If a large algorithm update runs out, it is often helpful to display hourly data in Google Analytics in order to identify the effects in almost real time. If a location is strongly influenced (grows or falls), you can usually determine when the update actually ends up and the strong difference in traffic in this case is.
One of my most popular blog posts is a tutorial for comparing the hourly trends in Google Analytics 4. Well, Google recently announced that the GSC -API would support hourly data for the last 10 days. And based on my GA4 tutorial, I am asked how they are displayed GSC hours when an update starts. Yes, you can compare hourly data, but only not in the GSC user interface. You have to export the data via the GSC API and then compare. I will cover it today how to do it.
From the announcement to Analytics Edge in less than 24 hours:
As soon as Google announced These hourly data were indeed introduced via the GSC -API, I quickly pinged Mike Sullivan out of Analytics Edge. Mike is the mastermind behind Analytics Edge, who works with both Excel and Google leaves. And within a few hours I had the first version of Analytics Edge, which supported every hour.
In the following, I will quickly lead you through the exporting of hourly data and the diagram of this data to compare clicks and impressions over time. When a large algorithm update rolls out, it is intelligent to display hourly data to determine whether your website is affected when the update has actually ended up and much more.
Note that I cover the comparison of clicks and impressions in this tutorial, but you can do much more with analytics edge and hourly data. For example, export queries and landing page data in the last x days (up to 10 days of data). You can do this in Google Savens such as pictures, video, discovery, Google News and the “News” tab in the search. The sky is the border with what you can do …
For this tutorial you need the Analytics Edge Core add-in And the GSC connection. There is a free test version for both and the annual pricing is extremely inexpensive. The core add-in-in is $ 99 for the year and the GSC connection costs $ 50 for the year. I regularly use analytics edge to export tons of GSC data. It is therefore worth buying a license in my opinion. To find out how to set up Analytics Edge, you can display my previous tutorials.
So export hourly GSC data via Analytics Edge to compare time frames:
1. Excel and click Analytics Edge in the band. Then move via Connector assistant, Google search and then click on GSC search analysis.
2. Note that AE -Macro is selected in the edge, compared to quick inter questions, to ensure that you have a functioning macro that you can use in the future! This is the beauty of the Analytics Edge … Create once and use your creation for data efficiency in the future.
3. Select the site for which you want to export data.
4. Click the Felder tab and add a dimension. We will choose an hour because we want hourly data. Then make sure for metrics that clicks and impressions are selected (which you should be by default).
5. Now we would like to select our data to compare. You have 10 days of data that you want to display for hourly data, but remember that we want to compare every hour (and it is ideal to compare the same days of the week to see the most precise trend). In addition, the current date can contain partial data. You can still export this, but remember that you could see a great waste that is artificial. To overcome this, we select the last two days of complete data and compare with the previous period (keep the day of the week consistently). Click the Data tab and select Date area. Then click on the Start check box and select 4/12/2025 that should have full data. Then click on the END check box and select the 13.04.2025, which should also contain complete data.
6. Let us now ensure that you compare the data with an earlier time frame. Click the “Date comparison” tab and select the custom option field. Now select the start date and select 4/5/2005, making the day of the week consistent. And then to compare 4/6/2025 as an end date.
7. You can skip the filter tab for this tutorial (and simply leave the fields empty). For the Sorting/Number tab, click on the column to add a sorting rule. Select the Stundes column and then click on the button. This ensures that the data is for hours in terms of the correct order.
8. Click OK in the lower right corner of the window, and the Analytics Edge exports the data that you have requested via the GSC API. When it is finished, you will see a green table that is the data in the memory. You will not see the full data because it is a temporary table. To export the full data, you must write this data in a worksheet. So click on the Workbook button in the Analytics Edge menu and click Write on the worksheet. You can write the data in a certain worksheet or keep the standard leaflet in the field. Then click OK.
9. Now you should have a worksheet with all the hourly data with comparison data for two days in the past for two days (keep the day of the week consistent). Now we just have to set up the data! Let’s start comparing clicks over the time frame. We create a rip diagram to display trend data over time. You can start with an empty diagram, but I like starting with the highlighted data and then creating the diagram. Then Excel does its job and automatically records the data. Select the hour and both click columns (the current and previous time frame for clicks). Then click on the Insert menu in Excel and select a 2D -line diagram. And Voila, you should see for both time frames for clicks after hour Tending. Pretty cool, right?
10. Then change the diagram, format the diagram as you want, etc. You now have hourly click data compared to the previous time frame (day of the week consistently)! This can also be very practical if a large algorithm update runs out.
bonus: To compare impression data in a new diagram, first select the current diagram in Excel. Then select the Stundes column and then select the two impression columns while keeping the control button on your keyboard (select both the current and previous time frame for impressions). As soon as these three columns are highlighted, add a 2D -line diagram again and boom creates Excel the diagram in which impressions are compared for you.
Summary: Compare hourly GSC data during the most important algorithm updates.
I love that Google has added hourly data to the GSC -API for up to 10 days. Now we can cut this hourly data into slices and dice for many different reporting purposes. Today I showed you how to compare clicks and impressions as a whole, while a large algorithm update comes from. However, you can do much more with query and landing page data. And if the understanding of hourly changes is important for your company (as for news and media publishers), it is super important to have a tool like Analytics Edge. I could write more hours of tutorials in the future. Stay tuned.
Gg