Google Search Console (GSC) is an powerful tool for website owners and SEO professionals. But we've found that many people don't use it to its full potential. GSC provides valuable insights into how Google perceives your site. This can help you optimize your website's performance in search results.
Whether you're an SEO newbie or a seasoned expert, using GSC can boost your site's visibility and rankings.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key features of Google Search Console and how they can be used for SEO.
1. Monitor Website Performance
One of the core functions of GSC is tracking your site's performance in Google search results. We use the 4 main components under the "performance" tab to keep track of the site's performance.
- Clicks: How many users clicked on your site from the search results.
- Impressions: How often your site appeared in search results.
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of impressions that turned into clicks. This is calculated by dividing the Clicks by the Impressions.
- Average Position: The average ranking of your site for a given keyword.
Below, you'll find several tabs. If you click on the pages tab, you'll find a list of the pages on your site. You can sort the list by any of the components mentioned above.
Clicking on any of these pages will load the graphic at the top of the page with the statistics for that page. We like to see how our home page and our service or product pages are performing.
SEO Tip: Find keywords with high impressions but low CTR. Then optimize your meta titles and descriptions for these to get more clicks. A low average position means you should improve your content. Focus on its quality, adding backlinks, and better keyword targeting.
2. Submit Sitemaps and URLs
Sitemaps help Google understand your site's structure. They ensure all pages are crawled. In the "Sitemaps" section of GSC, you can submit your sitemap to make sure Google discovers all your important pages.
SEO Tip: Make sure your sitemap is up-to-date, and submit new URLs as you publish fresh content. This helps Google index your pages faster and improves your site’s visibility in search results.
3. Fix Indexing Issues
The "Pages" tab in GSC tells you how your pages are indexing. This will show you issues like errors, warnings, and valid pages. Use this to pinpoint the specific pages that Google isn't indexing correctly.
GSC will send indexing issues to your email. Be sure to address these issues as soon as possible.
SEO Tip: Check the coverage report regularly. Fix issues like broken links, server errors, and mobile usability problems. Fixing these errors helps improve crawlability and ensures Google can access all the content on your site.
4. Analyze Search Queries
Back in the "Performance Tab," selecting the "Queries" tab will show you the exact queries that lead to clicks on your site. By analyzing this data, you can discover which keywords bring the most traffic to your site.
And be sure to find under performing search terms you may not have been targeting. A little optimization can help to boost these keywords in search results.
SEO Tip: Identify long-tail keywords and optimize content for queries that you may not be ranking highly for. Use this data to adjust your content strategy. Add new articles or optimize existing ones for high-performing keywords.
5. Identify Mobile Usability Issues
Google has shifted to mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of your site for ranking. Check out the Core Web Vitals page and have a close look at both the mobile and desktop performance. GSC identifies any issues that could affect how your site performs on mobile devices. You may also want to check out PageSpeed Insights for more information.
SEO Tip: If GSC flags any mobile usability issues (e.g., buttons too close together, text too small), resolve them quickly. Ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is crucial for both user experience and SEO rankings.
6. Track Backlinks
GSC provides a "Links" section where you can monitor both internal and external links. Backlinks, which are links from other websites to yours, are a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. It is important to know where your backlinks are coming from.
If your site is receiving backlinks from sites that are not related to your niche or your local area, these may hurt your performance. You should consider reaching out to these sites to have your backlink removed.
SEO Tip: Use this feature to check your backlinks. It will show which sites link to you. You can then find ways to build more high-quality backlinks. Also, ensure that your internal linking structure helps distribute link equity across key pages.
7. Inspect URLs
The "URL Inspection" tool allows you to check how Google views a specific page on your site. It reveals whether the page is indexed, any mobile usability issues, and if the structured data is detected.
SEO Tip: After making changes to a page (e.g., updating content or fixing errors), use the URL Inspection tool to request a re-crawl. This can speed up the process of Google recognizing your updates and reflecting them in search rankings.
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Google Search Console is a powerful tool that offers a wealth of data to help you improve your SEO efforts. Using GSC well can boost your website's search performance. It helps identify keywords that drive traffic and diagnose technical issues.
Take the time to explore and review the reports in GSC to ensure your site stays optimized for Google and continues climbing up the rankings.
