What it tells you
- Which searches your site appeared for, and where it ranked.
- How many people saw it in results and how many clicked.
- Which pages Google has indexed and which it hasn't.
- Problems Google found, like pages it couldn't load.
Search Console versus Analytics
Analytics tells you what people did once they reached your site. Search Console tells you what happened in Google before they clicked. You want both, but Search Console is the one that shows which searches you're close to winning.
Setting it up
- Go to Google Search Console and add your site as a domain property.
- Verify it, usually by adding a record at your domain provider.
- Submit your sitemap, normally at yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml.
- Wait a few days for data to start showing.
The three reports worth checking
| Report | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Performance | Searches where you rank between about 8 and 20. Those are the closest wins |
| Pages | Important pages that are not indexed, and why |
| URL inspection | Check a new page and request indexing so Google finds it faster |
How often to look
Once a month is plenty for most businesses. Check the performance report, note what's growing, and look for any pages Google has dropped. Search Console data runs a couple of days behind, so don't panic if the last two days look empty.
Rather not do this yourself? Our Google Business Profile management handles the profile, the posts and the reviews every week, for one monthly fee.