Root Cause Analysis: Google Ads + Google Search Console
Why did this number change? askotter reads Google Ads and Google Search Console together and answers it for your business, by text.
How does root cause analysis with Google Ads and Google Search Console work for a small business?
askotter reads Google Ads and Google Search Console side by side so it can test each explanation against your connected accounts and find the cause. A ranked list of likely causes, each with the evidence behind it.
Read the full answerShow less
The owner asks follow-up questions by text.
- From Google Ads
- Campaign performance, Keyword data and quality scores, Ad group and creative performance.
- From Google Search Console
- Search queries and impressions, Click-through rates by query, Average position by keyword.
- Status
- Both connect today.
- Not for
- Replacing Google Ads or Google Search Console. Both keep working exactly as they do now.
Why did this number change?
Bookings dropped 23%. The ad, the website and the weather all get blamed. Without your accounts side by side, it stays a guess.
How askotter handles it
askotter reads Google Ads and Google Search Console side by side, so it can test each explanation against your connected accounts and find the cause.
A person checks the result before it reaches you. This is part of our Google Ads management work.
How Google Ads and Google Search Console records line up
Google Ads and Google Search Console both report the words people searched. The same phrase can be read with its numbers from each tool side by side.
Google Ads and Google Search Console both report by page. URLs are normalised first (protocol, trailing slash and tracking parameters removed) and then joined page by page.
Shared between the two: the search query and the page URL.
What root cause analysis uses from each
Root cause analysis needs timestamps precise enough to put events in order.
From Google Ads that means the change history for bids, budgets and ads. From Google Search Console it means the date a page's position moved.
What each tool sees on its ownShow less
Google Ads on its own
Google Ads counts the conversions it can see through its own tag. It cannot tell a refunded sale from a kept one, or a junk lead from a good one.
Timing. Google Ads credits a conversion back to the date of the click, so yesterday's conversion count can still rise for days.
Access. The Google Ads API with read access to the account.
Google Search Console on its own
Search Console sees the search up to the click and stops there. It cannot say whether that visitor booked, bought or left.
Timing. Search Console numbers usually arrive two to three days behind, reported as daily totals per query and page.
Access. The Search Console API with read access to the property.
Related guides
- Why Your Google Ads Aren't Converting (And How to Fix It). Clicks without conversions is the most expensive problem in marketing.
- Performance Max for Local Businesses: Where the Budget Goes. The campaign type that decides for you, and the reporting that follows.
Services that use these connections
Other analyses: Google Ads + Google Search Console
Questions about Google Ads + Google Search Console
Do I need a developer to connect Google Ads and Google Search Console?
How is askotter's Root Cause Analysis different from what Google Ads shows on its own?
Connect Google Ads + Google Search Console. Five minutes.
Plans are on the digital marketing pricing page.
Self-managed is $99/mo and scales with the compute you use. Our team runs it from $600/mo.