Root Cause Analysis: Google Search Console + Meta Ads
Why did this number change? askotter reads Google Search Console and Meta Ads together and answers it for your business, by text.
How does root cause analysis with Google Search Console and Meta Ads work for a small business?
askotter reads Google Search Console and Meta Ads 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 Search Console
- Search queries and impressions, Click-through rates by query, Average position by keyword.
- From Meta Ads
- Campaign and ad set performance, Creative performance, Audience targeting data.
- Status
- Both connect today.
- Not for
- Replacing Google Search Console or Meta Ads. 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 Search Console and Meta Ads 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 local SEO services work.
How Google Search Console and Meta Ads records line up
Google Search Console and Meta Ads 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 page URL.
What root cause analysis uses from each
Root cause analysis needs timestamps precise enough to put events in order.
From Google Search Console that means the date a page's position moved. From Meta Ads it means creative changes and delivery status by ad.
What each tool sees on its ownShow less
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.
Meta Ads on its own
Meta sees who saw and clicked an ad. It cannot see a sale its pixel missed, and lead-form contacts stop being visible to it once they leave Facebook or Instagram.
Timing. Meta reports conversions under its own attribution setting, seven days after a click and one day after a view by default.
Access. The Meta Marketing API with read access to the ad account.
Related guides
- You Rank on Page One and Nobody Clicks. Here Is Why.. A page-one ranking that earns no clicks is a more solvable problem than a page-three ranking. It is also more annoying, because it looks like success.
- How Long Does SEO Take? An Honest Timeline for Small Businesses. A realistic month-by-month timeline, without the "results in 30 days" lies.
Services that use these connections
Other analyses: Google Search Console + Meta Ads
Questions about Google Search Console + Meta Ads
Do I need a developer to connect Google Search Console and Meta Ads?
How is askotter's Root Cause Analysis different from what Google Search Console shows on its own?
Connect Google Search Console + Meta Ads. 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.