Use cases

SEO analyst use cases

Start from the question, not the tool

Nobody opens an analytics tool for fun. They open it because someone asked a question. These are the eight questions that come up most, each mapped to the report that answers it with your own Search Console and GA4 data.

Traffic moved and nobody knows why

The first question after any drop or spike: what changed, on which pages and queries, and whether Google or the site caused it.

Rankings are there, clicks are not

When impressions hold but clicks fall, the loss is in the snippet, the SERP layout or two of your own pages competing.

Prove the work paid off

The reports a client or a board actually asks for: where the next gain is, and what the last one was worth.

How to read these scenarios

Each scenario starts from a sentence someone says out loud — "traffic is down", "the client wants proof", "we rank but nobody clicks" — and ends at a report you can put in front of them. That is the whole point of the ordering: you are not browsing a tool list, you are looking up the question you were handed.

All of the reports read your own Search Console and GA4 data, so the numbers match what Google shows. If you need the full catalogue instead of a scenario, the analytics section lists every report grouped by the part of the platform it lives in.

The scenarios cover the questions that come up again and again: why organic traffic dropped after a Google update, where a page loses clicks despite holding its ranking, and what keyword cannibalization is doing to a set of URLs. Each one starts from Google Search Console data, so the answer is about your site rather than an industry average.

Frequently asked questions

Which scenario should I start with after a traffic drop?
Start with "Why organic traffic dropped" — it splits the click change by page and query, so you learn whether the loss is concentrated in a few URLs or spread across the site. Then check the Google updates report to see whether the dates line up.
Can I use these without connecting Google Search Console?
Some reports accept a CSV export from Search Console instead of a live connection, so you can try the workflow first. The connection is read-only and can be revoked from your Google account at any time.
How is a scenario different from a tool page?
A scenario is the question; a tool page is the report. One question often needs two or three reports read together, which is why the scenarios group them.
What is keyword cannibalization and how do I fix it?
Keyword cannibalization is two or more of your own URLs competing for the same query, so Google keeps swapping which one it shows and neither settles into a stable position. The cannibalization report reads Search Console and lists every query where that is happening, with the competing URLs and the clicks each takes. To fix it you usually merge the weaker page into the stronger one, or repoint the internal links and the title so each page targets a distinct intent. Content cannibalization works the same way at topic level: several posts covering one subject split the signals instead of concentrating them.
How do I tell a Google update from a problem on my own site?
Run the traffic drop report first: if the loss is spread evenly across many pages and starts on a single date, an update is the likely cause, and the Google updates report will show whether that date matches a confirmed rollout. If the loss sits in a handful of URLs or one folder, it is almost always something on the site — a template change, a redirect, or content that was rewritten.