If there’s one tool no website owner or digital marketer should be without, it’s Google Search Console. Yes, this tool may seem intimidating to the uninitiated, but once you’ve learned how to use it, you won’t be able to do without it.
Google Search Console, formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools, is a free tool created by Google to help website owners understand how their site is perceived by the search engine. It offers a host of features to help you analyze, debug and improve your site’s search engine optimization (SEO).
How do you link Google Search Console to your website?
In order to use Google Search Console, you must first prove that you are the owner of the website you wish to analyze. This means you must have administrative access to your site.
When you log in to Google Search Console for the first time, you have two options for adding your site:
Domain ownership : to track data for your entire website
URL prefix : to track only certain parts of your site.
Estate ownership
The domain URL is a URL with no protocol (http/https) and no specific path (example: monsite.com). The “domain property” option includes all pages on your site, including all associated sub-domains, paths and protocols.
Using this option, you can still use filters to isolate specific subdomains, paths or protocols in the Google Search Console performance report.
Property with URL prefix
This option lets you add properties for each subdomain, path or protocol you wish to track separately. This can be useful, for example, if you’re managing only the French version of a multilingual site.
Unlike the domain property, with the URL prefix you must enter a complete URL. This means that if you use a URL with the “https” protocol, pages under the “http” protocol will not be tracked.
Property validation on Google Search Console
Once you’ve chosen between domain ownership and URL prefix, the next step is to validate your ownership. This allows Google to verify that you are the owner of the site.
For a domain property, you’ll need to go through a DNS record, which is a slightly more complex process. For a property with a URL prefix, there are several simpler validation methods, such as importing a specific HTML file or tag, or using Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics.
How can you analyse your site’s performance with Google Search Console?
One of the most valuable features of Google Search Console for beginners is the ability to evaluate your site’s SEO performance.
To do so, go to the left-hand menu and click on “Performance”. You’ll find a wealth of useful information to help you understand how your site is performing in Google’s search results.
Key indicators in Google Search Console
Among the many indicators available in Google Search Console, here are the most important:
Number of impressions: corresponds to the number of times one of your pages has been displayed in Google’s search results following a query entered by a user.
Number of clicks: indicates the number of times a user has clicked on one of your pages in Google’s search results.
Average CTR (click-through rate): is the ratio between the number of clicks and the number of impressions. It’s a measure of the effectiveness of your pages in attracting users’ attention in Google search results.
Average position: this is the average ranking of your pages for queries entered by users. The higher your position, the more visible your pages are to users.
Secondary tabs
Below the main charts, you’ll find several tabs that provide additional information on which queries you’re ranking for, which pages are performing best, and much more.
Filtering options
The Performance Tracker offers numerous filtering options. You can choose a specific date range to analyze, or display these indicators for a specific page or set of pages. This is particularly useful for monitoring the content that’s most important to you.
The most useful filtering option for SEO is the query option. You can enter keywords directly and see how you rank on them: How many clicks have they brought you? What’s your average position? Which page(s) rank best for these keywords? This information is essential for developing an effective SEO strategy.
How do you check whether a page on your site is indexed with Google Search Console?
Google Search Console’s URL inspection tool lets you easily check whether a specific URL (a page on your site) is indexed by Google.
To use this tool, click on “URL Inspection” in the left-hand menu, then enter the URL of the page you wish to check.
Google Search Console will then provide you with a report telling you whether your page is indexed, and if not, why not. You’ll also be able to see the last time Google crawled the page, and whether crawling and indexing the page is allowed.
If your page is not indexed, you can request indexing directly in Google Search Console. This can be useful if your page hasn’t yet been crawled by Google’s robots, or if you’ve made changes to your page that you’d like Google to take into account.
In short, Google Search Console is a must-have tool for anyone wishing to optimize their website for search engines. It offers a host of features for analyzing and improving your site’s SEO performance.
Index coverage tool
Another important aspect of Google Search Console is the index coverage tool. This tool lets you see which pages on your site have been indexed by Google, which pages have not been indexed and why, and which pages have been excluded from the index.
To access this tool, click on “Coverage” in the left-hand menu. You’ll then see a graph showing your site’s indexing status over time, as well as a list of indexing problems that Google has detected.
If you click on a problem, you’ll get more information about the nature of the problem and the pages affected. You can then take the necessary steps to resolve the problem and improve your site’s indexing.
Speed ratio
Page load speed is an important factor in SEO. Google Search Console provides a speed report to help you identify and resolve performance issues on your site.
To access this report, click on “Speed” in the left-hand menu. You’ll then see a graph showing your site’s loading speed over time, as well as a list of speed issues that Google has detected.
By clicking on a problem, you’ll get more information about the nature of the problem and the pages affected. You can then take the necessary steps to resolve the problem and improve your site’s loading speed.
The link report
Google Search Console also provides a link report, allowing you to see which external sites are linking to your site (inbound links), what anchor texts are used for these links, and which pages on your site have the most inbound links.
To access this report, click on “Links” in the left-hand menu. You’ll then see a list of the sites that create the most links to your site, as well as the pages on your site that have the most inbound links.
In conclusion, Google Search Console is a powerful tool for analyzing and improving your site’s SEO performance. By using it regularly and taking advantage of its many features, you can optimize your site for search engines and attract more qualified traffic.
