Struggling to locate your site in Google search results?
Google Search Console reveals what’s working, what needs fixing, and how to improve it.
Best of all, it’s free and developed by Google.
This guide will walk you through how to use its features to monitor performance, identify issues, and make more informed SEO and AI search choices
TL;DR: What Does Google Search Console Do?
Google Search Console provides real-time insights into how your site appears in search results.
It helps you identify and fix issues, and boost your site’s visibility.
How to Use It
- Strategy: Make decisions based on real data, including queries, clicks, rankings, and crawl stats.
- Research: Discover underperforming pages, missing keywords, and traffic trends by filtering data by country, device, or search query.
- Content: Optimize titles, meta descriptions, and page content for pages that are already ranking or attracting clicks.
- Authority: Monitor incoming links to your site, using this data for backlink audits and link-building strategies.
- Technical: Resolve crawl errors, submit sitemaps, and maintain mobile usability.
- Measurement: Track clicks, impressions, and ranking changes over time. Connect to Google Analytics for deeper user data.
Consistent use of Search Console will make it an essential tool for keeping your SEO efforts on point.
What Is Google Search Console (GSC)?
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google designed to help website owners monitor their search performance, resolve indexing issues, and track site health.
It provides key insights, including reports on impressions, clicks, indexing status, backlinks, and Core Web Vitals.
With GSC, you can submit sitemaps, remove URLs, inspect individual pages, and receive alerts about crawl errors or performance problems.
GSC keeps data for up to 16 months but only begins collecting information once you’ve verified site ownership.
Getting Started with Google Search Console
To get started with Google Search Console, you’ll need to create an account, verify your website, and link it to Google Analytics for comprehensive search performance tracking. Here’s how:
How to Create a Google Search Console Account
- Visit the Google Search Console homepage.
- Click Start Now.
- Sign in with your Google account (use your business account if possible).
- Click Add Property in the top-left dropdown.
- Enter your website’s full URL (without “https://” or a trailing slash).
- Click Continue to begin the verification process.
Why Verification Matters
Google requires verification to confirm that you own or manage the site. Once verified, you can connect Search Console to Google Analytics for deeper insights, allowing you to track how users discover your site and which pages are performing best.
Next, let’s dive into how the verification process works in detail.
How to Verify Website Ownership in Google Search Console
After creating your account, you’ll need to prove ownership of the site to gain access to performance data and tools. There are several methods for verification:
- HTML File Upload: Download a file from Google and upload it to your site’s root directory to prove you have server access.
- HTML Tag: Copy a meta tag from Google and paste it into the <head> section of your homepage.
- Domain Name Provider: Select your domain registrar from the list and add a DNS TXT record to verify control over the domain.
- Google Tag Manager: If you’re already using Tag Manager, you can verify your site without adding any code or files—just connect it to the same account.
Each verification method ensures you have the necessary access. Choose the one that best suits how your site is configured.
Once your site is verified, you’ll have full access to all Google Search Console features.
How to Link Google Search Console with Google Analytics
Linking the two tools provides a more comprehensive view of how users discover and engage with your site. Here’s how to connect them:
- Sign in to Google Analytics.
- Select the property you want to link.
- Click Admin in the bottom-left corner.
- Under the Property column, click All Products.
- Find Search Console and click Link Search Console.
- Select the verified site you want to link. If it’s not listed, make sure it’s verified in Search Console first.
- Click Continue, then Associate.
Once the connection is complete, you’ll be able to view search data (such as queries and impressions) directly within Analytics. This integration helps you align search behavior with user engagement, making it easier to optimize for SEO, AI search, content updates, and campaigns.
H2: Key Features of Google Search Console
Google Search Console shows you how Google views your site, offering valuable insights for:
- Tracking search performance: View metrics like clicks, impressions, average position, and click-through rate (CTR).
- Inspecting URLs: Check indexing status, identify coverage issues, and analyze crawl data for any page.
- Fixing technical issues: Spot crawl errors, review your robots.txt file, resolve mobile usability issues, and address structured data problems.
