Why Do Web Pages Drop Out of Search Console Reports?

Why do web pages drop out of search console reports

For website owners, monitoring their web pages’ performance is critical to their online success. This is why tools like Google Search Console are so important – they provide website owners with insights into their website’s performance and highlight any potential issues. However, some website owners have noticed that some of their web pages are dropping out of Search Console reports. In particular, the Core Web Vitals report seems to be reporting fewer pages month by month. So, what’s going on?

Search Console Reports Are Based on a Sample of URLs

According to Google’s John Mueller, this issue is related to how Search Console reports on web pages. Rather than attempt to include every page in the report, they use a sample of the URLs from your site. The number of pages they use to sample your site can vary from month to month, which can result in some pages dropping out of the report.

Mueller explains that this is especially true for aggregate reports, such as the Core Web Vitals report, the AMP report, the Structured Data report, and mobile friendliness. For these reports, Google only looks at a sample of URLs, and that sample can change over time.

So, if you’re seeing a decline in the number of pages reported in the Core Web Vitals report, it’s likely because Google is looking at a smaller sample of pages from your site. You can watch this video here, where John discusses the issue starting at the 51:33 mark: https://youtu.be/rCcDsmjn-SA

Focus on What’s Being Reported

While it’s understandable to be concerned about the changing sample size, Mueller advises website owners to focus on what is actually being reported. Specifically, the relationship between the bad pages that are reported and the good ones.

If all of the URLs in the report are without errors, then you have nothing to worry about. However, if you’re seeing errors, especially if the proportion of errors is increasing over time, then you may have some fixing to do.

In any case, the total number of URLs in the report should not be your primary concern. Instead, you should focus on the relationship between the pages and the reported negatives and try to fix any issues that are identified.

Tips for Improving Your Website’s Performance

If you want to ensure that your website is performing well, there are several steps you can take:

1. Optimize Your Website’s Core Web Vitals

The Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure your website’s user experience. By optimizing these metrics, you can improve your website’s overall performance and ensure that it meets Google’s standards for a good user experience.

2. Fix Any Technical Issues

Technical issues, such as broken links, slow page load times, and crawl errors, can all impact your website’s performance. By fixing these issues, you can improve your website’s overall user experience and help it rank better in search engine results pages.

3. Create High-Quality Content

Creating high-quality content that is relevant to your audience can help improve your website’s performance. By publishing fresh, unique content on a regular basis, you can attract more visitors to your site and keep them engaged.

4. Use Keywords Strategically

Using keywords strategically can help your website rank better in search engine results pages. By conducting keyword research and optimizing your content accordingly, you can increase your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.

Conclusion

If you’ve noticed that some of your web pages are dropping out of Search Console reports, it’s likely because Google is looking at a smaller sample of pages from your site. While it’s understandable to be concerned about this, it’s more important to focus on what is being reported and fix any issues that are identified.

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