Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free Google tool that allows you to “monitor, maintain and solve problems with the presence of your site in Google searches.

Basically, it helps you understand how Google sees your site and to fix any problems it may have found.

Within the overview section in Google Search Console, you can see the navigation menu on the left, the performance graph and the URL inspection browser.

These are the key sections that will allow you to analyze and improve your site.

While some SEO tools have developed scores (like Moz’s domain authority) to evaluate how Google sees certain sites, Google Search Console (GSC) gives you direct access to the information that Google has about your site.

And don’t forget, you’ll get the most accurate data on Google Search Console!

Using Google Search Console can significantly improve your SEO efforts, because it gives you access to information that is crucial for understanding and improving the visibility of your site on Google searches.

So, if you want your site to be successful, be sure to use everything that Google Search Console has to offer!

What can Google Search Console do for your website?

Google Search Console (GSC) is much more than a reporting platform. Enables two-way communication with Google.

You can use it to inform the search engine about your website and request certain actions (of course, whether Google will react to these requests is a completely different story).

We would divide this topic into two parts:

Reporting functionality of GSC

Google Search Console provides you with information about:

• Queries for which you rank in Google searches

• Pages on your site that Google has indexed (or not)

• The quality of the user experience on your website

Action functionality of GSC

With GSC you can:

• Send a sitemap so that Google can easily find the latest content

• Request that Google re-index the page (or completely remove it from searches)

• Notify Google that you have resolved a problem it has detected, such as unavailable (404) pages, for example

We will cover each of these reports and capabilities in detail later in this guide.

Is there an overlap between GSC (Google Search Console) and GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

There is some overlap. Both tools can give you insight into the amount of traffic you get from organic searches on Google. But be careful when comparing directly because they use different metrics: the number of search clicks (GSC) will almost certainly not equal the number of new users (GA4) acquired from organic search.

One user may click multiple times, or maybe a click is recorded in Search Console, but your analytics code (GA4) does not register that click.

Also, remember that Google is not the only search engine or the only source of organic traffic.

Many other search engines have their equivalents for Search Console, for example Bing offers Bing Webmaster Tools.

But, given that Google currently accounts for over 88% of the global market share of search engines (the latest data say that in Serbia that percentage is even higher, 95%), it probably makes sense to start with Search Console.

How to get started with Google Search Console (GSC)?

To use Google Search Console (GSC), you must first verify your website to prove that you own or manage it.

This is to prevent other people from accessing business sensitive data about your site or possibly making changes that could affect its presence in Google searches. We will briefly explain how to start your journey with Google Search Console.

Let’s go:

Website verification

Google offers several methods to complete the verification. The method you will choose depends on your technical skills and the level of access you have to your site.

You will also need a free Gmail account, but we believe you already have one.

Verification process

(If you are already signed in to your Google account, you will skip the second and third steps.)

Website verifications in Google Search Console

On the “Welcome to Google Search Console” screen, you first select the type of property you want to verify: Domain or URL prefix. This determines the available verification methods.

Choice of asset type

• Domain is more powerful because it shows you how Google sees your URLs through different subdomains and protocols (HTTP or HTTPS).

  For example, if you verify the example.com domain, you will be able to access data for the http://example.com, https://example.com, and https://subdomain.example.com pages.

• The URL prefix limits it to one domain and protocol. If you verify the https://example.com prefix, you will not be able to access data for URLs starting with http://example.com or https://subdomain.example.com.

  However, nothing prevents you from verifying multiple URL prefixes. This can be a useful way to manage access if you have colleagues or partners working on a specific subdomain.

Google Search Console verification methods

For Domain, the only available verification method is DNS verification. This involves adding records to your DNS configuration.

Depending on your settings, you may need to do this through a domain provider like DreamWeb or a Page builder like Divi or Elementor.

If the person in charge of SEO is not responsible for (or does not have access to) DNS configuration, access via URL prefixes may be simpler.

For the URL prefix, you have several options for verification (in addition to DNS access):

• Placing an HTML file on your site (Google’s recommended approach)

• Adding a meta tag to the home page of the site

• Using Google Analytics 4 accounts

• Using a Google Tag Manager account (excellent method, recommended)

A few tips for verification

Maybe you’re not sure how to upload an HTML file or add a meta tag (a meta tag, a small piece of information about your site, something like a label).

If so, it is worth checking whether your platform, CMS or Page builder offers tools to facilitate this process. For example, Divi and Elementor have a site verification manager where you can paste a meta tag and it will automatically be added to your site.

Regardless of the verification method you choose, remember that you must leave it in the same place even after verification.

For example, if you set a meta tag, removing that tag will later take away your access to your Google Search Console account.

For this reason, it is wise to verify your site with several methods, just in case (if you can and if you can).

After you verify your website, it may take some time (perhaps a day or two) until the data becomes available in Google Search Console. So, if you don’t see useful information right away, there’s no need to worry. Be patient!

