Deep Dive into How to Use Google Search Console
Are you looking to enhance your website’s search performance and gain actionable search engine optimization insights? Google Search Console is your go-to tool. It provides essential data on how your site is perceived by Google and how users interact with it. With reports on search queries, clicks, and impressions, and the ability to debug and optimize website visibility, Google Search Console is a fundamental asset for anyone aiming to improve their organic reach in Google search results.
At Now Media Group, Google Search Console serves as an essential tool to ensure that our SEO strategies are working and you’re getting the best results possible. To get started with our digital marketing services, contact us today to set up your free website evaluation!
Table of Contents
Google Search Console, formerly Google Webmaster Tools, is a powerful tool that offers the following features:
The platform reveals the search terms used to find your site, your average position in Google search, clicks, and impressions. This data provides insights into how Google “sees” your site and the way users interact with it.
Search Console plays a pivotal role in SEO and serves as a guide to search results. It provides insights on search terms leading to impressions of site pages in Google search results, known as queries. The report offers filters for:
Integrating tools like HubSpot with Google Search Console enables deeper insights such as search queries, impressions, and clicks. This valuable information assists in organic traffic optimization and tracking SEO efforts.
Setting up an account is a straightforward process. It starts with adding a new property by accessing the ‘Add Property’ function and inputting the domain or URL prefix of your site. While this setup doesn’t impact your Google Search performance, it facilitates tracking.
After adding a property, the next step is to verify ownership. Property verification in Google Search Console grants control over the property and access to confidential data. Different methods can be used for verification without affecting each other, and once verified, it doesn’t expire.
When adding a property in Google Search Console, you have two options: the domain property method and the URL prefix property method. The domain property method encompasses all subdomains and protocols (http and https), providing a broader scope for data collection across an entire domain.
On the other hand, a URL prefix property tracks only the specific section of the website with the entered URL prefix and protocol, limiting the scope to the exact match of the provided URL structure. To create and verify a domain property, you must add a DNS TXT record to the domain configuration through the domain name provider, confirming ownership and allowing integration with Google Search Console.
For URL prefix properties in Google Search Console, available verification methods include HTML file upload, HTML tag, domain name provider, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager. If automatic verification fails or if the domain provider isn’t listed in Google Search Console’s options, manual verification may be necessary. Common manual verification methods are TXT record or HTML tag.
However, various errors can occur during verification, such as:
The verification tokens for Google Search Console property ownership are subject to periodic checks and may expire after a grace period if they cannot be confirmed.
Integrating Google Analytics with Search Console provides enhanced insights for your site. To do this, you must have verified ownership of the Search Console property and the Editor role on the Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property. Additionally, you need to implement the Google Analytics tracking code on your website.
Once integrated, two reports become available in GA4: Google Organic Search Queries and Traffic. These reports provide metrics such as clicks and user behavior over a data retention timeframe of 16 months. However, keep in mind that the Search Console collection of reports is not published by default in GA4 and needs to be published from the Library.
The Performance report is one of the most vital tools in Google Search Console. It supplies keywords, clicks, and impressions data, and includes specific coverage for channels like Discover and Google News. This data helps understand changes in search traffic over time and the keywords driving that traffic.
Impressions are counted whenever a user sees a link to a page or site on a Google service, while clicks are registered when a user actively selects a link. The CTR is formulated by dividing the total number of clicks by the number of impressions, providing an indication of content relevancy to user queries. Performance metrics like these are pivotal for formulating and refining SEO strategies.
The Index Coverage report monitors the number of indexed pages and manages URLs, indicating why certain pages are or are not indexed by Google.
The report shows reasons why pages are not indexed, categorizing issues ranging from severities that block indexing (e.g., ‘noindex’ directive, robots.txt block) to warnings suggesting fixes for a better understanding of the pages. Users can resolve indexing issues by testing live URLs, fixing indicated problems, and using the Request Indexing feature.
The Enhancements report provides essential feedback on the correct implementation of structured data and outlines any fixes that might be required to optimize for search. The kind of issues and improvements suggested in the Enhancements section of the URL Inspection tool are informed by the types of schema markup implemented on a website.
