Google Search Console: a practical guide to how Google sees your site
Search Console is the free tool where Google tells you which searches you appear for, how many clicks you get and which pages have problems. If you have a website and don't use it, you're working blind.
Key takeaways
- Search Console is free and shows real Google data: searches, clicks, impressions and errors.
- The key reports are Performance, Page indexing, URL Inspection and Core Web Vitals.
- The biggest opportunity is usually pages with lots of impressions and few clicks.
How to set up Search Console
- Go to search.google.com/search-console with your Google account.
- Choose the property type:
- Domain (recommended): covers http, https, with and without www, and subdomains. Verified with a TXT record in DNS.
- URL prefix: covers only that exact version of the site. Verified with an HTML file, a meta tag or Google Analytics.
- Under Sitemaps, submit your sitemap URL (for example,
https://yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml). - Add your team or agency as users, with restricted permissions if they don't need full control.
Once it's set up, import your property into Bing Webmaster Tools in a couple of clicks. Bing also powers Copilot and other AI assistants.
The Performance report
It's the most valuable one. It shows four metrics for up to the last 16 months:
- Clicks: how many times people clicked through to your site from Google.
- Impressions: how many times you appeared in results.
- CTR: the percentage of impressions that became clicks.
- Average position: your average ranking in results.
You can break the data down by query, page, country, device and date. Traffic from Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode is included under the "Web" search type.
Three analyses you can run today
- High impressions, low CTR: filter pages with lots of impressions and below-average CTR. Rewrite their title and meta description to better match the search.
- Positions 8 to 20: queries where you're close to page one. Improve and expand that content, and add internal links pointing to it.
- Unexpected queries: searches you show up for without planning to. They're ideas for new articles or services.
Indexing issues and what they mean
The Page indexing report shows which URLs are in Google and which aren't, with the reason. The most common statuses:
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Crawled – currently not indexed | Google visited it but chose not to include it | Improve the content, avoid near-duplicate pages and add internal links |
| Discovered – currently not indexed | Google knows it exists but hasn't crawled it yet | Link to it from important pages and check server speed |
| Alternate page with proper canonical tag | It's a duplicate version pointing to another page | Usually no action needed |
| Excluded by "noindex" tag | The page asks not to be indexed | Make sure it's intentional (a classic mistake at launch) |
| Not found (404) | The URL no longer exists | If it had traffic or links, 301-redirect it to the equivalent page |
Not every page should be indexed: it's normal for filter URLs, tag pages or internal search results to show as excluded. Only worry when your important pages aren't in Google.
URL Inspection
Paste any URL from your site into the top bar to see whether it's indexed, when it was last crawled, which canonical URL Google chose and whether it's eligible for rich results. Test live URL shows how Google renders it, and Request indexing asks Google to recrawl it after a significant change.
Other reports worth checking
- Core Web Vitals: which URLs fail LCP, INP or CLS on real user data. See our Core Web Vitals guide.
- HTTPS: pages that aren't served securely.
- Enhancements: structured data errors (breadcrumbs, products, reviews, etc.).
- Links: which sites link to you and your most internally linked pages.
- Security and manual actions: if Google detects malware or applies a penalty, it shows up here. Also watch for the email alerts.
A 20-minute monthly routine
- Compare clicks and impressions with the previous month and the same month last year.
- Review your 10 pages with the most impressions and their CTR.
- Look for new errors in Page indexing and Core Web Vitals.
- Confirm there are no security warnings or manual actions.
- Write down two concrete actions for next month.
Frequently asked questions
Are Search Console and Google Analytics the same thing?
No. Search Console shows what happens before the click, in Google's results. Analytics shows what visitors do once they're on your site. They complement each other and can be linked.
Why don't Search Console clicks match Analytics?
They measure different things: a click doesn't always become a recorded session (ad blockers, declined cookies, pages that load slowly). Some difference is normal.
Does requesting indexing make a page rank faster?
It only speeds up crawling that URL; it doesn't guarantee indexing or improve rankings. Use it after publishing or updating important content, not repeatedly.
Conclusion
Search Console is a direct line between your website and Google. Set it up with a Domain property, submit your sitemap and give it 20 minutes a month. The data it provides is the basis for deciding which content to improve, which errors to fix and where your next opportunities are.
