What Is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free web service provided by Google that helps website owners, developers, and SEO professionals monitor and optimize their site’s performance in Google Search results. It acts as a communication channel between Google and your website, providing insights into how your site is indexed, its visibility, and how users interact with it in search results.
What you can do with Google Search Console
- Performance Data: Track clicks, impressions, CTR (Click-Through Rate), and average position for your site’s pages and queries.
- Index Coverage: Identify issues that may prevent your pages from being indexed or displayed in search results.
- URL Inspection: Analyze specific URLs to see how they are crawled and indexed by Google.
- Enhancements: Monitor structured data such as breadcrumbs, FAQ schemas, and Core Web Vitals for performance improvements.
- Sitemaps: Submit and test XML sitemaps to help Google discover and index your pages effectively.
- Manual Actions & Security Issues: Get alerts if your site is affected by penalties or security vulnerabilities like malware.
- Mobile Usability: Check if your site is mobile-friendly and troubleshoot any related issues.
- Internal Link Audit: Evaluate internal links to ensure they effectively connect key pages and improve your site’s crawlability and ranking potential.
- External Link Audit: Monitor backlinks (external links) pointing to your site, assess their quality, and identify opportunities for building more authoritative links.
How to Set Up Google Search Console for a WordPress.com Site
- Go to Google Search Console.
- Click Start Now and log in with your Google account.
Step 2: Add Your Website to Google Search Console
In the GSC dashboard, click the Add Property button.
You’ll see two options to verify your website:
Domain Property: Covers all URLs under your domain (e.g., https://example.com and subdomains like https://blog.example.com).
URL Prefix: Focuses on a specific URL (e.g., https://www.example.com/blog/).
Enter your site’s full URL and click Continue.
Step 3: Verify Your WordPress Site
After entering your URL, GSC will present various verification methods. For WordPress.com, follow these steps:
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Select the HTML Tag Method:
- Choose the option to verify via an HTML meta tag.
- Copy the meta tag code provided.
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Add the Meta Tag in WordPress.com:
- Log in to your WordPress.com dashboard.
- Go to Tools > Marketing > Traffic.
- Scroll down to the Search Engine Optimization section.
- Paste the HTML meta tag in the Google Search Console field.
- Save the changes.
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Return to GSC:
- Go back to the GSC tab and click Verify.
- Google will check for the meta tag on your site and confirm the verification.
Step 4: Submit Your Sitemap
- In GSC, navigate to the Sitemaps section under Index.
- Enter your WordPress.com sitemap URL:
- Most WordPress.com sites have a sitemap automatically generated.
- Click Submit to help Google index your site effectively.
Step 5: Explore GSC Features
Once your site is verified, you can start to:
- Check Performance to see clicks, impressions, and average position.
- Use the Coverage report to find indexing errors.
- Inspect URLs with the URL Inspection tool to ensure they are indexed correctly.
Pro Tips 💡
Consider installing SEO plugins like RankMath, Yoast or All in One SEO for enhanced integration with GSC and to further boost your site’s visibility.
If you have trouble adding or verifying a property, read Google’s guide to GSC verification.
How to Add a Sitemap to Google Search Console?
What Is a Sitemap
A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the important pages of your website, helping search engines like Google understand your site’s structure. It ensures that Google can efficiently crawl and index your website, even if it has a complex structure or contains pages that are not easily discoverable through internal links.
Sitemaps are especially for:
1. Highlighting key pages on your site.
2. Informing search engines of updates or changes.
3. Helping index multimedia content like images or videos.
4. Improving the discoverability of pages with limited external links.
How to Add a Sitemap to GSC
1. Log in to GSC and select the property for your website.
2. Click on Sitemaps in the navigation sidebar.
3. Enter the full URL of your sitemap in the provided field. E.g. https://example.com/sitemap.xml. Click Submit to process your sitemap.
4. Once Google processes your sitemap, you’ll see a confirmation message like below:
Pro Tips 💡
To ensure your sitemap is working properly, I recommend running a crawl-based website audit with a site audit tool. (Semrush, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, etc.)
Google Search Console Reports and Features
Once you’ve activated Search Console for your website and submitted a sitemap to Google, we move to look at the different Search Console reports and features you can use.
1. Performance Report
This report focuses on four key metrics:
1. Total Clicks: The number of times people clicked on your site from the search results.
2. Total Impressions: The number of times your site appeared in search results.
3. Average Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that resulted in a click.
4. Average Position: The average position of your site in search results.
These metrics provide an overview of how your site is performing in Google Search. To access this report, simply click on Search Results from the sidebar navigation.
Within the Performance Report, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of the search queries, pages, countries, and devices driving traffic to your website.
Additionally, you can explore how users engage with your site based on search appearance types and track the number of clicks over specific dates.
Here are other areas to look on when analyzing your Google performance data:
Low CTR: If your pages rank high but fail to attract clicks, refine your title tags and meta descriptions to make them more engaging and relevant. This can increase their appeal to users and drive more traffic.
Missing Keywords: If you’re not ranking for crucial keywords, it may indicate a lack of useful content. Enhancing your content strategy and creating high-quality content that addresses these terms can improve your rankings.
If your website receives traffic from Google Discover or Google News, you’ll find specific reports in the Search Console tailored to these segments.
2. URL Inspection
The URL Inspection Tool allows you to check the index status of individual pages on your website and identify issues that might prevent them from appearing in Google’s search results. You can access this tool from the top bar or the navigation menu in Google Search Console.
