What are GitHub commits on analytics charts?

GitHub commits on analytics charts are day markers on the Performance chart and the Overview timeline. We group default-branch commits and GitHub releases on the UTC day they landed, next to traffic and Google Search Console. We do not auto-attribute a ranking move to a commit.

Can I add notes without connecting GitHub?

Yes. Change notes work on Free, Standard, and Professional. Connect GitHub on Standard and Professional when you want default-branch commits and releases on the same strip as the traffic.

Why did my Tuesday deploy not show in Google Search Console yet?

Google Search Console daily totals lag about two days. Pageviews update through the current hour. A Tuesday ship often shows up in Wednesday to Friday Search Console totals. That delay is Google's reporting, not a broken GitHub sync.

Do public share links show GitHub commit messages?

No. Commit messages and change notes stay on the dashboard. Public share links and embeds do not get those markers. A visitor with the share URL sees the chart, not the commit text.

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GitHub Commits on Analytics Charts, Dated

Sep 19, 2026•Updated Sep 30, 2026•Wlad

I kept blaming title tests for dips that were just Search Console being late. I shipped a /pricing title on a Tuesday. Sessions moved before dinner. Search Console was still plotting Monday. GitHub commits on analytics charts are the pin I added so I would stop doing that. The commit, the release, or a note I typed sits on the same day as the traffic.

A change note works on any plan. GitHub sync, default-branch commits and releases on the Performance chart and the Overview timeline, is Standard and Professional. The marker says the day. It does not say the commit caused the ranking.

Overlay GitHub releases on the Search Console chart

The Performance chart already plots Search Console clicks, impressions, CTR, and position. Under that line, one marker per UTC day when something shipped.

Releases sit first. Then notes. Then default-branch commits, grouped so a noisy day is still one tap. We cap commits at 50 per day. I have had changelog weeks with 40 commits in a day. Without a cap the strip turns into a dump. Releases and notes stay readable on top of that pile.

Filter the strip to Notes, Releases, or Commits. Tap a day. You get the list. GitHub links open the commit or the release. We do not rewrite your history, and we do not guess which file moved rankings.

The same markers land on the Overview activity timeline, so a traffic spike and a release share a date even when you are not on the SEO tab.

Manual change notes

Not every ship lives in GitHub. A title rewrite, a price change, a docs cut, a paid campaign. Those still need a pin.

Add note asks for a UTC date, a title, and optional details. We sanitize the text and store the note on the project. Notes survive a GitHub disconnect. If you unplug GitHub, synced commits and releases come off the charts. Your notes stay.

Free includes notes. GitHub history is Standard and Professional. That split matches Search Console analytics: the join is a paid tab, the pin is not.

Why the lag hides the deploy

Search Console daily totals lag about two days. Pageviews on that tab update through the current hour.

That /pricing title test is the one I keep coming back to. Without a marker I would have called the title a failure by Wednesday morning. With the pin, Tuesday sits there while Search Console catches up Wednesday through Friday.

That is the job. Correlation on a chart. Not a causal model. If clicks rise two days after a release, we will not write "this release caused the ranking." You still have to read the page, the query, and the Search Console join.

Lookback on GitHub is 90 days. The OAuth token is encrypted at rest. We request repo so we can read private repositories you pick. Commit messages stay on the dashboard. They do not appear on public share links.

What GitHub sync does not do

We are a GitHub OAuth app, not a GitHub App with webhooks. We poll. Use Sync history if you need the chart now. A daily cron backfills the rest.
We sync the default branch and releases. Pull requests are reserved in the data model. We do not plot every branch.
We do not overlay Vercel deploys yet. Same store, later source.
Markers do not go on public share pages or the marketing landing chart.

Setup is in Settings, or the SEO tab. Connect GitHub, pick a repository, wait for the first sync. Details live in Search Console docs.

Try it

Start free and pin a note today. Upgrade to Standard when you want GitHub history next to Search Console. Pricing has the plan split.

Sources

Google's Performance report is the click series on the chart. The two-day lag in this post is what I keep seeing on our own property, not a number I copied from that page.

Key takeaways

GitHub commits on analytics charts overlay default-branch commits and GitHub releases on the Performance chart and the Overview timeline.
Pin a change note on any plan. GitHub sync is Standard and Professional.
Search Console daily totals lag about two days. A marker is not a claim that the commit caused a ranking move.
Tokens are encrypted. Lookback is 90 days. Public share links do not get the markers.

FAQ

What are GitHub commits on analytics charts?: GitHub commits on analytics charts are day markers on the Performance chart and the Overview timeline. We group default-branch commits and GitHub releases on the UTC day they landed, next to traffic and Google Search Console. We do not auto-attribute a ranking move to a commit.
Can I add notes without connecting GitHub?: Yes. Change notes work on Free, Standard, and Professional. Connect GitHub on Standard and Professional when you want default-branch commits and releases on the same strip as the traffic.
Why did my Tuesday deploy not show in Google Search Console yet?: Google Search Console daily totals lag about two days. Pageviews update through the current hour. A Tuesday ship often shows up in Wednesday to Friday Search Console totals. That delay is Google's reporting, not a broken GitHub sync.
Do public share links show GitHub commit messages?: No. Commit messages and change notes stay on the dashboard. Public share links and embeds do not get those markers. A visitor with the share URL sees the chart, not the commit text.