank on Page 1 since the average rank position will be skewed by each URL. When monitoring keyword performance for high-value keywords, monitoring the domain’s highest-ranking position for the given keyword is best.
Example
The following search results page shows a search for "Botify alert panel":
Data aggregated by URL would show six impressions from botify.com.
Data aggregated by website would show one.
URL-Level Metrics in RealKeywords
URL-level metrics are displayed in RealKeywords in reports at the URL level, including:
When the view (chart, explorer) is filtered by a page-related dimension, such as using a URL dimension in the Keyword Explorer or filtering data by the Pagetype or Search Appearance dimension.
When using the Botify Analytics Overview. Clicks and impression data are at the page level since the SEO Conversion Funnel looks at individual page performance.
When there is insufficient historical data at the property level. When GSC is activated by website-level metrics, new and existing clients receive 16 months of historic, backfilled website-level data. The report will automatically default to URL-level metrics if you attempt to access older GSC performance data.
Applying a filter to view only product pages displays data aggregated “by URL”:
Website-Level Metrics in RealKeywords
Website-level metrics are displayed by default across all charts and explorer views. Filter breakdowns by search query, device, or country will retain the website-level view. If website-level metrics are enabled, and the chart or view is less than 16 months old and is not filtered by any URL or Search Appearance dimension, it is aggregated at the website level (assuming website-level metrics are enabled; otherwise the chart or view will aggregate at the page-level).
Data that displays information derived from keywords only aggregates data at the website level. For example, your default Website Performance Overview, with no filters applied, aggregates data “by website”:
Disabling Website-Level Metrics in RealKeywords
If you prefer to see URL-level metrics only, you can disable website-level metrics in project settings.
To disable website-level metrics:
Navigate to Project Settings > Keywords from the main project navigation bar.
In the Preferred Aggregation Type section, click Legacy: By URL only. The property-level data will still be collected, so no data will be lost if you revert to property-level metrics.
Click Save. Your metrics will be updated immediately.
About Sampled Query Data
When grouping click and impression performance at the page or query level, Google may abstract some data to save computing resources and calculate results in a reasonable amount of time. With more filters, the data becomes more abstract. Google does not provide information on the percentage of overall traffic sampled in GSC.
Sampled Query Data in RealKeywords
Since RealKeywords metrics are based on GSC and the GSC API integration, these data limits apply to RealKeywords. Read more in Understanding and Overcoming Search Console Limits with Botify.
Botify can ingest the top 50,000 results (by number of impressions) for a given website property for a single day. Note that one result combines a keyword, device type, country, and URL for page-level metrics.
When querying data at the page level, the GSC API only factors in the top 5,000 impressions for each page (by number of impressions). Anonymized queries are included in this page-level data, but it is impossible to see what portion of clicks and impressions are being anonymized. Anonymized queries are aggregated at the page level and cannot be broken down by country or device type.
Determining if your RealKeywords Project is Sampled
Navigate to RealKeywords > Keywords Info to see your global sampling rates for clicks and impressions. The higher the GSC sample rate percentage, the more accurate your RealKeywords data is.
Decreasing Sampling
Botify customers on a Pro or Enterprise plan can decrease and, in some cases, eliminate sampling with the Bulk Data Export integration.
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