The short answer
An impression is counted when a link to your site appears in a search result the person could see. A click is counted when they choose it. Impressions show visibility; clicks show whether that visibility turned into visits. Read them together, never alone.
What an impression is
In Search Console, an impression is recorded each time a link to your site appears in Google's results for a search. The person does not have to scroll to it or notice it in every case; Google counts the result as shown according to its own rules for each kind of result. If your page appears in position eight on the first page, the impression is usually counted even if the searcher only read the top three.
Impressions tell you how often Google is putting your pages in front of people, and for which searches. A rise means the site is being shown more, either for more searches or higher up for the same ones.
What a click is
A click is counted when someone selects a result that takes them to your site. Clicks to other sites are not counted, and neither are clicks on your result that lead somewhere else, such as a map or a phone call from the results page.
Clicks are the closer measure of actual visits from search, although they will not match Analytics exactly, for reasons covered in our answer on why the two tools disagree.
Why the two numbers move apart
It is normal for impressions and clicks to tell different stories. Common reasons include:
- the site starts appearing for new searches, but low on the page, so impressions rise and clicks stay flat
- a page moves from position four to position two for an important search, so clicks rise with little change in impressions
- Google adds features to a results page, such as maps, questions or AI summaries, which can take attention away from the plain links
- a seasonal search rises and falls, taking both numbers with it
Neither number is good or bad on its own. A big rise in impressions with no change in clicks often just means the site is being tried for broader searches, which can be an early sign of progress rather than a problem.
How to read them together
Start by choosing a fair date range: the last three months against the same three months a year earlier, if the site is old enough, so that seasons line up. Then:
- Look at the totals for clicks and impressions, and the average position.
- Open the Queries tab and sort by clicks to see which searches bring visits.
- Sort by impressions to see searches where you are shown often but rarely chosen. Those are opportunities.
- Open the Pages tab to see which pages carry the result.
Our guide to what a reporting month contains shows how these numbers fit into a monthly report, and our Search Console reporting work turns them into a record a business owner can read in a few minutes.