Google Search Console is a free tool that helps website owners keep track of and maintain their site’s presence in search results. It allows you to see how your website is performing in search results, identify any crawl errors or security issues, and submit sitemaps and individual URLs for crawling. And instead of hiring an in-house that’s way more expensive, outsource your SEO services from Web 20 Ranker, a tried and proven SEO service. View more Web20 Ranker reviews here. But first, here’s a simple guide to using Google Search Console.
Sign up for Google Search Console
To use Google Search Console, you’ll need to have a Google account. If you don’t already have one, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/. Once you have a Google account, visit https://search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google account.
Add your website to Google Search Console
After signing in, you’ll be taken to the dashboard of Google Search Console. To add your website, click on the “Add a Property” button in the top right corner of the page. You’ll be asked to enter the URL of your website. Make sure to include the “https://” or “http://” prefix, depending on your website’s configuration. Click “Continue” to proceed.
Verify ownership of your website
To prove that you are the owner of the website you just added, you’ll need to verify ownership. Google Search Console offers several methods for verifying your website, including HTML file upload, HTML tag, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager. Choose the method that works best for you and follow the prompts to complete the verification process.
Explore the Google Search Console dashboard
Now that your website is added and verified, you can start using Google Search Console to monitor and maintain your website’s performance in search results. The dashboard is divided into several sections, including “Performance,” “Coverage,” “URL Inspection,” and “Security & Manual Actions.” These sections provide a wealth of information about your website’s search traffic, crawl errors, security issues, and more.
Use the Performance report to track your search traffic
The “Performance” report is one of the most useful sections of Google Search Console. It shows you how your website is performing in search results, including the number of clicks, impressions, and average click-through rate (CTR) for your website over a given period of time. You can use this information to see which pages on your website are getting the most traffic from search results and identify any trends or changes in your search traffic over time.
Fix crawl errors with the Coverage report
The “Coverage” report shows you any crawl errors that Google has encountered while trying to access and index your website. Crawl errors can affect your website’s visibility in search results, so it’s important to fix them as soon as possible. The Coverage report provides details about each crawl error, including the URL of the page and the error message. You can use this information to troubleshoot and fix the problem.
Use the URL Inspection tool to see how Google sees your website
The “URL Inspection” tool allows you to see how Google sees your website. You can enter any URL from your website and see if it has been indexed by Google, any crawl errors or security issues it may have, and any other relevant information. This is a useful tool for diagnosing and fixing problems with individual pages on your website.
Monitor your website’s security with the Security & Manual Actions report
The “Security & Manual Actions” report shows you any security issues or manual actions taken by Google on your website. This includes any security breaches or malware detected on your website, as well as any manual actions taken by Google’s spam team. It’s important to regularly monitor this report and address any security issues or manual actions as soon as possible to ensure that your website remains safe and secure.
Set up alerts and notifications
Google Search Console allows you to set up alerts and notifications to keep you informed of any changes or issues with your website. You can set up email notifications for a variety of events, including when your website has a manual action, when there are crawl errors, or when there are security issues. To set up alerts, click on the “Settings” tab in the dashboard and choose the types of alerts you want to receive.
Google Search Console allows you to monitor your website’s performance, fix crawl errors, and submit sitemaps and URLs for crawling. This can help ensure your website is performing its best in search results.