It’s designed for SEO tasks, quick checks, easy fixes, and clear data insights—essentially showing you how your site appears in the search results.
For SEO professionals, it’s a key tool for making data-driven decisions.
Trust Elements for Australian Audiences
For Australian clients, a few extra trust signals are crucial for both user and AI-system credibility:
- Visible byline (author name) and publication date.
- A Privacy Policy referencing Australian Privacy Principles.
- A corrections or editorial standards page (if applicable).
- Real contact details, not just a “Contact us” form.
- Schema for Organisation (with correct type and address) when relevant.
These elements help AI systems assess content credibility and trustworthiness, especially for Australian audiences.
How Can I Monitor Website Crawling with Google Search Console?
Head to the Coverage tab to see how Googlebot is crawling your site. This section shows which pages are indexed, excluded, or encountering errors.
Click on any issues to explore more details, like 404 errors, server problems, or blocked URLs.
Use the URL Inspection Tool to check if a specific page is crawlable and indexed. You can also request re-crawling after making updates.
Regular crawl checks ensure that your important pages remain visible in search.
How Do I Identify Indexing Issues in Google Search Console?
The Coverage page provides a snapshot of your site’s indexing status, highlighting:
- Errors: Pages that couldn’t be indexed (e.g., 404 errors, server problems).
- Valid pages: Content that is properly indexed.
- Warnings: Pages that may need attention.
- Excluded pages: URLs that are intentionally or unintentionally excluded from indexing.
Use the URL Inspection Tool for more detailed insights on a specific URL and to request re-indexing if necessary.
Fixing these issues helps maintain your site’s visibility and technical health.
How Do I Access Traffic Data in Google Search Console?
To view search traffic data, go to the Performance report. Here, you’ll see:
- Clicks: The number of times users clicked on your site.
- Impressions: How often your site appeared in search results.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks.
- Average Position: Your site’s average ranking in search results.
You can filter data by query, page, country, or device to analyze what’s performing well and where improvements are needed. Use this information to optimize content and metadata.
How Can I Understand Backlinks Using Google Search Console?
The Links tab reveals who is linking to your site. You can track:
- External links: Which websites are linking to you and how frequently.
- Top linked pages: The URLs on your site that receive the most backlinks.
- Anchor text: The text used by other sites when linking to you.
Internal links: How you’ve linked pages within your own site.
Use this data to discover valuable backlink sources, spot spammy links, and refine your internal linking strategy.
Using Google Search Console for SEO
Google Search Console provides the data you need to boost your site’s rankings and traffic. It offers insights into keyword performance, backlinks, indexing status, and more—directly from Google.
How Do I View Keywords and Performance Metrics?
Head to the Performance tab to monitor how your site appears in search. Here you’ll see:
- The search queries people used to find your site.
- Clicks, impressions, CTR, and average ranking for each keyword.
- A graph showing total clicks and impressions over time.
You can apply filters to analyze performance by page, country, device, or search appearance.
This data helps you identify high-performing pages, featured snippets, or low-CTR queries that could benefit from optimization.
How Do I Analyze Interactions and Rankings?
Use the graph in the Performance tab to track clicks and impressions over time, giving you a clear picture of user interaction with your site via search.
Check the Average Position metric to see where your pages rank, and combine this with CTR data to identify content that ranks well but doesn’t convert. You can then optimize titles or descriptions for better performance.
Apply filters by page or keyword to drill down into what’s working and where adjustments are needed for your keyword strategy.
How Do I Index Pages and Manage Sitemaps?
To ensure Google can find and index your content:
- Go to the Sitemaps tab and submit your sitemap URL.
- Use the Coverage page to see which pages are indexed.
- For pages that aren’t indexed, use the URL Inspection Tool and click Request Indexing.
- Regularly check the Index Coverage report for issues such as broken links or redirects.
- Keep your sitemap updated by removing outdated pages and adding new ones.
This ensures your content remains visible in search and helps Google crawl your site more effectively.
How Can I Identify Potential Penalties Using Google Search Console?
