Search Console Now Combines Devices and Countries

Last updated: 7 November 2026

Search Console's Performance report now lets you pick more than one device, or more than one country, in a single filter and see the combined numbers. It sounds small. In practice it removes a lot of spreadsheet work for anyone who reports on search traffic.

Google's help page for advanced filtering and comparison in the Performance report now describes this directly. We read it end to end, and this post turns it into practical steps for bloggers, small business owners and WordPress site owners.

What changed in the Performance report

Before this, the device filter took one choice at a time. You could look at mobile, or desktop, or tablet. If you wanted mobile and tablet together, you exported two views and added the numbers yourself. The country filter went through the same change a little earlier, so both now behave the same way.

The help page lists the options under "Filter by multiple items":

• Countries and devices: choose several and see their combined data.
• Pages and queries: choose several, and show data that matches them or data that does not match them.
• Search appearances: you cannot select more than one here.
• Compare mode: put two devices, countries, search types or search appearances side by side.

This is a reporting improvement. It does not change how Google ranks pages, and it does not change what counts as a click or an impression. Your numbers are the same numbers. You can just slice them faster.

Who this helps most

Anyone who reports on search traffic for more than one audience gains something. A few examples we see often:

• A restaurant group serving three cities can combine the countries or regions that matter and ignore stray traffic from elsewhere.
• A software blog with readers across India, the UK and the US can group the English-speaking markets in one view and compare them with the rest.
• A clinic site can check mobile and tablet together, since patients often search on the move, and set that against desktop.
• A freelancer reporting to clients can build a clean monthly view without exporting, merging and re-checking sums.

If you only have a small site with a few hundred visits a month, the filter will not change much for you. You will still find it handy for a quick sanity check.

Filter mode versus compare mode

These two get mixed up, so here is the difference in one table.

Our habit: filter first to define the group you care about, then compare to see where it differs. Combining and comparing answer different questions, so use the one that matches yours.

How to set it up

Combine devices

Open the Performance report for Search results, add a filter, and choose Device. Tick the device types you want and apply. The chart and table now show their combined total for the date range you picked.

Combine countries

The steps are the same. Add a filter, choose Country, tick several, and apply. Keep the same date range when you switch views, otherwise the totals will not line up.

Add a pattern for queries or pages

For queries and pages, the help page also describes a regular expression option. A few details from it are worth remembering:

• It uses RE2 syntax.
• Matching is partial by default, so your pattern can match anywhere in the text unless you anchor it with a start or end symbol.
• It is not case-sensitive by default. Put (?-i) at the start if you need a case-sensitive match.
• For several values, separate them with a vertical bar and wrap the whole pattern in brackets.
• Choose "Doesn't match regex" to see everything except your values.

Combine a pattern with a device or country filter and you can answer questions like "how do question-style searches perform on handheld devices in my top two markets?" in a few clicks.

What to do now

1. Open the Performance report and check that the device and country filters show the multi-select boxes. If you do not see them yet, the rollout may not have reached your account. Check again in a few days.
2. Decide which groups you report on every month, for example "handheld" and "desktop", or "home market" and "everywhere else".
3. Save the filtered view as a bookmark so the same grouping is one click away next month.
4. Pick one question to answer this week. For example: is our click-through rate lower on handheld devices than on desktop?
5. Write down the answer and the date. A short note beats memory when you review progress later.
6. Keep the date range the same when you compare views, so your conclusions are fair.

Limits to keep in mind

Filtering by queries or pages can change the totals. Google's own troubleshooting pages explain that data can be truncated and that anonymised queries are left out, so a filtered total may not match the unfiltered one. That is normal, not a bug.

You also cannot select several search appearances together. If you need that view, compare two of them or look at them one by one.

Finally, combined numbers can hide differences. If mobile is rising and tablet is falling, the combined line may look flat. Combine to report, then compare to understand.

Our take

We like changes that save time without promising anything. This is one of those. It will not move your pages up or down. It will help you notice problems sooner, such as a market that quietly stopped sending visitors or a device group where people see you but rarely click.

The better insight often comes from a boring habit: look at the same grouped view on the same day each month. Trends show up when the method stays still.

Reports tell you where you stand. Fresh links from relevant sites are one way to add authority over time, and our guest post packages are there if you want help with that. If you have questions first, you can contact us.

Related reading: our posts on the shared robots.txt AI training opt-out and Bing's NoArchive change cover two other recent changes worth a look. Site owners on WordPress may also like our lightweight plugins.

FAQ

Can I select more than one device in Search Console now?

Yes. The Performance report device filter accepts several device types at once and shows their combined data. The country filter works the same way.

Does this change my rankings?

No. It is a reporting feature. It changes how you view your data, not how Google ranks or counts anything.

I cannot see the multi-select option. Why?

Features often reach accounts in stages. Refresh the report, try another browser, and check again after a few days.

What is the difference between filtering and comparing?

Filtering combines the items you choose into one set of numbers. Comparing shows two items side by side so you can see the gap between them.

Why do my filtered totals not match the overall totals?

Filtering by query or page can affect totals because of data truncation and the omission of anonymised queries. This is documented by Google and is expected.