> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Top Queries by Impressions, Google Search Console

> The search queries that put your site in front of the most people on Google over the period. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

**Card class:** [Non-Hero](/nerve-centre/overview#card-classes-explained)  •  **Category:** [Keyword Performance](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type)

## At a glance

> **Top Queries by Impressions** ranks the search terms that generated the most impressions for your site in Google Search, ordered high to low as a horizontal bar chart. Impressions are appearances in the results, not clicks, so this card shows where Google thinks you are relevant and how visible you are, even when nobody has clicked yet. Read it as your visibility surface: the demand you are being shown for, which is the raw material every CTR and ranking card then works on.

## What it tracks

The card pulls the `query` dimension from the Search Console Search Analytics API, sums `impressions` per query for the selected period, and returns the highest-volume terms. An impression is counted each time a result for your site appears in Search, subject to Google's own scroll and visibility rules (for results far down the page, the impression is only logged when the user scrolls them into view). Branded terms (your own name and product names) usually dominate the top of this list for established sites; a healthy non-branded presence further down is the sign of genuine discovery demand. Pair it with [Top Queries by Clicks](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/google-search-console/top-queries-by-clicks) to see which of these high-visibility terms actually earn traffic, with [CTR Opportunity Queries](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/google-search-console/ctr-opportunity-queries) to find high-impression terms with weak click-through, and with [Branded vs Non-Branded](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/google-search-console/branded-vs-non-branded) to understand the brand-versus-discovery split. Movement at the top of this list usually precedes movement in [Total Impressions](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/google-search-console/total-impressions).

## Reconciling against the source

Check this against Search Console's **Performance > Search results** report with the **Queries** tab selected and **Impressions** sorted descending, for the same date range. Expect small differences: Search Console data is typically 2 to 3 days behind, rare queries are anonymised and excluded, and the UI caps at 1,000 rows, so the long tail of your impression total will not appear query-by-query in either place.

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### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

*Top Queries by Impressions* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Google Search Console and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

[Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.