The short answer

An impression means a result from your site was shown or could be seen in Google Search under Google's reporting rules. A click means someone clicked that result. CTR is clicks divided by impressions. Average position summarizes the top position of your site across impressions. Read the four together, because none tells the whole story alone.

A small example

Suppose one page records 1,000 impressions and 35 clicks during a month.

35 clicks ÷ 1,000 impressions × 100 = 3.5% CTR

That 3.5 percent isn't automatically good or bad. A precise query where your page appears first behaves differently from a broad research query where it appears among videos, maps, shopping results, and several websites.

Google's metric definitions explain how impressions and positions depend on the result type and whether a result must be scrolled or expanded. Treat the numbers as consistent reporting measures, not a perfect replay of every person's screen.

What each metric can tell you

Impressions show visibility. Rising impressions may mean Google is testing your page for more searches, your rankings improved, or demand for the topic increased.

Clicks show visits from the search result. They don't show whether the visitor subscribed, called, or bought. Connect that part in your analytics or customer records.

CTR shows how often impressions became clicks. Low CTR on a clearly relevant query can point to a vague title, an unhelpful snippet, a weak position, or a result page that answers the question before a click.

Average position is an average, not a fixed ranking. Your result can appear differently by query, location, device, time, and search context. Google also uses the topmost result from your property when calculating position often, so don't read 8.2 as “my page is always number eight.”

Diagnose combinations, not isolated numbers

• Impressions up, clicks up: Usually healthy growth. Check whether the traffic is useful.
• Impressions up, CTR down: You may be appearing for broader searches or at lower positions. Break the data down before rewriting anything.
• Position improves, clicks stay flat: Search demand may be small, the title may not earn the click, or a special result may satisfy the searcher.
• Clicks rise, sales don't: The page may attract the wrong intent or may not lead visitors clearly to the next step.

Open Search Console's Performance report, choose a useful date range, and compare periods. Then examine the Query and Page tabs. One sitewide average can hide a wonderful page and a struggling page in the same number.

Sources and further reading

• Google Search Console: What are impressions, position, and clicks?
• Google Search Console: Performance report overview

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Related Questions

• What is a canonical URL, and why might Google choose a different one?
• What does noindex mean, and how do I check whether a page is accidentally blocked?
• How do I find search queries in Search Console that are already bringing visitors to my site?
• How do I set up Google Search Console and submit my sitemap correctly?

Related WAHMN resource

If you want to turn this website task into a service or build a stronger process for your own site, this system walks through the work in more depth. See Website & Landing Page Build System.