Understand Search Analytics comparison data

Learn how TechDash stores and compares daily rolling Search Console windows.

Last checked 20 August 2026

The Search Console weekly queue label uses "weekly," but the runtime cadence is daily. TechDash uses Search Console performance data to compare the latest rolling 7-day window with the corresponding 7-day window one week earlier. The work runs in the background and is separate from Import from GSC.

Schedule and comparison windows

TechDash checks hourly for connected websites that are due. It can queue a Search Analytics run once per UTC day when:

The TechDash license is usable
The computer is online
The website is not paused
The Search Console connection still has a property and refresh token
The rolling window for the current UTC date has not already been stored

The window key is based on the date 9 days before the current UTC date, so it changes at each UTC day boundary. The requested range covers days 9 through 3 before the run date, inclusive. This is seven date labels with a 3-day reporting buffer. For example, a run on August 20 requests August 11 through August 17. Google says Search Analytics data is typically available after two to three days, so the buffer reduces comparisons against incomplete data.

TechDash compares those rows with the successfully stored window whose key is seven days earlier. The compared 7-day periods are adjacent and do not overlap, so each run is a week-over-week comparison. A new comparison can become eligible every day because the rolling windows advance daily. If no matching prior page, query, or appearance rows exist, the run stores a baseline and reports the checks as good.

Data requested

TechDash makes three Search Analytics requests for the saved property:

Page rows
Query rows
Search appearance rows

Each request is for Google's web search type and returns at most 1,000 rows. Each row contains clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. Search Console sorts these results by clicks. Google does not guarantee that the API returns every row, especially when grouping by page or query.

Page rows cover the connected property, not only URLs listed in Monitored Pages. Query and search appearance rows are also property-level datasets. URL Inspection, by contrast, is scheduled only for enabled monitored URLs.

Checks supported by the rolling data

After a baseline exists, TechDash evaluates:

Page organic clicks dropped
Page impressions dropped
Average position worsened
Click-through rate dropped
Template organic clicks dropped
Query organic clicks dropped
Query impressions dropped
Search appearance clicks or impressions dropped

The current check applies minimum-volume and change thresholds. Click-loss checks require at least 50 prior clicks and a fall of 30 percent or more. Impression-loss checks require at least 200 prior impressions and the same 30 percent fall. Average position requires at least 200 prior impressions and a deterioration of 3 or more positions. CTR requires at least 200 prior impressions and a fall of 20 percent or more.

Template groups are derived from the first one or two path segments in each page URL, then compared using combined clicks.

How results are stored

TechDash replaces the stored rows for the current daily window key and publishes the resulting checks under Sitewide Checks and Incidents. The current check uses the current set and the stored set keyed seven days earlier.

The scheduler queues one Search Analytics job at a time and spaces queued jobs. Identical requests in flight are coalesced so they do not create duplicate Google calls.

Delays and failures

A missed hourly sweep is not permanently lost. When TechDash is next running, licensed, online, and due, it can queue that UTC date's current window. It does not replay every missed historical daily window.

Google rate limits and daily quota classifications stop that run without creating an SEO incident. Other Google API errors cause the Search Analytics checks to be recorded as good with a message that Search Analytics was skipped after an API error. That status means the comparison did not run successfully, not that organic performance was independently verified.

Use Queue Status to check the Search Console weekly queue if scheduled work appears delayed. The label is retained in the interface, but the work becomes eligible daily. TechDash advances its key by UTC date, while Search Console interprets requested date labels in Pacific Time. Around UTC and Pacific day boundaries, the newest eligible key and the dates shown in Search Console can therefore appear out of step. Google may also omit lower-volume rows.