To inspect a page, simply paste the full URL into the search box and press enter. The results will provide details, including:
1. Index Status
Indicates whether the page is indexed by Google.
2. Last Crawl Date
Shows when Google last crawled the page.
3. Mobile Usability
Confirms if the page meets Google’s mobile-friendly standards.
4. Structured Data
Highlights any structured data present and related issues.
5. Breadcrumbs & Sitelink Searchbox
Displays enhancements related to page structure and navigation.
The tool also allows you to request indexing for new or updated pages. To do so, enter the URL, press enter, and click Request Indexing to speed up the indexing process.
3. Page Indexing Report
The Page Indexing Report provides insights into which pages on your site are indexed by Google and highlights any issues preventing other pages from being indexed. Since only indexed pages can appear in search results, resolving indexation problems is crucial in technical SEO aspect.
To access the report, navigate to Indexing > Pages in the sidebar. The report is divided into two tabs: Indexed and Not Indexed pages. A sudden drop in the number of indexed pages might indicate a problem, such as pages returning 404 errors or mistakenly marked with a “noindex tag”.
The report helps you pinpoint the cause of indexation issues. Click on a specific entry in the Reason column to view more details about why certain pages aren’t indexed. After resolving any problems, use the Validate Fix option to inform Google of the changes and request re-indexing.
4. Sitemap Report
The Sitemaps Report provides an overview of your sitemap submissions and highlights any issues with them. Access this report by navigating to Sitemaps in the sidebar.
The report includes the following details:
1. URL
The address of the submitted sitemap.
2. Type
The type of sitemap (e.g., XML, RSS, etc.)
3. Submitted
The date you originally submitted the sitemap.
4. Last Read
The last date Google crawled the sitemap.
5. Status
Indicates whether the sitemap was successfully processed or encountered issues. (e.g., “Success,” “Has errors,” or “Couldn’t fetch”)
6. Discovered Pages
The total number of pages Google found in the sitemap.
Ensure the Status column shows “Success,” meaning the sitemap was processed without errors.
If the status reads Has errors, review the issues provided and follow Google’s guidelines to resolve them. For Couldn’t fetch, use the URL Inspection Tool to perform a live test of the sitemap URL and identify the problem. This ensures your sitemap is functional and aids Google in crawling your site effectively.
5. Page Experience Report
The Page Experience Report evaluates a website’s user experience based on specific criteria, including:
1. Core Web Vitals
Measures loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of webpage content.
2. HTTPS
Confirm if your site uses a secure connection.
3. Mobile Usability
Assesses whether your site is optimized for mobile devices.
To view this report, go to Page Experience in the left-hand sidebar of Google Search Console. The report separates data for mobile and desktop, showing the percentage of “Good URLs”—pages that meet Google’s standards for a positive user experience.
If some URLs fall short, you’ll see specific details. For instance, certain pages might fail Core Web Vitals due to slow loading times, while others might have mobile usability issues.
Pro Tips 💡
- For Core Web Vitals, consider getting help from a developer on your team. (Unless you’re highly experienced in technical SEO.)
- After fixing problems, use the Validate Fix option in the error report to notify Google and prompt a re-evaluation.
6. Enhancement Report
The Enhancement Report provides insights into the structured data detected on your website and highlights any issues that may affect its functionality.
Structured data helps Google understand your content better and enables the creation of rich results in search results (e.g., star ratings, FAQs), which could boost your page’s Click-Through Rate (CTR).
Under the Enhancements section in the sidebar, Google lists the types of structured data it has found. The report also identifies any issues with the data by marking them as “Invalid”.
Having zero Invalid items is essential, as errors can prevent your pages from appearing as rich results. If you notice any issues, fix them promptly with your developer.
7. Manual Actions Report
Google issues a manual action when a website violates its spam policies. These penalties can cause a significant drop in rankings or even complete removal from search results, leading to a sharp decline in traffic.
To check for manual actions, navigate to the Manual Actions report in Google Search Console. If the report shows “No issues detected,” you don’t need to do anything.
But, if it says “Issues detected,” it’s crucial to address the problems immediately. Review the specific issues and follow Google’s Manual Action guide to resolve them.
8. Links Report
The Links Report in Google Search Console provides valuable insights into your website’s External Links (Backlinks) and Internal Links.
External Links (Backlinks)
Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to your domain and are a Google ranking factor. In the report, you’ll find the total number of backlinks to your site. Below that, you can view:
- Top Linked Pages: Pages on your site receive the most backlinks.
- Top Linking Sites: Domains that link to your site the most.
- Anchor Text: The most common anchor text used in backlinks to your site.
Internal Links
The report also highlights internal links—links between pages on your own domain. Internal linking is important for SEO as it:
- Improves navigation for both users and crawlers in your site.
- Passes authority to other of your pages, boosting their rankings.
9. Shopping Report
As its name suggests, Shopping Report is designed for online stores and product review sites that use product markup on their websites. It helps identify issues with product-related structured data.
Depending on the structured data detected on your site, you may see these 3 types of Shopping reports:
1. Product Snippets
Highlights issues with structured data for product snippets in search results.
2. Merchant listings
Detects problems with structured data for free product listings across Google.
3. Shopping tab listings
Identifies structured data issues for items that appear in the Shopping tab in Google Search results
If the report shows Invalid items, the affected pages won’t appear as rich results in Google. Review these items to understand the errors and resolve them.
After fixing the issues, use Google’s Rich Results Test to verify your structured data. The tool will confirm if your updated code is functional and eligible for rich results.