What is the difference between Google Analytics and Google Search Console?

You have probably heard of Google Analytics and Google Search Console before, but while they may appear similar these tools are distinctly different. 

Are you struggling to understand what is the difference between google analytics and Google Search Console?  

You are not alone. These two tools are often confused as they are both Google-owned analytics tools.  

The main difference between Google Analytics and Google Search Console is that Google Search Console focuses on a website’s performance and search results, whereas Google Analytics focuses on audiences and can analyse multiple digital marketing channels. 

While there are multitudes of tools available online to use for optimising your website, few are more useful than analytics tools. 

To help you better understand these two web analytics tools let’s first look at them one by one in depth.  

 Note – Both are free (paid upgrades available) and operated by Google. 

Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools)

Google Search Console is a tool used to better understand how search engines interact with your website. Its focus is mainly on things like search performance, search traffic and issues on your website. 

It contains many different features such as crawl rate monitoring, keyword monitoring and more to help you analyse your website’s performance in searches. Its website speed reports are especially great. Speed reports can help you speed up your website, which is vital to keeping visitors. Google research shows that around 53% of website visitors will leave if a website does not load in 3 seconds! So, ensuring your website is fast is very important.   

Some of the ways you can use Google Search Console are identifying the pages that are indexed by Google, what pages are broken, what pages are blocked from Google, so you can fix any issues and optimise your website. Not only this, but you can analyse what keywords or what site URLs are appearing on the search results, the number of impressions and clicks etc. 

Google Search Console can also be handy when you want to efficiently let Google know that you changed the structure of the website, you have new content or have updated the existing content by submitting your sitemap. 

One important aspect of using Google Search Console is understanding how to use the data it provides to improve your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy. One of the main metrics to look at is your website’s click-through rate (CTR). By analysing the CTR data, you can see which pages on your website are getting the most clicks, and which ones are not. This can help you identify pages that need to be optimised to improve their ranking in search results. 

Another key metric to look at in Google Search Console is your website’s average position. This tells you where your website is ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs) for a particular keyword or search term. By monitoring your average position over time, you can see if your SEO efforts are paying off and if your website is moving up or down in the search rankings. 

Essentially, Google Search Console analyses where you need to improve on your website as well as what your website shows up on search results pages for and helps you optimise your website performance. It is an excellent tool to help you analyse your website through the eyes of Google and better drive traffic to your website landing pages.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is used to measure the performance of various digital marketing channels. Its focus is on tracking your business or website’s audience. Reports in Google Analytics have many metrics you can track, such as audience demographics, organic traffic, bounce rate (replaced with engagement rate in ga4) and more. By analysing this data, you can see which channels are driving the most traffic to your website, and which ones are not. This can help you make more informed decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts and budget. 

In addition, Google Analytics can provide insights into your website’s audience demographics, allowing you to better understand who is visiting your website and how they are interacting with it. This information can be used to tailor your marketing campaigns and website content to better appeal to your target audience. 

This is the tool you need to use if you want to grow your business because it gives you deep insights into who your customers are and what they want. It also helps you track how your business is performing related to your marketing goals. 

Find out more about Google Analytics 4 by reading our blog: Why Use Google Analytics 4 For Your Business?

Comparison of Google Analytics and Google Search Console Metrics

Top Tip – Both platforms can integrate with other useful digital marketing tools like Shopify, Facebook, Google Ads and more. 

Google Analytics:  

• Engagement rate 
• Unique Pageviews 
• Average Session Duration 
• Conversions 
• Audience demographics 
• Audience Funnels 
• Reports 
• Session Mapping 
• And much more 

 Google Search Console: 

• Impressions 
• Clicks 
• CTR 
• Keyword queries 
• Mobile useability 
• Index coverage reporting 
• Average position 

While there are a lot of technical differences between the two platforms, the main difference is their focus. Both are excellent tools to use to optimise your online business, but Google Search Console isn’t very useful for those who do not own a website. It mainly focuses on the technical parts of a website and the SEO side of things. Google Analytics does this too but can also track other digital marketing channels such as social media and more. Therefore, Google Analytics is usually the more versatile option. 

Basically, Google Analytics should be your first choice if you have multiple marketing channels and for best results pair it with Google Search Console.  

Top Tip – If you integrate Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can use Google Analytics (GA4) to better track clicks, impressions, CTR and more. 

To further expand on the differences between Google Analytics and Google Search Console, it’s important to note that they serve different purposes for website owners and marketers. Google Analytics provides valuable insights into audience behaviour and engagement across multiple digital marketing channels, while Google Search Console offers insights into a website’s technical performance and SEO-related metrics. 

In terms of metrics, Google Analytics tracks engagement rate, unique pageviews, average session duration, conversions, and audience demographics. On the other hand, Google Search Console tracks impressions, clicks, CTR, keyword queries, mobile usability, index coverage reporting, and average position. 

Google Analytics and Google Search Console are both essential tools for any website owner or marketer looking to optimise their online presence. While they serve different purposes, when used together they can provide valuable insights to drive better results and attract more organic traffic. By taking the time to learn how to use these tools effectively, you can improve your website’s SEO, drive more traffic to your site, and ultimately achieve better results for your online business.