Filters on GSC Query don't add back up to total, i.e. branded and non-branded queries don't add

Looker Q&A Looker Studio
1

I tried creating any kind of filters on Query, but the same opposite filter conditions, never add back up to total for any value (Impressions, Clicks, etc).

Even a simple filter such as Query Contains blank doesn’t return all the total values.

Is it a known limit, if so why does it happen?

Is there a workaround?

Appreciate any help, thanks

2

Hey,

Hope you’re keeping well.

In Looker Studio connected to Google Search Console, filtered query totals often don’t match the unfiltered totals because GSC data is aggregated and anonymized for privacy. Queries with very low volume or that Google deems sensitive are excluded from the API results, which means “branded” + “non-branded” filters will not sum exactly to the overall total. This is a limitation of the underlying GSC API, not Looker Studio itself. The only workaround is to work directly with the unfiltered export from GSC and apply your segmentation logic there, understanding that missing rows cannot be recovered.

Thanks and regards,
Taz

1 Like
3

Hey

Thank you for the precise explanation, that was very helpful!