Google Analytics (GA) is about who visits your site. Metrics here include geography (visitor provenance), device being used, what pages are winners based on incoming traffic or session duration, conversion and bounce rates, and details on keywords. So, it’s also about what they do once they have you on their radar… that is, how visitors and your website interact.
Google Search Console (GSC) is more about the internals of your website. How does your site fare with search engines from the machine’s viewpoint? Things like who is linking to you or which keywords your site is reacting to in organic searches. Insight also includes blocked URLs, presence of malware, and crawl or HTML errors, flagging glitches your site is experiencing that you are not noticing. This facilitates key inputs, upping the capacity for web owners, administrators, and developers to apply the smarts of this diagnostic tool for website and technical SEO optimization.
Google My Business (GMB) has fast become the most relevant touchpoint for local search. Map results or location-type queries, like best graphic designers in downtown NYC or Cuban restaurants near me, are prominently featured in Google’s search results knowledge graph and local pack. Such an awesome referrer oftentimes makes it easier for businesses to rank and drive traffic than via standard organic searches.
All three treat similar information in different ways, as is apparent from reports. GA and GSC measure clicks and sessions in fundamentally different ways, having sparked some controversy as users found that traffic in one metric was on the rise while remaining stagnant or even dropping in the other.
After careful analysis and use, one finds that the true diagnostic strength of this freeware basically boils down to interaction and reactivity. Then, of course, how data, analysis, and gut feeling are best applied towards strategic decision-making is all you.
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