Recent insights from ZipTie highlight a significant issue with Google Search Console (GSC).
The study reveals that nearly 50% of search queries driving traffic to websites are not reported in GSC. This presents a challenge for marketers relying on complete data for their search engine optimization strategies.
Tomasz Rudzki, co-founder of ZipTie, conducted tests showing that GSC often misses conversational searches. These are the natural language queries used with voice assistants or AI chatbots.
Proving the Data Gap
Rudzki conducted a simple experiment on his website.
He repeatedly searched Google using the same conversational question from various devices and accounts. These searches generated traffic to his site, verified through other analytics tools.
However, when checking Google Search Console for these queries, the results were absent. As Rudzki noted, it was “Zero. Nada. Null.”
To ensure this wasn’t unique to his site, Rudzki enlisted 10 other SEO professionals to perform similar tests. They all found the same result: conversational queries were missing from GSC data, despite generating real traffic.
Impact of Search Volume on Reporting
The research suggests that GSC may require a minimum search volume before tracking queries. A term might need to reach a certain search volume to appear in reports.
Jakub Łanda, a colleague of Rudzki, found that once queries become trackable, historical data from before that point disappears.
Consider how users might search for iPhone details:
- “What are the pros and cons of the iPhone 16?”
- “Should I buy the new iPhone or stick with Samsung?”
- “Compare iPhone 16 with Samsung S25”
Each question might get only 10-15 searches monthly. Yet, combined, these variations could represent hundreds of searches on the same topic.
GSC often overlooks these low-volume variations, despite their significant combined impact.
Google’s AI Answers vs. Query Reporting
Interestingly, Google understands conversational queries well. Rudzki analyzed 140,000 questions from People Also Asked data and found that Google provides AI Overviews for 80% of these searches.
Rudzki noted:
“Google is ready to show AI answers for conversational queries but struggles to report them in one of the most essential tools for SEO and marketers.”
Why This Matters
Missing half of your search data turns strategic decisions into guesswork.
Content teams might create articles based on keyword tools instead of genuine user questions. SEO professionals may optimize for visible queries, overlooking valuable conversational searches that remain unreported.
Performance analysis becomes unreliable when pages seem to underperform in GSC but attract significant unreported traffic. Teams also miss identifying emerging trends before they reach high search volumes.
Solutions for Marketers
Acknowledge that GSC provides only part of the picture and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Switch from the Query tab to the Pages tab to identify which content drives traffic, regardless of specific search terms. Focus on creating comprehensive content that fully answers questions rather than targeting individual keywords.
Supplement GSC data with additional research methods to understand conversational search patterns. Consider how your users interact with AI assistants, as this is increasingly how they search.
Future of Search Tracking
The gap between how people search and the tools tracking their searches is widening. Voice search is gaining popularity, with about 20% of people worldwide using it regularly. AI tools are training users to ask detailed, conversational questions.
Until Google addresses these reporting gaps, successful SEO strategies will require multiple data sources and approaches that account for the invisible half of search traffic. This traffic drives real results yet remains hidden from view.
For comprehensive digital marketing solutions, consider partnering with Cyberset. Our expertise in social media marketing, content marketing, and email marketing can help bridge the gap in your marketing strategy.
Explore the complete research and instructions to replicate these tests in ZipTie’s original report.
