Dashboards
Understanding Metrics
Plain definitions of every Search Console, Google Analytics 4 and comparison metric used across Prism reports.
2 min read Updated
What is it?
Prism shows numbers from two Google tools, plus a few of its own calculations. This page explains each one in plain words. You can also find every term in the Glossary.
Search Console metrics
These numbers come from Google Search Console. They describe how your site appears in Google search results, before anyone visits.
Impressions
How many times your website was shown in Google search results, even if nobody clicked it.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics
Clicks
How many times people clicked your website in Google search results. Comes from Google Search Console.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Unified Dashboard
CTRClick-through rate
Clicks divided by impressions. It shows how often people click your result after seeing it.
Example: If your page got 10 clicks from 100 impressions, its CTR is 10%.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics
Average position
Your average place in Google results. Position 1 is the top result, so lower is better. Prism weights the average by impressions, so queries that are seen more count more.
Example: A page at position 3 for a query with 1,000 impressions counts ten times more than position 20 for a query with 100.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics
(not set)
The part of Search Console's total clicks and impressions that Google does not attribute to any specific query or page, for privacy reasons. Prism calculates it as the site total minus all known rows, so every table adds up to the real Search Console total.
Appears in: Analytics, Unified Dashboard, Advanced Analytics
When no category filter is applied, Prism's Clicks, Impressions, CTR and Position totals are Search Console's own site totals.
Ranking opportunity terms
Prism uses your Search Console data to find pages and keywords that can grow.
Typical CTR
The CTR this site normally gets at a given position. Prism uses your own data when it has at least 200 impressions at that position (borrowing from up to three neighbouring positions). Otherwise it uses fixed estimates: 15% for positions 1–3, 7% for 4–6, 3% for 7–10, 1.5% for 11–20 and 0.7% beyond 20.
Appears in: Category Breakdown, URL Breakdown, Keywords Breakdown
Striking distance
Pages or keywords ranking just below page one, at average positions 11–20. A small improvement can move them onto page one.
Appears in: Category Breakdown, URL Breakdown, Keywords Breakdown, Opportunity Finder
Quick-win CTR
Pages or keywords that already rank well but get fewer clicks than usual for their position. They are often fixed by a better title or meta description.
Appears in: Category Breakdown, URL Breakdown, Keywords Breakdown
The exact rules for each report are on the Category Breakdown and Keywords Breakdown pages.
Keyword terms
Branded keyword
A search that matches your branded keyword pattern, set in Category Builder. Usually a search that includes your brand name.
Example: With the pattern techmagnate|tech magnate, “techmagnate seo services” is branded.
Appears in: Keywords Breakdown, SEO Root Cause Analysis
Non-branded keyword
A search that does not match your branded keyword pattern. These searches show demand from people who may not know your brand yet.
Appears in: Keywords Breakdown, SEO Root Cause Analysis
Keyword cannibalization
When two or more of your own pages each take 10% or more of a keyword's impressions, so they compete with each other.
Appears in: Keywords Breakdown
Google Analytics 4 metrics
These numbers come from Google Analytics 4 (GA4). They describe what people do after they arrive on your site. On the Analytics screen, most GA4 cards count organic visits only. Conversions and Revenue count all channels.
Sessions
Visits to your website, counted by Google Analytics 4. “Organic sessions” are visits from unpaid search results.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Unified Dashboard
New users
People who visited your website for the first time in the selected dates.
Appears in: Analytics, Category Breakdown
Engaged sessions
Sessions that Google Analytics 4 counts as engaged — the visitor stayed, viewed more than one page or took a key action.
Appears in: Analytics, Category Breakdown
Engagement rate
Engaged sessions divided by all sessions. Changes are shown in percentage points (pp).
Appears in: Analytics, Category Breakdown
Average session duration
How long an organic visit lasts on average, shown as minutes and seconds.
Appears in: Analytics
Conversions
Google Analytics 4 key events — the important actions people take on your site, such as a form fill or a purchase.
Appears in: Analytics, Advanced Analytics
Conversion rate
Conversions divided by sessions.
Appears in: Category Breakdown, SEO Root Cause Analysis
Revenue
Purchase revenue from Google Analytics 4 (the purchase_revenue metric).
Appears in: Analytics, Category Breakdown, URL Breakdown
LLM referral traffic
Google Analytics 4 sessions whose source is an AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot or Grok.
Appears in: Analytics, Unified Dashboard
Comparison metrics
These terms explain how Prism shows change between two periods.
Preceding period
The same number of days immediately before your selected start date. It is the default comparison.
Appears in: Date picker
Percentage points (pp)
How rates such as CTR or engagement rate change. Going from 4% to 5% is +1 pp (a 25% relative increase).
Appears in: All comparison cards
Counts such as clicks and sessions show a % change. If the previous value was 0, no change is shown. Read more in Date ranges and compare.
Example
For example, a page got 1,000 impressions and 30 clicks. Its CTR is 30 ÷ 1,000 = 3%. Last month its CTR was 2%. The change is +1pp, which is a 50% relative rise.
Tips
- Read clicks and impressions together. More impressions with flat clicks means CTR fell.
- Check engagement rate with sessions. More visits with a lower engagement rate may mean the wrong people are arriving.
Frequently asked questions
Is a lower average position better?
Yes. Position 1 is the top result on Google, so a smaller number means a better rank.
Why are Conversions on the Analytics screen higher than my organic conversions?
The Conversions card counts GA4 key events from all channels, not only organic search.
How does Prism calculate average position?
It weights the average by impressions, so queries that are seen more often count more.
Related articles
- DashboardsAnalytics (GA4 + GSC)Read every KPI card, chart and table on the Analytics screen, which joins Google Analytics 4 and Search Console data.Read
- DashboardsReading ChartsLearn how to read Prism's trend charts and funnels, and why GA4 sessions and Search Console clicks never match exactly.Read
- Dashboards(not set) ExplainedLearn what the (not set) row means, how Prism calculates it, and why it keeps your totals equal to Search Console.Read
- DashboardsDate Ranges and CompareLearn how Prism date ranges work, why they end three days ago, and how to compare with an earlier period.Read
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