Why does Google Search Console say X number of clicks but then shows only a fraction of those clicks when checking for the keywords?

The reason is Filtering: Google Search Console filters out some keyword queries to protect user privacy. For example, Google Search Console might not track clicks from queries that are made a very small number of times or from queries that contain personal or sensitive information.

A search query might be considered private or contain sensitive information for several reasons:

1. Personal Information: Queries that include personal information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses, are often omitted to protect user privacy.
2. Medical or Health-Related Queries: Searches related to specific medical conditions, symptoms, or treatments are usually considered sensitive and may be omitted. Google takes privacy very seriously when it comes to health information.
3. Financial Data: Queries related to financial or banking information are often omitted to protect sensitive data.
4. Explicit Content or Adult Keywords: Searches involving explicit content or adult keywords are sometimes omitted from reporting to maintain a family-friendly environment.
5. Legal and Security Concerns: Queries related to legal matters, law enforcement, or national security may be omitted to protect ongoing investigations or sensitive information.
6. General Privacy Concerns: Google’s policy is to withhold data when the query could potentially identify a specific user.

The exact criteria for omitting keywords can change over time, and Google continually updates its privacy policies to better safeguard user information. Keep in mind that while these queries are omitted from keyword data, they still contribute to your website’s traffic. You just won’t see them individually in your analytics reports. If you encounter a significant number of omitted queries, it’s a good practice to focus on optimizing your website for the keywords that are still provided and to ensure you’re delivering valuable content to your users.

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