Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your site performs in search. If you only set up one SEO tool, make it this one.
What it tells you
It shows which searches bring people to your site, how often your pages appear, how often people click, and whether Google has any trouble reading your pages.
Setting it up
- Sign in with a Google account and add your website as a property.
- Verify that you own it. Your developer can help with the verification step.
- Submit your XML sitemap so Google can discover your pages.
Data starts to appear after a few days.
The four reports to know
Performance
This shows clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, broken down by search, page, country and device. It is the heart of the tool.
Pages (indexing)
This lists which pages are indexed and explains why others are not. Use it to catch pages that should be there but are missing.
Sitemaps
Shows the sitemaps you submitted and whether Google could read them.
Experience and Core Web Vitals
Highlights speed and usability problems that may frustrate visitors.
Easy wins to look for
- Searches with many impressions but few clicks: improve the title and description.
- Pages ranking at positions 8 to 20: small improvements may lift them onto page one.
- Indexing errors on important pages: fix and request re-indexing.
Check it monthly. You do not need to live in the tool. A monthly review is enough to spot trends and problems.
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