One of the most helpful features of Google Search Console is the URL Inspection Tool. This tool offers the following benefits:
The Page Indexing report provides the indexed status of URLs, including reasons for non-indexing such as server errors or ‘noindex’ directives. You can resolve these issues by testing live URLs, fixing the indicated problems, and using the Request Indexing feature. However, this doesn’t ensure that the page will be indexed.
Structured data is a powerful tool for enhancing user experience. By activating special search result features such as rich snippets, structured data enhances the visibility and attractiveness of listings in search results, making the most of structured data Google has to offer.
Structured data on a site can result in a variety of rich results types, such as:
These rich results enhance your site’s appearance in Google Search. The Rich Results Test tool offers the following features:
Additionally, the Mobile Usability Test can be filtered by devices to analyze performance across desktop, mobile, and tablet.
It’s vital to manage site links and external connections for effective SEO. Internal links help distribute page authority and clarify site structure for search engines, while backlinks from high-quality websites can boost your site’s credibility.
Google Search Console displays internal links for every page, spotlighting which pages have the most and fewest links. To manage internal links, prioritize pages with the least internal links and aim for a minimum of five links per page. Ensure high-value and revenue-generating pages are among the top internally linked pages for better search result visibility.
Google takes the safety of web users seriously and provides tools in Google Search Console to help site owners keep their sites secure. The Security and Manual Actions reports help detect and resolve harmful website content and non-compliance with Google’s spam policies.
To resolve manual actions, owners must correct all affected pages as indicated in the Manual Actions report, ensuring full accessibility and compliance with Google’s guidelines. Similarly, when security issues are detected, they need comprehensive resolution guided by the detailed information provided in the Security Issues report.
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps website owners monitor their site’s search performance and technical SEO health. It provides insights into how Google is handling and indexing the website, essential for understanding and improving its visibility in search results.
To access your Google Search Console, go to the Google Search Console Homepage, click ‘Start Now,’ enter your Google Account email and password, and then click Sign in.
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you monitor and maintain your website’s presence in Google Search results. It provides valuable insights into how Google views your site, including keywords, page performance, and potential issues.
Tracking your SEO efforts is essential for continued growth and finding new opportunities within ranking on the search engines. With Google Search Console, our marketing team can track the performance of each individual page on your website and make adjustments as needed to our SEO strategies. Contact us today to get started!
“Met Now Media when I was a COO of a multi-site, multi-brand dental practice. Was so pleased, I now use them for our Med Spa and the SEO is so good- we get calls for services we don’t even advertise other than a page on the website! Now Media Group are SEO masters and have a fabulous team. Highly recommend and worth the $!”
Theresa LaBranche
Front Door Medspa
Now Media is a top notch company that I highly recommend for your marketing needs. They not only updated my sites, they made them more attractive, brought more traffic to them, and in return this is resulting in more cosmetic and implant cases being treated.
Dr. John Nosti
Smile Design NYC
I started a roofing business in the summer of 2022 and I can confidently say that Shannon, Brandan, and the entire Now Media team is one of the main reasons why we are thriving going into our first full year in business. From our website build to marketing and SEO they’ve been AWESOME.
Steven Friedman
Thunder Bay Roofing
We have been using Now Media Group for many years. They have done an amazing job with our website, search engine optimization, online registration portals and social media marketing. If it’s Internet related, they are one of the best in the business. Many of our graduates use their services and the feedback has always been nothing less than excellent.
Dr. Randolph Resnik
Resnik Implant Institute
I have been having good results with Now Media optimizing my website. Mark the owner is very hands-on and very responsive to any concerns. We have definitely improved our new patient numbers since using Now Media. I would highly recommend Now Media.
Dr. Michael Kreimer
Michael Kreimer, DDS
We have been working with Now Media Group for the past 7 years. They manage our website, social media, Google ads and implant-specific marketing. There are many options available for online dental marketing. Now Media has gone above and beyond in helping us grow our practice and help attract high-value and well-qualified dental implant and full arch cases.
Dr. Matthew Huff
Precision Dentistry & Implants of Kerrville
