Search Engine Journal reported on 10 April that Google confirmed a Search Console bug that over-reported impressions over an extended period. The bug has been fixed, but it points to something that applies far beyond a single error.

Marketing data is not the truth. It is a trail. It needs to be read with experience and context, not copied straight into reports and presented as fact.

If you made decisions based on impression data from that period, it is not necessarily catastrophic. But it is a good moment to ask: how solid is the data foundation under your strategy?

A number is not an answer

Search Console is a valuable tool, but like all tools it has bugs, delays and data gaps. Taking numbers at face value without understanding the context is a reliable path to wrong conclusions.

A jump in impressions does not automatically mean better visibility. A drop in clicks does not necessarily mean worse content. A lower CTR can come from AI Overviews, changes to the SERP layout, seasonal variation or appearing for broader searches than before.

Reporting should not be about showing numbers. It should explain what those numbers most likely mean, and what they do not say.

Bad decisions start with the wrong question

The simplest question, "why did traffic drop?", is rarely the right one.

A better question is: which type of traffic dropped, from which searches, to which pages, over which period, and what happened simultaneously in the market or in the search landscape?

That takes more work. But it is how you avoid changing the wrong things.

If a service page loses traffic from broad informational searches but receives more qualified enquiries, the situation is not necessarily negative. If impressions increase on irrelevant searches, that is not a win.

Connect measurement to the business, not to the platform

For businesses, SEO and advertising numbers should be tied to real goals, not to the platform's own performance metrics:

  • More qualified enquiries
  • Better conversion rate on important pages
  • Lower cost per lead
  • More visibility on the services that actually sell
  • More confident decisions about budget and priorities

When the numbers are connected to the business, it is easier to see what is actually driving growth and what just looks good in a report.

Reports should make you smarter, not more comfortable

A good report shows what happened, explains why it may have happened and recommends what to do next. If it does not help you prioritise, it is not good enough.

The Search Console bug is a useful reminder: data is a trail, not an answer. It is best read alongside experience, customer data, website content and the surrounding market.

Want to know whether the data foundation under your SEO and advertising strategy holds up? Get in touch: we will review your measurement setup and reporting and give you a more honest picture of what is actually contributing to growth.