Google Search Console for beginners

Google Search Console is the tool where Google tells you how it sees your website: which searches you appear for, how many people click, which pages are in the index and which are not. Getting started takes three things: add the site, prove it is yours and submit your sitemap. After that, opening two reports once a month is enough. Here is how it all works, without the jargon.

Why you need it at all

Plenty of tools count visits to your site, but only Search Console shows what happens before someone reaches you: what they typed into Google, how many times your site appeared in the results and how many times someone clicked. That tells you whether people find you for "hairdresser Varna" or only for your salon's name.

If your site does not show up on Google yet, this is also where you find out why. The most common reasons are in why your website is not on Google.

Step 1: add your site

Sign in with a Google account and add a new property. Search Console offers two kinds of website property [1]:

• Domain (for example example.com). It covers the whole domain: with and without www, http and https, every subdomain. For most small businesses this is the better choice, because you see everything in one place.
• URL prefix (for example https://www.example.com/). It covers only addresses that start exactly that way. It is useful when you cannot change your domain settings.

Google notes that data collection for a property starts as soon as someone adds it [1]. So the earlier you do it, the longer the history you will have.

Step 2: prove the site is yours

Google will not show you any data until you prove you are entitled to it. A Domain property is verified with a DNS record, added in the domain settings at the company you bought the domain from [1]. A URL-prefix property has other options too: a file uploaded to the site, a tag in the homepage code, Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager [2].

If someone else manages your domain or website, ask them to add the record. Several people can verify the same property, each with their own method [2], so nobody needs to share passwords. Not sure who holds your domain? See domain and hosting explained.

You verify once. After that Search Console collects data on its own, and all you do is look at it.

Step 3: submit your sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists your pages. It usually lives at an address like /sitemap.xml. In Search Console open the Sitemaps report, enter the address and submit it. You will see one of three statuses [3]:

1. Success — the file was read with no errors.
2. Has errors — the file was found, but something in it is wrong.
3. Couldn't fetch — Google could not open it. Check that the address is right.

Two caveats straight from Google. Submitting does not guarantee that every page in the sitemap will be crawled and indexed [3]. And small sites, around 500 pages or fewer where every page is reachable through links from the homepage, often do not need a sitemap at all [3]. It does no harm, though: if your site has one, submit it. It is also on our website launch checklist.

How to read the Performance report

This is the report you will open most. It has four numbers [4]:

• Clicks — how many times someone clicked through to your site from Google's results.
• Impressions — how many times your site appeared in the results.
• CTR — clicks divided by impressions.
• Average position — the average position of your highest result.

Below the chart you can break the data down by queries (what people searched for), pages, countries, devices and dates [4]. By default the report shows the last three months [4].

What to look for as a business owner:

• Queries with many impressions and few clicks. People see you but pick someone else. A clearer page title and description often helps: see page titles and meta descriptions that get clicks.
• Searches you have no page for. If you show up for "pedicure" but only have a general Services page, that is an idea for a new page. More in keyword research for a small business.
• Only searches for your name. People who already know you find you, new customers do not. That is a signal to work on your content.

Do not be alarmed by mismatches. Google itself says you may not see your site when you run a query that appears in the report [4]. Results depend on location, device and the person searching.

How to read the Page indexing report

The Page indexing report shows which pages Google has indexed, which it has not, and why [5]. First thing to know: not every page has to be in the index. Google says plainly not to expect every URL on your site to be indexed [5]. What matters is that your key pages, the homepage, services and contact page, are there.

The reasons you will see most often [5]:

• Page with redirect — an old address leads to a new one. Usually fine.
• Not found (404) — the page does not exist. Not a problem if you removed it on purpose, but if it moved, it needs a redirect. More in moving your domain to a new website.
• URL marked "noindex" — the page itself tells Google not to index it. If it is an important page, fix this straight away.
• Crawled – currently not indexed and Discovered – currently not indexed — Google knows about the page but has not included it yet. If it is an important page, check that it has enough useful content and that other pages on your site link to it.

To check one specific page, paste its address into the inspection bar at the top. The URL Inspection tool shows whether the page is in the index and lets you request indexing [6]. Google points out that a request does not guarantee inclusion, and that indexing typically takes a day or so but can take much longer [6].

A simple monthly habit

You do not need to log in every day. Once a month is enough:

• Are there new warnings in the Page indexing report?
• Are clicks and impressions growing compared with last month?
• Which 5 queries bring the most clicks, and is there a new one among them?
• Are all your important pages indexed?
• Is there a page with many impressions and a low CTR whose title you could change?

Write the numbers down next to the enquiries your site brings. We explain how to connect the two in how to measure what your website brings you. And do not expect results within a week: SEO takes time, and Search Console simply shows you which way you are heading.

If you would rather not deal with the settings

Search Console is worth opening at least once a month for every business owner. But it shows problems, and someone has to fix them. With Studio V1, your site is built SEO-ready and maintained by real developers for about €50 a month, and you have a real person to write to when something in the report looks odd. See what is included or get in touch.

References

1. Search Console Help. "Add a website or platform property to Search Console." support.google.com/webmasters
2. Search Console Help. "Verify your site ownership." support.google.com/webmasters
3. Search Console Help. "Sitemaps report." support.google.com/webmasters
4. Search Console Help. "Performance report (Search results)." support.google.com/webmasters
5. Search Console Help. "Page indexing report." support.google.com/webmasters
6. Search Console Help. "URL Inspection tool." support.google.com/webmasters