The four core metrics
Clicks counts visits from search results. Impressions counts how often you appeared. CTR is the ratio between them, and average position is where you ranked when you appeared. Together they tell you whether a change moved discovery, appeal, or both.
Reading movement after a change
Impressions respond first: better rankings and new citations put you in front of more searches. Clicks and CTR follow as searchers (and AI engines) choose you more often. Position improvements typically show within two to four weeks of a deployed change.
Best practice
Judge each optimization cycle on a full 30-day window. Comparing a few days before and after a change mostly measures noise.
Pairing Performance with the Observatory
Performance shows traditional search results; the Observatory shows AI citations. A page can gain citations without gaining rank, so check both before deciding whether a change worked. The combination is the full picture of findability.
Using it for reporting
The Performance page is built for the monthly cycle: run your analysis, deploy approved changes, wait 30 days, and screenshot the deltas for your report. Every metric is drawn directly from Google Search Console, so numbers match what your SEO team already reports.