Understanding GSC Data Discrepancies: A Case Study of Missing Analytics for Nearly Nine Months
In the digital marketing realm, Google Search Console (GSC) serves as a vital tool for monitoring website performance, diagnosing issues, and informing SEO strategies. However, what happens when GSC data appears to be missing for an extended period? Recently, I encountered such a situation in a professional context, and I would like to share some insights into potential reasons behind this anomaly.
Contextual Background
The company in question operates a lead-generation website built on the Shopify platform, with a third-party domain provider managing the domain registration. The digital presence has remained relatively stable, with no significant updates or modifications to the website content or structure since its launch. Upon reviewing the company’s GSC account, I observed that no data was recorded from January 2nd through October 6th of the current year—that’s nearly nine months of missing analytics data.
Possible Causes and Considerations
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Incorrect Property Setup or Verification Issues
One of the most common reasons for missing data is improper setup or verification of the website property in GSC. If the website was added incorrectly or the verification process failed, GSC might not be collecting data properly. It’s advisable to double-check that the correct URL, including protocol (http vs. https) and subdomains, has been verified and that the property is correctly configured. -
Tracking Code Implementation Problems
While GSC primarily gathers data from search performance, it relies on the correct implementation of tracking snippets if using Google Analytics or other tags to supplement data. For GSC itself, ensure that the search performance feature is properly enabled and that the site isn’t blocking Google’s crawlers via robots.txt or meta tags. Sometimes, incorrect or misplaced tracking snippets, or the absence thereof, can cause data discrepancies. -
Domain and HTTPS Settings
Since the site uses a third-party domain provider, there may be issues related to DNS configuration or SSL certificate problems. If the domain resolution or SSL setup was changed or misconfigured during this period, Googlebot’s access could have been impeded, leading to no data being collected. -
Crawling and Indexing Issues
Verify that Googlebot can crawl the website effectively. Configuration errors such as disallowing crawling in robots.txt, noindex tags, or other technical barriers may prevent Google from indexing the pages and recording data in GSC. -
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