{"id":195241,"date":"2026-02-11T09:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=195241"},"modified":"2026-02-11T12:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:41:41","slug":"gsc-anonymized-queries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/gsc-anonymized-queries\/","title":{"rendered":"Anonymized Queries Make Up Nearly Half of Google Search Console Traffic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intro-txt\">In April 2025, anonymized queries made up 46.77% of website traffic. This is data from before AI Overviews were launched. Queries are longer now and I suspect that more queries are being anonymized.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This number is slightly higher than our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/gsc-hidden-terms-study\/\">2022 study on anonymized queries<\/a>. However, that\u2019s the average. Some websites in our research saw dramatically higher percentages of anonymized queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on to see how it might impact you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Anonymous queries explained\" data-section=\"one\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anonymous queries explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is that I believe Google\u2019s classification for anonymized queries is overly broad. Here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2022\/10\/performance-data-deep-dive\">how Google defines anonymized queries<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"small\"><div class=\"quote-content\">Some queries (called anonymized queries) are not included in Search Console data to protect the privacy of the user making the&nbsp;query.\n<p>Anonymized queries are those that aren\u2019t issued by more than a few dozen users over a two-to-three month period.<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>A few dozen users need to search for something over a two-to-three-month period or Google won\u2019t tell you what was searched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a similar definition used around Google\u2019s obligations under the EU\u2019s Digital Markets Act (DMA) where they are supposed to share data with competitors. For that, they classified anonymous queries as queries that haven\u2019t been searched more than 30 times in the last 13 months by 30 separate signed-in users. <a href=\"https:\/\/spreadprivacy.com\/investigate-google-dma\/\">DuckDuckGo\u2019s CEO said that omitted ~99% of longtail queries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That methodology actually gives more data than the methodology used by Google Search Console to tell you what drove clicks to your own website. That means that more than 99% of longtail queries would be omitted by Google Search Console.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">Tip<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">We (Ahrefs) actually built an <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/gsc-insights\">Anonymous Queries report<\/a> to help close the gap and let you see some of these anonymized queries. We mash your GSC data with our data to show you terms where we saw your website ranking, but these searches weren\u2019t reported in&nbsp;GSC.\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1207\" class=\"wp-image-195242\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs.png\" alt=\"Anonymous Queries report inside Ahrefs\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs-680x411.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs-768x464.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs-1536x927.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s going to get worse. I had our amazing data scientist Xibeijia Guan pull data for April 2025, before the rollout of AI Overviews or AI Mode. 46.77% anonymous in April 2025 was only slightly worse than the 46.08% anonymous we saw in&nbsp;2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s not the end of the story. Search behavior is changing in the era of AI search. People are now searching with longer queries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, Google removed the max word count on Google searches. In the past, Google would only use the first 32 words in your query. Now, the search only breaks when the max characters in the URL are reached, somewhere between 2,083 characters to several megabytes of data, depending on the browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Searches are getting longer, and Google anonymizes queries not searched by a few dozen users over a two-to-three-month period. You can see where this is&nbsp;going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That anonymous query number is going to skyrocket. We\u2019re going to have less data than ever on what people searched to come to our own websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll soon be pulling the data to show how much more is being anonymized, but for now, enjoy the nerdy data from the&nbsp;study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"The GSC data\" data-section=\"two\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-195241-_m9cewjol3955\"><\/a>The GSC&nbsp;data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We analyzed 22 billion clicks across 887,534 GSC properties. This is up from the 9 billion clicks we looked at across 146,741 properties in&nbsp;2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how anonymous queries have trended:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>46.08%<\/strong> in&nbsp;2022<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>45.02%<\/strong> in April&nbsp;2024<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>46.77% <\/strong>in April&nbsp;2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is a histogram showing the breakdown of anonymized queries by the number of websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mode, or most frequent percentage of anonymized queries for a site, falls between 45% and 80%. That means that many sites are missing more than the 46.77% average would have you believe.&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-195244\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-3.png\" alt=\"percent of anonymized queries by site\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-3.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-3-680x354.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-3-768x400.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-3-1536x800.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we look at the breakdown of sites by traffic, there\u2019s an interesting phenomenon. Sites with average traffic actually have more&nbsp;data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sites with lower traffic and sites with higher traffic seem to be missing more data. These sites likely have more long-tail or niche\/proprietary terms that are more likely to be anonymized than other&nbsp;sites.&nbsp;<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-195246\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-5.png\" alt=\"percent of anonymized queries for different traffic ranges\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-5.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-5-409x425.png 409w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-5-768x798.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-5-1479x1536.png 1479w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In case you\u2019re seeing box plots for the first time, here\u2019s how you should read&nbsp;them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1463\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-6.png\" alt=\"how to read a box plot\" class=\"wp-image-195247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-6.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-6-465x425.png 465w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-6-768x702.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/word-image-195241-6-1536x1404.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-195241-_98roy5er6dwg\"><\/a>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As I said, I expect more data to fall into this anonymized query bucket with AIOs and AI Mode. We\u2019ll have the data for you soon. Stay&nbsp;tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This number is slightly higher than our 2022 study on anonymized queries. However, that\u2019s the average. Some websites in our research saw dramatically higher percentages of anonymized queries. Read on to see how it might impact you. The problem is<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[414],"tags":[],"coauthors":[377],"class_list":["post-195241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-studies","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Anonymized Queries Make Up Nearly Half of Google Search Console Traffic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In April 2025, anonymized queries made up 46.77% of website traffic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/gsc-anonymized-queries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anonymized Queries Make Up Nearly Half of Google Search Console Traffic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In April 2025, anonymized queries made up 46.77% of website traffic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/gsc-anonymized-queries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"patrickstox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T14:14:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T17:41:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anonymous-queries-report-inside-ahrefs.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1999\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1207\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patrick Stox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@patrickstox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/gsc-anonymized-queries\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/gsc-anonymized-queries\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Patrick Stox\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/14bf754248f3c561786477e4e5fd2067\"},\"headline\":\"Anonymized Queries Make Up Nearly Half of Google Search Console Traffic\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T14:14:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-11T17:41:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/gsc-anonymized-queries\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/gsc-anonymized-queries\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/anonymized-queries-make-up-nearly-half-by-patrick-stox-data-studies-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Data &amp; 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