If your website is brand new, there may not be any performance data at first. But don’t worry, this will correct itself over time as you create more content that Google can index.

While you’re waiting, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the most common results you’ll see in Google Search Console (GSC).

What are the key metrics in Google Search Console?

1. Total views: The number of times a page from your site appeared in organic (unpaid) search results on Google.

2. Total clicks: The number of clicks to your page from the Google search results page.

3. Average click-through rate (CTR): Average click-through rate, calculated as clicks / views x 100 (eg if you get one click per 100 views, your CTR is 1%).

4. Average position: Your average position in the organic search results on Google, where “1” means the first or top result.

The lower is the number, the better is the result.

Status of individual pages (URLs) on your site

Google Search Console also provides information about the status of individual pages on your site.

There are three main steps your pages go through:

1. Discovery: Google is aware of your page, perhaps through the sitemap or through a link from another page.

2. Indexing: Google’s bot accessed the page and tried to read its content.

3. Indexed: Google has added the page to its index, which means it can choose to show it as part of the search results.

It is possible for certain URLs to be discovered but not indexed or indexed but not displayed. For that, there are follow/nofollow and /index/no index options that you can suggest to Google yourself. This is especially important with large pages.

If your site is relatively small, don’t pay attention to this.

One of the main uses of GSC is actually identifying when this is happening and why it is happening.

Before we move on to specific reports from Google Search Console, let’s talk a little about data freshness. How fresh is the data in GSC?

For all Google Search Console reports, data is usually available after 48 hours. So, if you visit GSC on Wednesday, the most accurate data available to you will probably be Monday’s data.

The latest data are also probably provisional and subject to minor change. You can tell if this is the case by moving your mouse over the data point on the graph.

You may see a message that says: “Fresh data – usually replaced by final data in a few days.”

Overview of Google Search Console features

Knowing other Google tools certainly helps when it comes to navigating GSC. Google Search Console, like GA4 or Google Ad Manager, consists of numerous reports, all of which are accessible through the vertical menu on the left side of the screen.

Key GSC reports are grouped into four basic sections:

1. Performance

2. Indexing

3. Experience

4. Improvements

Some reports become available only when your site meets certain conditions. So you don’t need to worry if your GSC doesn’t have exactly the same reports as someone else’s or if the reports you have are in a slightly different order.

At the top of the main menu is a drop-down menu that displays the currently selected option.

If you have multiple accounts in Google Search Console, you can use this menu to switch between them.

There is also an “Add account” option if you want to go through the verification process for another domain or URL prefix.

The search performance report (no matter what it’s called in your GSC) provides you with the data you need to understand how your content is “performing” on Google and how you can optimize that content.

In fact, it shows a table of all the searches for which your site ranks. In other words, the keywords and phrases that users enter into Google, and for which your site appears in the search results.

Overview of searches

The search performance report shows a table of the most important searches along with the number of clicks and impressions generated for each.

By default, two of the four key metrics are selected (for example, total clicks and total impressions), but you can click on the other two (average CTR and average position) to add them to the table and graph on this page.

The tabs above the table allow you to switch from the list of the most important searches to the list of the most important pages.

Overview of searches for a specific page

If you want to see searches for a specific page, you can:

1. Click on the PAGES tab

2. Click on the page that interests you

3. Return to the INQUIRIES tab

When you do this, GSC will add a filter to the report that limits the results to only the selected page.

If you want to remove or change this filter, look for it at the very top of the report.

Search types

In this section there is also a filter for changing the type of search. If you want to know how your website is displayed in Google Images or Google News, this is the place to see it.

Comparing time periods in GSC

By default, the search results report shows data from the last three months (same as the overview). However, this can be changed using the time period filter or use the “Compare” option to compare one period to another.

This can be very useful if your business is seasonal.

For example, a retailer selling Christmas gifts expects relevant search phrases to have high volumes in the fourth quarter, but low volumes in the second quarter.

Overview of search data

If you want to systematically review your search data, you can export it to Google Sheets or download it as an Excel or ZIP CSV file. You can do this by clicking the “EXPORT” button in the upper right corner of the report and selecting the desired option.

This will give you up to a thousand rows of data in a table, which you can sort and filter however you want and potentially integrate into a keyword research plan or SEO report.

Report on Discover

In addition to the search results report, you can also access the Discover report.

This report follows the same format, but is entirely focused on Google Discover results.

News report

The third and last report that you can see in the performance section refers to Google News. In fact, it does not cover all news traffic. Instead, it focuses only on traffic from news.google.com and the Google News app on Android and iOS.

If you want to see traffic from the “News” tab in Google Search, you’ll find it in the main search performance report by adding the filter Search Type = News.

Access to Discover reports and news

Interestingly, you can still access Google Discover and News reports in GSC even if they don’t appear in your menu.

Go to:

• Discover

• Google News

Then, select an account from the drop-down menu if prompted.

