Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that shows how your website performs in Google search results. It tells you which queries bring visitors, which pages rank, what errors Google finds, and how to improve your visibility.
If you have a business website and are not using Search Console, you are missing critical data about your online presence.
What Google Search Console Shows You
Search Performance
- Queries: The actual search terms people use to find your site
- Clicks: How many people clicked through to your site from search results
- Impressions: How many times your site appeared in search results
- Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks
- Average position: Where your site ranks on average for each query
Index Coverage
- Which pages Google has indexed (added to its search database)
- Which pages have errors preventing indexing
- Pages that are excluded and why
Core Web Vitals
- Page speed and user experience metrics
- How your site performs on mobile vs desktop
- Pages that need improvement
Security Issues
- Malware detected on your site
- Hacking attempts
- Manual penalties from Google
Setting Up Google Search Console
Step 1: Go to Search Console
Visit search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google account.
Step 2: Add Your Property
You have two options:
Domain property (recommended): Covers all URLs across all subdomains and protocols (http, https, www, non-www). Requires DNS verification.
URL prefix property: Covers only the exact URL prefix you enter (e.g., https://www.yourdomain.com). Easier to verify but less comprehensive.
Step 3: Verify Ownership
For domain property:
- Copy the TXT record Google provides
- Log into your domain registrar
- Add the TXT record to your DNS settings
- Return to Search Console and click Verify
For URL prefix:
- HTML file upload
- HTML meta tag in your website’s head
- Google Analytics tracking code (if already installed)
- Google Tag Manager
Step 4: Submit Your Sitemap
Your sitemap tells Google which pages to index:
- Go to Sitemaps in the left menu
- Enter your sitemap URL (usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml)
- Click Submit
Google will now know about all your pages and crawl them over time.
Key Reports to Monitor
Performance Report
Check this weekly to understand your search visibility:
- Top queries: What search terms drive the most traffic? Create more content around these topics.
- Top pages: Which pages get the most clicks? Optimize them further.
- Low CTR pages: Pages with high impressions but low clicks need better titles and descriptions.
- Position changes: Are your rankings improving or declining for important keywords?
Pages Report (Index > Pages)
Check this monthly:
- Indexed pages: Are all your important pages indexed?
- Errors: Pages with errors (404s, server errors, redirects) need fixing
- Excluded pages: Understand why some pages are not indexed (often intentional, sometimes not)
Core Web Vitals
Check this monthly:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Should be under 2.5 seconds
- FID (First Input Delay): Should be under 100ms
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Should be under 0.1
Pages failing these metrics need speed optimization.
Mobile Usability
Check for mobile-specific issues:
- Text too small to read
- Clickable elements too close together
- Content wider than the screen
- Viewport not set
Using GSC Data to Improve SEO
Find Content Opportunities
Look at queries where your site ranks on page 2 (positions 11-20). These are opportunities — with some optimization, you can move them to page 1.
Action: Improve the content on those pages. Add more detail, answer more questions, improve the title and meta description.
Fix Underperforming Pages
Pages with high impressions but low CTR (under 2%) have visibility but are not compelling enough to click.
Action: Rewrite the title tag and meta description to be more compelling and include the target keyword.
Monitor Competitor Movements
If your rankings drop suddenly for important keywords, check if a competitor has published new content or if Google has changed its algorithm.
Action: Update your content to be more comprehensive and current than competitors.
Common Issues and Fixes
”Discovered - Currently Not Indexed”
Google knows about the page but has not crawled it yet. This usually happens with new sites or large sites with many pages.
Fix: Submit the URL for indexing manually (URL Inspection > Request Indexing). Improve internal linking to the page.
”Crawled - Currently Not Indexed”
Google crawled the page but decided not to include it in search results. The content may be thin, duplicate, or low quality.
Fix: Improve the content. Make it more comprehensive, unique, and valuable.
”Page with Redirect”
The page redirects to another URL. This is usually intentional but check that the redirect destination is correct.
”Server Error (5xx)”
Google could not reach your server. This affects your crawl budget and rankings.
Fix: Check your hosting uptime. Contact your hosting provider if server errors are frequent.
GSC vs Google Analytics
Google Search Console shows how people find your site through Google search (impressions, clicks, rankings).
Google Analytics shows what people do after they arrive on your site (pageviews, time on site, conversions).
Use both together. GSC tells you how to get more traffic. GA tells you what to do with that traffic.
Get Help with SEO
Google Search Console is powerful but interpreting the data and taking action requires experience. Contact 24Bit System for SEO services. We monitor Search Console data and turn it into actionable improvements for your business.
