# Read Search Console performance the right way

> Tier: recipe. Operating recipe: real tool sequence, core rules, known traps.

The Search Analytics read done properly: freshness dated, top-N nature acknowledged, brand split out.

**Intent.** Clicks, impressions, CTR and position, with freshness checked first.

## When to use

- Any 'how is organic doing' question.

## When not to use

- No specific contraindication beyond the preconditions below.

## Sources

Required: Search Console

## Preconditions

- The account is ticked in the dashboard, confirmed via list_accounts.

## Inputs

- `window`: Analysis window. Default: last 30 days.

## Procedure

1. Check data freshness first. — tools: `gsc_get_data_freshness`
2. Query search analytics for the window, split brand from non-brand. — tools: `gsc_query_search_analytics`

## Decision rules

- **When** The window's tail is fresher than Search Console's lag → **conclude** Trim the unfresh days: partial days read as decline.

## Evidence requirements

- Every figure carries its account, metric and window.
- Anything below a readable sample size is reported as unjudged, not as zero.

## Human approval boundary

- The readout changes nothing. Any change it motivates goes through Safe Writes: preview, human confirmation, then apply.

## Failure modes

- Metrics are a top-N sample by design, not site totals: say so wherever totals are implied.

## Output

- **Readout**: The figures, with windows and accounts named.
- **Flags**: What deserves a deeper skill or a human decision.