What is google search console?
Google Search Console is a free web service offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your website’s presence in Google Search results. It also allows you to submit your website to Google for indexing and provides data and tools that can help you improve your website’s SEO. That includes information on your website’s appearance in google search results, crawl problems, index coverage reports, internal links, indexed pages, and more.
With Search Console, you can keep track of your website’s performance in Google Search and repair any issues you may have. You’ll get insights into how Google views your website, including information on when you were last indexed and if there are any problems with how your website is set up. Additionally, you can track search traffic data like impressions, clicks, and queries. Search Console also provides helpful tools to help optimize your website’s performance in the eyes of search engines. For example, you can submit a sitemap so that Google knows which pages are essential and get reports on crawl errors. With all this data and tools, you can ensure that your website is presented optimally in Google Search results.
You can also use Search Console to find out if there are any issues with your website’s design or coding that could be hurting your search engine ranking. If you see something that needs fixing, you can submit a request to the Google Developers team to have it looked at. Additionally, Google Search Console can provide insights into how people search for your site, what kind of content they’re looking for, and where they’re coming from.
This information can help you improve your website to meet the needs of your audience better. In addition, you’ll get helpful info from the console, such as how many queries your site shows up in respective positions on google SERP which can be seen through the google search console.
How to Use Google Search Console?
To use Google Search Console, you must verify site ownership. This can be done by either connecting your site to Google Analytics or uploading an HTML file to your server. Once verified, site owners can begin using the various tools and features that Google Search Console offers. These include submitting sitemaps, viewing search traffic data, and receiving notifications of any discovered crawl errors.
Benefits of Using Google Search Console
Google Search Console can help improve your site’s search features and top-linked pages. The search console also lets you see how Google’s search results place your site in an average position. Let’s talk a little about the benefits;
1. You can use Google Search Console to see how Google crawls and indexes your site ( index coverage report ), which keywords are driving traffic, and whether any errors need to be fixed.
2. Search Console also allows you to submit your sitemap to Google, which can help Google index your site more effectively.
3. Additionally, Search Console can be used to determine if your site has been affected by any manual actions from Google (such as a penalty for spammy links).
4. Mobile usability reports are an excellent way to understand and fix any issues with your site’s mobile design.
5. You can use the URL inspection tool to check individual URLs for indexing errors and details about when Google last crawled them.
6. You can track which search queries are driving impressions and clicks to your website from the Search Analytics report.
8. The core web vitals report will help you identify and fix any issues with site speed, layout shifts, and other problems preventing your website from performing optimally.
9. Search performance data allows you to track your website performance in Google Search over time.
10. You can also use the Disavow tool to request that Google ignore any links pointing to your site that may harm its search engine ranking.
11. page experience report helps you identify and fix any issues with page experience so that your website can perform better in users’ eyes ( better user experience ).
12. With google search console, you can view the top linking sites and pages, which will help you understand who’s linking to your site and act accordingly.
13. Click-through rate (CTR) data will help you analyze the performance of your titles, meta descriptions, and other on-page elements to ensure maximum clickability.
14. You can also use the Google search console to research keywords related to your website, which will be helpful when creating SEO content strategies or running ad campaigns.
15. You can use the Links report to determine which sites are referring traffic to your site and measure their effectiveness in driving visitors. This report is beneficial for understanding the value of backlinks and identifying any sources that may harm your website’s reputation or ranking.
16. security issues report will alert you if malware is detected on your website.
How to submit my website sitemaps to google for indexing?
To submit your website sitemaps to Google for indexing, go to the ‘Crawl’ section of Google Search Console and then click on the Sitemaps option. Next, enter your sitemap URL into the box and click ‘Submit.’ Your sitemap will be indexed within a few days. Google also allows you to submit individual URLs for indexing.
To do this, go to the ‘URL Inspection’ tab and enter the URL. Then click ‘Request Indexing.’ Again, Google will crawl and index the page within a few days.
You can also use Google Search Console’s robots.txt file tester to check if your website is blocking any pages from being indexed. This will help you ensure all the essential pages on your website are visible to search engines.
How to submit specific URLs for disavowing?
To submit specific URLs for disavowing in Google Search Console, go to the ‘Disavow Links’ tab and click on the ‘Add/Test Disavow File’ button. You will then be able to upload your file with a list of all the previous disavowing URLs and check whether the link is harmful. If the link is from a reputable website and is not likely to have a negative effect, disavowing it is unnecessary.
Tips for Using Google Search Console
1. Verify every domain and subdomain you own, even if they don’t have content yet.
2. Keep an eye out for any manual penalties and take action to fix them immediately.
3. Link your Google Analytics account to Google Search Console so you can track search performance data in both tools.
4. Make sure your content is up-to-date and relevant so Google can crawl and index it regularly.
5. Use the Security Issues report to check for any malware or security issues on your website that could harm search engine rankings.
6. Check out the page experience report to ensure all pages are loading quickly and correctly.
7. Monitor the impressions and clicks your website gets in Search Analytics to see what content is performing best.
8. Use the top linking sites report to identify any critical links you may have missed or look for opportunities to build more relevant links.
9. Utilize the URL inspection tool to check individual URLs for indexing errors and when Google last crawled them.
10. Use the core web vitals report to identify issues with your website’s speed or layout shifts that could hurt user experience.
11. Analyze the click-through rate data to ensure your titles and meta descriptions are optimized for maximum clickability.
12. Research related keywords with the keyword research tool to create SEO content strategies and ad campaigns.
Is google search console a ranking factor?
Google Search Console is not a ranking factor but can help improve your website’s search engine rankings. Optimizing your pages for higher visibility can boost organic traffic and overall engagement on your website. Additionally, Google Search Console alerts you to any potential issues with your site that could affect its search engine ranking, allowing you to take corrective measures before any damage is done to your search engine ranking.
The URL inspection tool can also check for indexing errors and when Google last crawled them. Therefore, using Google Search Console can improve the overall visibility of your website in search engines, which could lead to higher rankings. However, it’s essential to understand that Google Search Console is not a direct ranking factor. So, creating high-quality content and optimizing your website for search engines should be the priority. Utilizing Google Search Console in addition to those efforts can help maximize your website’s performance in the SERPs.
In conclusion, Google Search Console can be a free tool to help improve your website’s search engine rankings. It provides you with data and insights that can guide your optimization efforts. However, it should not be the only factor considered when optimizing for higher rankings. Quality content and technical optimization are essential components of any successful SEO strategy. You can get an edge over the competition by utilizing Google Search Console and maximizing your website’s performance in the SERPs. Good luck!
