Google Search Console

What Google Search Console tells you

Google Search Console is Google's free service for website owners. It shows which searches your site appears for, how many clicks and impressions you get, which pages are indexed and why others aren't, Core Web Vitals, links, manual actions and security issues. Google's Search Console starter guide covers setup and the main reports.

Where to find it

Go to Search Console and see whether you can access a property for your domain. If not, ask whoever built your site. Make sure the business owns the property and that you can see at least the Performance and Page indexing reports. Set up email alerts so you hear about serious issues.

Reading it in practice

A web designer leaves a client and takes the Search Console access with her, because it was set up under her account. The client has no history and no access. Setting up a new property under the business's own Google account, and adding providers as users, prevents that problem in future.

Misreadings to avoid

• Letting a supplier own your Search Console property.
• Only looking at it when something has gone wrong.
• Confusing Search Console data with Google Analytics data. They measure different things.
• Ignoring messages about security issues or manual actions.

Why it’s worth tracking

It's the closest you'll get to Google's own view of your site, and it costs nothing. It tells you which searches actually bring you visitors, warns you about indexing and security problems and lets you check individual pages. Every business website should have it set up and owned by the business, not only by a supplier.

Terms you’ll see alongside it

• Impressions: How often a page appeared in search results.
• CTR: Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions.
• Index: The searchable database of pages a search engine may show in results.
• Manual action: A human-reviewed penalty visible in Search Console.