URL Inspection

If you are concerned about a certain page on your site and want to check whether it has been discovered, indexed and displayed, it is best to use the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console.

Here’s how to use the URL inspector:

1. Paste the URL into the search bar at the top of the page.

2. Click on “Page indexing” to see all the details about page indexing.

This tool can show you when Google last indexed the page and allow you to request re-indexing if changes have been made.

URL Inspection – Key information

• Last indexed date: Useful for tracking new or updated pages.

• Indexing request: Option to quickly update pages in Google searches.

URL Inspection: Example

If you see partial URLs in your GSC reports, use the URL Inspection tool to find out where Google is getting those URLs from. For example, you may find that the problem comes from some code that contains part of the URL.

Page indexing report

The URL Inspection tool is useful for troubleshooting issues on individual pages, but the Page Indexing report provides an overview of issues that affect groups of pages or the entire site.

Main information in the report:

• Number of pages indexed: Shows how many pages are indexed and how many are not.

• Reasons for not indexing: Details why certain pages were not indexed (eg 404 errors, duplicates without a canonical URL).

Example problem:

• 404 error: Page not found on the server. The solution is to set a redirect, for example 301 or solve a technical problem.

• Duplicate without canonical URL: Google sees this page as a duplicate of another page. The solution is to add a canonical tag.

The sitemap report allows you to submit an XML sitemap and monitor its status.

How to use the sitemap report?

1. Generate an XML site map via a platform or site plugin.

2. Enter the URL of the site folder in GSC and click on “Submit”.

Overview of the status of the site map:

• Last read: Date when Google last read the sitemap.

• Number of discovered pages: The number of pages that Google discovered through the sitemap.

Example problem:

If Google does not “see” your URLs, check if there is a problem with the sitemap. For example, it may happen that the sitemap contains an HTML page instead of XML format.

User experience reports

User experience reports in Google Search Console (GSC) provide an overview of the user experience on your site, which is crucial for SEO. Google evaluates user experience metrics for individual URLs on your site and uses them as a ranking factor in Google searches.

Site experience report

This report shows how “good” your URLs are according to Core Web Vitals and mobile usability. If the page meets both criteria and uses HTTPS, Google considers it “good”.

Core Web Vitals measure user experience through three key factors:

• Content (LCP): How long it takes to load the main content of the page.

• Latency (FID): The time between the user’s interaction with the page and the browser’s response. This will be replaced by the Interactions to Next Impression (INP) metric in March 2024.

• Stability (CLS): A measure of the page’s visual stability.

Mobile usability and HTTPS

• Mobile Usability: Shows how many and which pages are not adapted for mobile devices. Very important if you plan to break into the first page of a Google search.

• HTTPS Report: Shows how many of your URLs use HTTPS. HTTPS is better for user security and SEO. Today, this is mandatory for every website.

Improvements

The “Improvements” section refers to site functions that use structured data such as breadcrumbs, for example.

What is structured data?

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page.

They help Google understand the page in more detail, which can lead to display in enhanced search results (rich snippets).

Checking of structured data

GSC will flag any errors in the implementation of structured data. For example, you can see that the “description” field is missing in the structured data for the video.

Link report

The link report in GSC shows:

• External links: Pages with the most links from other sites.

• Internal links: The pages with the most links from your site.

• The best linked sites: Sites that link to you the most.

• The best linked text: The most frequently used anchor text in backlinks.

These reports do not show historical data or changes over time, but they provide valuable information about your site’s link structure.

Indexing statistics report

The Crawl Stats report is hidden in GSC and is only available for master account levels.

To get to it:

1. Click on “Settings” in the main menu.

2. Scroll to the “Crawling” section.

3. Click on “OPEN REPORT”.

This report shows the history of Google’s indexing of your site.

Number of indexing requests, average server response time, server responses, and the like. It is intended for advanced users with large sites who need to think about their indexing budget.

Indexing optimization

If your site has less than a thousand pages, you probably won’t need this report. But owners of large sites can use this report to optimize their indexing budget and troubleshoot problems such as server errors or slow responses.

Connecting GSC to Google Analytics 4

By connecting GSC to GA4 you can unlock new reports in GA4 and see GSC metrics along with GA4 metrics.

In order to link the GSC account with GA4, the following should be done:

1. Follow the steps in Analytics Help.

2. Publish reports in GA4:

• • Click on “Reports”.

  • Click on “Library”.

  • Find the “Search Console” collection.

  • Click on the menu icon (three dots) for this collection.

  • Select “Publish”.

After publication, you will see new reports in the GA4 menu, namely Queries and Google Organic Search Traffic.

• Queries: Shows organic searches, clicks, views, CTR and average search position.

• Google Organic Search Traffic: Displays landing pages with key GSC and GA4 metrics.

Alternative analytics tools

If you use another analytics tool besides GA4, check if it can be integrated with GSC.

For example, Piwik Pro and Plausible Analytics offer this capability. However, you will not get better and more precise results than on Google Search Console.