How to check a website's traffic
Measured beats estimated. Here's how to tell which one you're looking at.
Facts checked 11 Oct 2026 · by the AdSworn team
To check your own website's traffic, open Google Analytics (page views and visitors) and Google Search Console (clicks from Google search). To check someone else's site, traffic-checker tools can only estimate, so ask the owner for numbers read straight from their Analytics or Search Console, ideally through read-only access. Before you pay for an ad, always look at the traffic of the exact page you'd buy, not the whole site.
Your own site: two free Google tools
| Tool | What it measures | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Every visit: page views, visitors, where they came from | Reports, then pages and screens |
| Google Search Console | Visits from Google search: clicks, impressions, position, and the searches behind them | Performance report |
Google Analytics records a page view each time a page loads, according to its help pages. Search Console counts a click when someone clicks through from Google search results. They measure different things, so they won't match: Analytics counts all visits, Search Console only visits from Google search.
Someone else's site: estimates vs real numbers
Traffic-checker tools build their figures from rankings, panels and modelling. They're useful for a rough sense of size, but they're estimates, and for small or niche sites they can be far off in either direction. They can't see one page's real visits.
- Ask for the source. Page views from Google Analytics, or clicks from Search Console, for the exact page you'd buy.
- Prefer read-only access to screenshots. A screenshot can be edited. Read-only access, or a platform that reads the numbers itself, can't be. See how to give read-only access to Search Console.
- Check the date range. Last 4 weeks, not the best month ever.
- Look at the searches. The Google searches that bring people to the page tell you who they are.
Signs the numbers are inflated
- A sitewide total when you asked about one page.
- Huge views but almost none from search, on a site that says it lives on Google.
- A sudden spike in the last month with nothing before it.
- Numbers that can't be traced to a source, or only exist as a PDF.
Step by step in verify website traffic before buying ads.
How AdSworn does it
Every page listed on AdSworn shows traffic read straight from the site's Google Analytics or Search Console, through read-only access, with the date it was read. Nothing is typed in by the seller. You see the real views and the searches behind each page before you pay.
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Straight answers
How can I check my website's traffic for free?
Use Google Analytics for all visits and page views, and Google Search Console for clicks from Google search. Both are free.
Can I see another website's exact traffic?
Not without the owner. Public tools only estimate. For exact numbers, ask the owner for figures from their Google Analytics or Search Console, ideally through read-only access.
Why don't Google Analytics and Search Console match?
They measure different things. Analytics counts every visit and page view; Search Console counts only clicks from Google search results.
How do I know a site's traffic is real before buying an ad?
Ask for the exact page's numbers from Google Analytics or Search Console for the last 4 weeks, read through access rather than a screenshot, and look at the searches behind them.