Google Webmaster Tools (now called Google Search Console) is a powerful free search tool provided by Google.
Put simply – It gives you the tools you need to manage, fix and monitor your website’s visibility in the Google search results.
Think of it as a way of looking at your site through Google’s eyes. Any major SEO issues that your site encounters appear in Google Search Console.
Google Webmaster Tools was initially launched as “Sitemaps” in June 2005.
At the time, it simply allowed you to submit your XML sitemap so Google could crawl your site easily and find all your website pages.
It does a lot more than that today.
In August 2006, it was renamed Google Webmaster Tools.
The name change was inspired by the goal of helping website owners (webmasters) increase their visibility in Google’s organic search results.
As Google developed various features within the platform, Google Webmaster Tools started to attract a broader range of users.
In May 2015, Google renamed it Google Search Console.
This is the current name of Google Webmaster Tools.
Google continually updates Google Search Console, adding new features and improving the UX. It has become a staple tool for anyone serious about SEO.
What Will I Learn?
The biggest benefit of Google Search Console (GSC) is that you can access almost everything you need to manage your website’s visibility in the Google SERPs.
Here is a list of the main features and reports Google Search Console offers:
Cool, right?
Google Search Console has almost everything you need to optimise your site continually. The best part is…
It’s completely free to use!
Follow these steps to use Google Search Console to improve your SEO:
First, you need to verify your site in Google Search Console.
Without this, you won’t be able to access the goldmine of data and tools at your disposal.
Sign in to Google Search Console with your Google account, and add your website.
You will need to verify that you own the domain you’re adding.
There are two main options:
If you’ve already set up Google Analytics, this is the easiest and fastest option.
Otherwise, you will need to add the HTML tag GSC provides to the head section of your website.
Next up, submit your sitemap to Google.
This helps Google crawl and index your most important pages efficiently. Think of it as giving Google a complete roadmap to your site.
Click on the Sitemap tab under “Indexing” and add your Sitemap URL.
Not sure where your XML sitemap URL is?
It usually one of the following:
If you need help finding and submitting your XML sitemap, check out our complete submit URL to Google guide.
Now that Google has crawled your website properly, it’s time to make sure they index it.
Click on the Pages tab under “Indexing”.
This will show you all the pages Google has found when crawling your site. It will also show you which pages are indexed and which aren’t.
It’s ok if not all your pages are indexed. There are some that you won’t want displayed in the SERPs.
But all your main website pages must be indexed by Google. The good news is that Google tells you which pages aren’t indexed and why.
For example, you probably want to fix broken links that display a 404 error and redirect them to a new live URL using a 301 redirect.
Jump into the Performance report to see how your site is ranking in Google.
Look at key metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR and average position to spot what’s working and what’s not.
There are a couple of ways I like to use this report to optimise my website better:
The sky is the limit for what you can do with the performance report! The key is to know what you want to achieve and be consistent.
Google is serious about user experience.
It comes as no surprise that they have some pretty powerful user experience tools in Google Search Console.
Here’s what you need to do:
Use the Page Experience report to ensure your site is providing the best possible experience for your users.
This report covers:
Fix any issues that come up in the report to boost user experience and your SEO.
Pay close attention to your Core Web Vitals, as these are metrics that Google actively monitors. They can have a significant effect on your rankings.
Check out our improve Core Web Vitals guide and Google Page Experience Checklist if you need more help.
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