Short answer
- Search Console is free and shows how your site performs in Google Search. Every business website should have it set up.
- The four reports that matter most: Performance, Pages (indexing), Sitemaps and URL Inspection.
- Check it once a month: clicks and impressions trend, new queries, and any new indexing problems.
- It's different from Google Analytics: Search Console shows what happens before someone clicks; Analytics shows what they do after.
Setting it up
Go to Google Search Console and add your site. You'll choose between two property types:
| Property type | Covers | Verified by |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Every version of your site (www, non-www, http, https, subdomains) | A DNS record at your domain provider |
| URL prefix | Only the exact address you enter | Several options, like an HTML file or tag |
The domain property is usually the better choice because it captures everything. It requires adding a TXT record where you bought your domain. Data starts collecting from the day you verify, so set it up early.
The Performance report
This is the report you'll use most. It shows four numbers for your site in Google Search:
- Clicks: how many times people clicked through to your site.
- Impressions: how many times your pages appeared in results.
- CTR (click-through rate): clicks divided by impressions.
- Average position: roughly where your pages appeared, averaged across searches.
Below the chart, the Queries tab shows the actual searches people used, and the Pages tab shows which of your pages appeared. These two tabs are a goldmine for a small business.
Three useful things to look for
- Queries with lots of impressions but few clicks. Your page appears but people don't choose it. Improve the page title and description.
- Queries where you're position 8–20. You're close to page one. Improving that page often moves it up.
- Searches you didn't expect. These show what customers actually type, and often suggest new pages or FAQ answers.
The Pages report
Found under Indexing, this report shows which pages Google has indexed and which it hasn't, with a reason for each. Not every "not indexed" page is a problem. Some are expected, like redirected pages or duplicates of the same page.
Look for pages you want in Google that aren't indexed, then check the reason. Common ones include pages marked "noindex" by mistake, pages Google crawled but decided not to index yet (often thin content), and pages it couldn't reach.
Sitemaps
A sitemap is a file listing the pages on your site. Submitting it in Search Console helps Google find them. Most website platforms create one automatically, often at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Submit it once, then check it shows "Success". Google reads it again periodically.
URL Inspection
Paste any page address into the search bar at the top of Search Console to see whether Google has indexed it, when it last crawled it, and whether it found problems. After you publish an important new page or fix one, you can use Request indexing to ask Google to crawl it. It's a request, not a guarantee, and you don't need to do it for every page.
Google's Search Console help explains each report in more depth.
A 10-minute monthly check
- Performance, last 3 months vs previous 3 months: are clicks and impressions trending up?
- Queries: any new searches worth a page or an FAQ?
- Pages report: any new pages you care about that aren't indexed?
- Messages: any security issues or manual actions? (Rare, but serious.)
- Links: any new sites linking to you?
If you're paying for SEO, ask for these same numbers in the monthly report. My SEO and local SEO reports are built on Search Console data so you can check them yourself. For how long changes take to show up here, see How long SEO takes.