Previously, to build our Organic traffic graph we used the annual average search volume of each keyword the site is ranking for. However, we changed our search volume calculation logic from 12-month average to monthly trends and implemented it into Organic traffic graph construction.

In fact, since there are use cases for both, we decided to add a toggle for these two modes for Organic traffic graph in Site Explorer Overview.

You can see examples of how traffic changes when you choose average or monthly volume:

Monthly volume is more volatile but helps you monitor seasonal search trends and popular topics.

Average volume is based on the last known 12 months of data. It’s more consistent and helps you troubleshoot traffic drops.

The monthly volume is used by default in all reports. The option to select average will only appear in reports with charts to troubleshoot drops. The data in the export depends on what’s selected in this toggle. All other exports include monthly values.