Go to the Security & Manual Actions tab to check for manual penalties. These may include:
- Unnatural backlinks
- Keyword stuffing
- Spammy or low-quality content
If your site is penalized, address the issues listed. Once fixed, submit a reconsideration request to Google.
Ignoring penalties can severely impact your rankings. Addressing them promptly can help restore your traffic within weeks.
Advanced Features of Google Search Console
Google Search Console helps you quickly identify technical SEO issues. Use its built-in reports to spot mobile usability problems, indexing issues, penalties, and more.
How Do I Check for Penalties and Security Issues?
Go to the Security & Manual Actions tab to view:
- Manual actions: Penalties applied by Google for violations like hidden text or spammy markup.
- Security issues: Problems such as hacked content or unsafe downloads.
Check this section regularly. If a penalty is found, you’ll get details along with steps for resolution. Addressing issues promptly helps minimize ranking drops and avoids long-term traffic loss.
How Can I Ensure Mobile Usability?
Open the Mobile Usability tab to identify mobile-specific issues. Common errors include:
- Text too small to read
- Clickable elements too close together
- Content wider than the screen
Fix these issues quickly, as Google ranks mobile-friendly pages higher. Also, check:
- Core Web Vitals
- Image sizes and alt text
- Load times across mobile browsers
After making changes, use the URL Inspection Tool to test mobile performance for each individual page.
How Do I Identify High-Traffic Pages?
In the Performance tab, switch to Page view to see traffic for each URL. You’ll get:
- Clicks
- Impressions
- CTR per page
Use the Date filter to review up to 12 months of data. This helps identify seasonal trends or pages that may have lost traffic over time.
Focus on your top-clicked pages when updating meta tags, improving page speed, or adding structured data.
How Do I Monitor Click-Through Rate (CTR) and Impressions?
In the Performance tab, use the graph to compare:
- CTR: The frequency with which people click on your listing.
- Impressions: How often your page appears in search results.
Monitor for changes, such as:
- High impressions but low CTR = Your listing may not be appealing enough to click on.
- High CTR but low impressions = You’re targeting well, but your reach is limited.
Aim to improve both metrics. Refine your titles, meta descriptions, and schema to make your listings more enticing and clickable.
How Do I Track AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) Errors?
Head to the AMP section and apply the Error filter. You’ll see:
- A list of AMP-related issues
- A breakdown of affected pages
- Details to help you troubleshoot quickly
Fixing AMP issues boosts mobile speed and can improve search rankings, especially for content-heavy pages designed for mobile users.
Leveling Up Your Search Console
Once you’ve mastered the basics, there are some powerful add-ons that can make Google Search Console even more valuable.
SEOtesting
SEOtesting allows you to test SEO changes using real data. With it, you can:
- Run experiments like title or content updates and measure their impact.
- Track performance over time with charts and dashboards.
- Set up alerts and overlays to stay informed about algorithm updates.
No more guesswork—just clear, actionable results. Plans are site-based with no user limits, making it perfect for tracking the impact of specific changes.
SEO Gets
SEO Gets helps you unlock even more insights from your GSC data:
- Filter by branded vs. non-branded keywords
- Group content by topic or page type
- Export up to 50,000 rows at once
- Manage unlimited sites from a single dashboard
This tool is perfect for agencies or in-house teams managing multiple domains. At around AUD $50/month, it’s great value if you need wider search visibility and long-term tracking.
Which One?
- SEOTesting: Use this to validate site changes and confidently optimize page updates.
- SEO Gets: Use this to dive deeper into keyword data and get a comprehensive view across all your sites.
Both tools integrate seamlessly with Google Search Console.
I’ve personally used both on numerous client projects, and they’ve evolved from useful add-ons to essential tools in the daily SEO toolkit.
Final Word
Google Search Console is a must-have for SEO. It lets you monitor site health, resolve crawl errors, and track search performance—all based on real data from Google.
When connected to Google Analytics, it gives even deeper insights into user behavior. Make it a regular part of your workflow to catch mobile issues, identify penalties, and ensure your content remains visible in search results.
