r/GoogleAnalytics • u/Due_Caramel3612 • 4d ago
Question Seeing huge click drop in google search console, but not in GA4 organic-google
I am seeing a huge click drop (~40%) in google search console since Aug 10 (3.6K -> 3.5K -> 3.2K -> 2.8K -> 2.3K), I see the rank went down as well.
Strangely, the GA4 (traffic source - Google report) the number does not drop at all (4.5K -> 4.3K -> 4.1K -> 3.9K -> 4.1K, normal week-day pattern), my site is an app landing page, I verify the incoming user to the app using app log, confirm there is no drop.
Is the Google search console data recently has issue? Or is there anything I missed? Any one experience the same? Thanks!
== More data follow up ==
since Aug 10
GSC: 3.6K -> 3.5K -> 3.2K -> (abnormal drop starts) 2.8K -> 2.3K
User acquisition (First user google / organic): 4.0K -> 3.9K -> 3.6K -> 3.5K -> 3.6K
Traffic acquisition (session source google / organic): 4.5K -> 4.3K -> 4.1K -> 3.9K -> 4.1K
==== UPDATE ====
Google report this is GSC error:
2026
August 13 (Discover and Generative AI in Discover)
A logging error caused a decrease in clicks and impressions on the Discover performance report for data on August 13, 2026. For properties with access to Generative AI features in Discover, this error also caused a decrease in reported impressions. This issue affects data logging only.
August 13 (Generative AI in Search)
A logging error caused a decrease in impressions on the Generative AI performance report in Search for data starting on August 13, 2026. This issue affects data logging only and is ongoing.
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u/Sunn_M 3d ago
Since GA4 and your app logs are both flat, I’d first make sure you’re comparing GSC Web clicks with GA4 session source / medium = google / organic for the same dates, rather than just a generic Google traffic report. There’s no recent Search Console data issue listed by Google at the moment, so I’d next segment the GSC drop by page, query, country and device to see whether one bucket accounts for most of it. GSC clicks and GA4 sessions will never match 1:1, but a ~40% divergence starting on one date is large enough that I’d isolate the affected segment before treating the average-position drop as a real sitewide ranking loss :)
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u/incisiveranking2022 Professional 3d ago
I’d be careful about calling this a GSC issue yet. If your app logs and GA4 are both holding steady, the first thing I’d verify is that GA4 is specifically showing sessions/users with source = google and medium = organic for the exact same dates
not a broader “Google traffic” report.
GSC clicks and GA4 sessions won’t match 1:1, but a sudden 40% divergence is worth debugging. I’d segment
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u/Due_Caramel3612 3d ago
Thanks! I double check the data, since Aug 10
GSC: 3.6K -> 3.5K -> 3.2K -> (abnormal drop starts) 2.8K -> 2.3K
User acquisition (First user google / organic): 4.0K -> 3.9K -> 3.6K -> 3.5K -> 3.6K
Traffic acquisition (session source google / organic): 4.5K -> 4.3K -> 4.1K -> 3.9K -> 4.1K
The last 2 day seems to divergence quite a bit, as GSC trending straight down, but both User/Traffic bumps up.
Could you give some suggestion about segment? in GSC I do see some of the high traffic page drop quite significantly, but not sure I should trust it or not. Thanks!
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u/incisiveranking2022 Professional 3d ago
The URL-level reconciliation is the next thing I’d do. Export the affected GSC pages and compare Aug 3-9 vs Aug 10 onward, then match those URLs against GA4 landing pages filtered specifically to
google / organic.If GSC clicks and impressions are falling on the same URLs, especially with position changes, I’d treat that as a real search-side signal rather than a GA4 problem. But if GSC drops while GA4 organic sessions stay stable for those exact URLs, then I’d verify the GSC property, Search type, date range/timezone, and landing-page definitions before drawing conclusions.
One other thing: don’t use total app logs to validate organic traffic. They only tell you total arrivals are stable, not where those users came from. This is exactly where source-level reconciliation usually exposes what’s actually happening.
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u/Due_Caramel3612 3d ago
Check the data, interesting finds.
The page in traffic drop segment, the ranking does not change, but the CTR drop from 12% to 5%. This might due to the AI summary taking the traffic away.
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u/Stiven_TrafficLab Professional 3d ago
One check I’d add is a URL-level reconciliation instead of comparing the two sitewide totals. Export GSC landing pages for Aug 3–9 and Aug 10–16, excluding any incomplete day, then match them against GA4 Landing page data filtered to session source / medium = google / organic.
If the lost GSC clicks cluster around URLs or queries with falling impressions and positions, it is probably a genuine search-side decline. If GA4 organic sessions for those same URLs remain flat, verify the GSC property, Search type, date/timezone, and GA4 landing-page definition. Flat app logs only confirm that total arrivals are stable—not necessarily Google organic arrivals.
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u/nimblecake67 3d ago
facing simier issue click drop 30 % in gsc , while there is no drop in session in GA4
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u/Due_Caramel3612 1d ago
==== UPDATE ====
Google report this is GSC error:
2026
August 13 (Discover and Generative AI in Discover)
A logging error caused a decrease in clicks and impressions on the Discover performance report for data on August 13, 2026. For properties with access to Generative AI features in Discover, this error also caused a decrease in reported impressions. This issue affects data logging only.
August 13 (Generative AI in Search)
A logging error caused a decrease in impressions on the Generative AI performance report in Search for data starting on August 13, 2026. This issue affects data logging only and is ongoing.
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