Short answer
Google has updated the filters in the Search Console performance report so that Google Search traffic from several countries can be viewed together. Previously, seeing more than one country meant using the comparison feature. Sites selling in several markets can now read the total performance of a group of countries with a single filter.
Highlights
- The performance report's Country filter now lets you tick several countries and see combined traffic.
- According to Google's help page, several countries could previously be viewed only through a comparison limited to two items.
- It is not stated whether the update reaches all properties at once, or what changed in the Device filter.
2 min readAuthor: UNIT Journal EditorEditor-in-chief: Uğur Deniz İlhan
Google has updated the filters in the Search Console performance report. According to Search Engine Journal, Google Search Central announced the change on LinkedIn: sites operating in several countries can now review the combined Google Search traffic of those countries in a single view.
What was the previous method?
According to Google's help page, viewing data for several devices, search types, countries or search appearances required a comparison, and a comparison was limited to two items. The comparison offers a separate column showing the differences, but only one comparison can be made at a time. Query and page filters, by contrast, already accepted several values, including regular expressions.
What does the new filter change?
The Country filter has Filter and Compare tabs; on the Filter tab, several countries can now be ticked. Search Engine Journal wrote that teams monitoring several European markets, for example, can see the total traffic of the whole group in one report.
The report also leaves some questions open. Google's post does not say what changed in the Device filter, and the help page's two-item comparison description was still in place on the day of the update. It was also not stated whether the update will reach all properties at the same time.
What does it mean for sites selling abroad from Türkiye?
Exporters, health tourism clinics and e-commerce brands serving several countries from Türkiye can stop opening and adding up Germany, the United Kingdom and the Gulf markets one by one, and read groups of markets together. This simplifies reporting, but because a combined view can hide differences between countries, it is worth checking countries separately before making decisions.
- Build your reports around market groups (for example Europe, the Gulf) and save each group's combined traffic as a separate view.
- If you see a drop in the combined view, use the Compare tab to examine the countries one by one.
- If you cannot see the filter in your property, try again after a few days; the rollout period was not stated.
Frequently asked
- Is the Compare tab still needed to select several countries?
- Not for combined traffic; the Filter tab provides that. The Compare tab is still used to set countries side by side.
Sources
- Search Engine Journal ·
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