Google Search Console (GSC)

Introduction to Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free platform provided by Google that helps website owners
monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site’s presence in Google Search results. It doesn’t require
you to be an expert in coding or SEO to use it. Once your website is connected and verified in GSC,
you can see how Google crawls and indexes your website. You can also track the keywords people use to
find your website, how many impressions or clicks your pages receive, and what technical issues may be
affecting your rankings. In simple words, GSC is like a health report for your website — it tells you
what’s working, what’s not, and what needs immediate attention.

• GSC is a free tool by Google
• It helps monitor website performance in search
• It provides insights like clicks, impressions, CTR, and indexing status
• It helps diagnose technical SEO issues

Google Search Console works like a guiding framework that shows the real performance of your website.

Why Google Search Console is Important

Using Google Search Console gives you a clear idea of how your website performs in real search results.
For example, GSC shows you how many people clicked your website in Google, how many times your pages
appeared in search (impressions), your average ranking position, and your click-through rate (CTR).
Without this data, it’s impossible to know whether your SEO efforts are working or not.

• Helps you understand how Google sees your website
• Shows how many people click on your site
• Helps fix indexing issues
• Helps submit sitemaps
• Helps monitor mobile usability
• Shows backlinks
• Helps improve SEO performance with real data

Some issues may be outdated or removed over time:
Old indexing reports removed by Google
And new improvements get added frequently:
Updated crawling and performance metrics added

How to Set Up Google Search Console (Step-by-Step)

1. Add Property — Go to Google Search Console and sign in using a Google account.
   You can add your website using the following options:
   • Domain Property (tracks entire domain, including subdomains)
   • URL Prefix Property (tracks only specific URLs)
2. Verify Your Website — Available verification methods include:
   • HTML File Upload
   • HTML Tag
   • DNS TXT Record
   • Google Analytics
   • Google Tag Manager

Key Features of Google Search Console

Performance Report

This report shows:

• Total clicks
• Total impressions
• Average CTR
• Average position

URL Inspection Tool

This tool checks how Google views a particular webpage. It helps you know:

• Whether the page is indexed
• When it was last crawled
• If any enhancements exist (AMP, mobile usability, etc.)
• If the URL is eligible for rich results

Index Coverage Report

This report shows common indexing statuses:

• Valid
• Valid with warning
• Error
• Excluded

Possible issues include:

• Server errors (5xx)
• Redirect errors
• Crawled but not indexed
• Submitted URL marked noindex

Sitemaps Report

It explains:

• How to submit sitemap.xml
• How GSC reads and indexes sitemaps
• Why sitemap submission helps crawling

Mobile Usability Report

Common issues:

• Text too small
• Clickable elements too close
• Content wider than screen

How to Fix Common GSC Errors

GSC often highlights technical problems that may not be visible on your website.
A misconfigured plugin or accidental redirect can cause 404 Not Found errors.
Slow servers may trigger server errors. Other issues include:

• 404 Not Found
• Server errors
• Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt
• Alternate page with canonical tag
• Duplicate content
• Sitemap errors

Best SEO Practices Using GSC Data

• Use performance report to optimize high-impression keywords
• Improve pages with low CTR
• Fix coverage issues immediately
• Monitor backlinks and remove spam links
• Track page experience and mobile usability

Conclusion

To conclude, Google Search Console is not just a tool but a powerful asset for anyone
who wants to grow their website, increase visibility, and fix SEO issues early. Whether
you’re a beginner or an advanced SEO specialist, GSC provides insights that no other
tool can match. By monitoring your site regularly and applying improvements, your SEO
will grow steadily.