SEO for foundersSearch Console
Google Search Console: a guide for founders
Search Console is Google's free report on how your site appears in Search. Which four parts matter first, what they tell you, and what they leave out.
In this lesson
- Four reports answer most questions: Performance, Page indexing, URL Inspection and Sitemaps.
- In the first month: set it up, check your pages are indexed, and wait for data.
- Its numbers leave out rare searches, and position is an average, not a live rank.
Google Search Console is a free service from Google that shows how your site appears in Google Search. It tells you which searches you were shown for, how often people clicked, where you ranked on average, and which of your pages Google has indexed. It is the only place that data comes from Google itself, and it is where every other lesson in this module starts. The module is built as a topic cluster: this main guide, and one lesson per question, each linked to the others.
Which parts should you learn first?
Search Console has many reports. Four of them answer most questions a founder has:
| Report | What it tells you | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | The searches you appeared for, with impressions (times Google showed you), clicks, click-through rate and average position | The four numbers |
| Page indexing | How many of your pages Google has indexed, and why each missing one is not | Is it on Google? |
| URL Inspection | One page at a time: is it on Google, when was it last read, and can you ask Google to read it again | Is it on Google? |
| Sitemaps | Where you tell Google which pages exist | Setting it up |
What should you do with it in the first month?
- Set it up and submit your sitemap.
- Check that your important pages are indexed.
- Wait. Google says data for a new site can take up to a week to appear, and a new site may show very few searches for weeks after that. See how long a new site takes to show up.
What should you do once data arrives?
Look for the searches you almost rank for: the ones where you sit on page two, just below the results people click. Google has already judged your page relevant, so a better page often moves up. The method is in how to find searches you almost rank for.
If you are shown often but rarely clicked, read why you get impressions but no clicks before changing anything.
What does Search Console not tell you?
Four limits to keep in mind, all from Google's own notes on its data:
- Not every search is listed. Google leaves out searches made very rarely, and ones that could identify a person, to protect privacy.
- Only the top rows are stored. For a large site, the long tail is cut.
- Position is an average. It is your highest position for a search, averaged across every time you were shown. It is not a live rank.
- Nothing about competitors. You see your own site only.
Quick answers
- What is Google Search Console?
- Google Search Console is a free service from Google that shows how your site appears in Google Search: which searches you were shown for, how often people clicked, which of your pages Google has indexed, and any problems stopping it from reading them.
- Is Google Search Console free?
- Yes. It is free for anyone who can prove they own or manage the site, usually by adding a record to the domain's DNS settings.
- What is the difference between Search Console and Google Analytics?
- Search Console reports what happens in Google Search before someone reaches your site: the searches, the times you were shown, the clicks and your average position. Google Analytics reports what visitors do after they arrive, from every source. For SEO, Search Console is the one to start with.
Check what you learned
Question 1 of 3
Find the searches your own site almost ranks for.