- Search Console is free and shows how Google sees your site.
- Submit your sitemap and check that your key pages are indexed.
- Use the Performance report to find the searches that already bring you visitors.
The Short Answer
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your site appears in search. It tells you which pages are indexed, which searches bring visitors and whether Google found problems. If you publish articles and want search traffic, it is the first tool to set up.
Search Console vs Analytics
Analytics tells you what visitors do after they arrive. Search Console tells you how they found you in Google, before they arrive. Use both. If you already track visitors, see our guide to GA4 custom event tracking.
Set It Up
1. Add your site at search.google.com/search-console and verify that you own it, using the method the tool suggests, such as a DNS record or an HTML tag.
2. Submit your sitemap. Enter the address of your sitemap file (for this site, sitemap.xml) under Sitemaps so Google can find your pages.
3. Wait a few days. Data takes time to appear, so check back.
Read the Performance Report
| Measure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Clicks | How often people clicked through from Google to your site |
| Impressions | How often your page appeared in search results |
| Click rate (CTR) | Clicks divided by impressions |
| Average position | Your typical ranking for a search |
Look at the Queries tab to see the searches that already bring visitors. A page with many impressions and few clicks may need a better title or description.
Check Indexing
Open the Pages report to see which pages are indexed and why others are not. Use URL Inspection to test one page and request indexing after you publish or change something. Indexing can take days or weeks, and Google does not promise to index every page.
A Ten-Minute Weekly Routine
Check for new errors, look at your top queries, find one page with high impressions but low clicks, and improve its title and opening lines. Small changes repeated weekly add up.
Action Checklist
- Add and verify your site in Search Console
- Submit your sitemap
- Check the Pages report for indexing problems
- Review your top queries each week
- Improve titles on pages with many impressions and few clicks
- Use URL Inspection after publishing a new article
