In May 2010 Google greatly improved Webmaster Tools by updating Search Queries to show how often your page appeared in SERPs for specific keywords along with clicks, clickthrough rate and average position. Welcomed changes! They’ve updated Search Queries once again. Let’s take a look at what’s new.

To access Search Queries, log into Webmaster Tools, click Your Site on the Web –> Search Queries, from the left-side menu. You’ll see a screen similar to what’s below.

New Statistics in Webmaster Tools

Right off the bat you’re going to notice the four new columns (highlighted above) which detail how well your rank, impressions, and click throughs have been for the month. Just by glancing at the page, you can see how well your keywords are doing and which need attention. It’s also serves as good feedback for how recent SEO changes are impacting your site. Drastic changes are red flags you’ll want to look into. (Is a new competitor on the scene and you were bumped, was there a penalty, does the site need an update, more links, etc.).

To sort results by greatest to smallest change, click the Change tab. Keep in mind, these are not real-time stats and by default cover the last month ending about three days prior. (For example, I checked these stats on October 6, but wasn’t able to see stats past October 3). To change the date range, click the drop down calendar as shown below.

Traffic Charts in Search Queries

As you can see, this is extremely helpful in reviewing the movement of your keyword phrases at a glance.

New Statistics in Search Queries

Another excellent feature by Google that is going to make reviewing impressions and keywords faster and easier.

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Google Webmaster Tools Update

By now some readers may be noticing a dip, if not a complete cliff dive, in the impressions shown in Google Webmaster Tools. This drop in impressions would have started June 2, 2010 and continued from there.

Here is what webmasters are reporting and what we’ve seen on some sites:

• A significant drop in impressions showing in Google Webmaster Tools.
• A noticeable decrease in the number of clicks being reported in GWT.
• No confirmation of this drop showing in other stats programs, including Google Analytics.
• No loss of traffic or revenue which would be expected with such a crash in numbers.

I’ll keep an eye on it, but this appears to be a glitch within Google Webmaster Tools.

If you are noticing a drop in impressions or clicks in GWT, check other stats programs, or your raw log files to confirm the numbers are inline with what you’d expect.