Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your website appears in search. It tells you which searches you show up for, how many people click, and whether Google has problems reading your pages.
How to set it up
- Go to Google Search Console and sign in with your business Google account.
- Add your website as a “domain” property if you can edit your DNS, or a “URL prefix” property if not.
- Verify ownership using the method offered, such as a DNS record or an HTML tag.
- Submit your sitemap, usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. No sitemap? Create one with our sitemap generator.
Data starts appearing within a few days.
The five reports to check monthly
1. Performance
Shows clicks, impressions, average position and click-through rate, with the exact search phrases. Look for phrases where you rank on page two; they are often the easiest to improve.
2. Pages (indexing)
Shows which pages are in Google and which are not, with reasons. Important pages marked “not indexed” need attention.
3. Sitemaps
Confirms Google has read your sitemap and how many pages it found.
4. Core Web Vitals and page experience
Flags pages that are slow or unstable on mobile.
5. Manual actions and security
Should be empty. If Google has penalised your site or found malware, it shows here.
Useful tools inside Search Console
- URL inspection: check any page and request indexing after updating it.
- Links: see which sites link to you and your most linked pages.
Common questions
Is it the same as Google Analytics? No. Search Console shows what happens in Google search before the click; Analytics shows what visitors do on your site after it. Use both.
Next, read why your website is not showing on Google.
Want the full picture? This article is part of SEO: the complete guide, our in-depth guide with everything in one place.
