Anyone with SEO experience has probably used Google Search Console to improve their website’s performance. Importantly, it’s a tool developed by Google, the leading search engine today, and it’s completely free. It’s a great tool for both experienced and new users.
This article will introduce a simple guide to using Google Search Console in 2022 that will help beginners understand how to use basic functions and metrics. Guaranteed that anyone who wants to improve, develop, or enhance their website can immediately apply what they learn.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a web service developed by Google that helps users and marketers check the completeness of their website and improve overall performance related to SEO practices.
The main features in Search Console are as follows:
Although Search Console is not a ranking factor specified by Google, it is still one of the tools to help improve website performance that is easy to use for both beginners and experienced users.
Getting Started with Google Search Console
In this section, we will skip the process of signing up and start with adding your website to a property, verifying website ownership, and explaining various basic features, including metrics you should know.
Adding a Website to a Property in Search Console
After completing the registration, the first thing to do is add your website. Adding a website property in Search Console can be done in two ways:
- Domain Property For the first method, specify your entire domain at once without having to add each URL individually. The system will format it automatically.
- URL Property Enter specific URLs one by one.
Then, click Continue to proceed with verifying website ownership.
Verifying Website Ownership (Verify Site Ownership)
To verify website ownership, go to this link. Verification can be done in two ways:
- Verify with Domain Property By adding a DNS record to your Website Hosting, then return to the Search Console page and click the Verify button.
- Verify with URL Property For verification using the URL Property method, it can usually be done in several ways, such as
- Uploading an HTML file
- Adding a Meta Tag from Search Console
- Verify through Google Analytics Tracking Code
- Verify through Google Tag Manager
You must repeat the process according to the number of URLs added to the property.
Basic Usage
After completing the website ownership verification process, it’s time to start using Search Console. Let’s start by getting to know the various overviews of what new users need to know.
The Performance Report
The Performance Report section displays various essential information that users can use to improve their website’s search performance. It is divided into four types of data:
- Web
- Image
- Video
- News
You can change the data filtering by clicking the Search Type button. You can also use the Compare feature to compare metrics of search results in each category.
This Performance Report page is considered the most important because users can view various data that occurs on their website immediately. Then, take this data to adjust or apply it to keyword analysis or improve other content.
URL Inspection Tool
The URL Inspection Tool, or URL inspection tool, is another useful feature for new marketers. Users can use this tool to inspect a webpage from a URL immediately. Just enter the URL you want to inspect, and the system will display various detailed information, such as indexing status, mobile device compatibility, and more. In summary:
- Users can submit indexing requests to Google in case Google has not yet indexed the page.
- View the date when Google’s algorithm collected data on the website
- Check Breadcrumbs
- Check mobile website compatibility
Index Coverage Report
Those with SEO experience have probably used it before. The Index Coverage Report page shows various details related to the indexing status of the website pages so that users know what problems have occurred on the website and can check and fix them promptly. The details are as follows:
- Error The Error category is reserved for websites that cannot be indexed.
- Valid with Warnings This category is reserved for websites that can be indexed but may have some issues that should be fixed.
- Valid This category is reserved for websites that have been fully indexed.
- Excluded This category will be for websites that have been excluded from indexing (considered not yet indexed).
For those who want to better understand the Index Coverage Report function, you can read more in this article.
Metrics
The Performance Report page has basic metrics that new marketers need to know, such as:
- Impressions Or the number of times your website appears in search results viewed by general audiences (excluding Google Ads campaigns).
- Clicks The click metric measures the number of clicks on your website (excluding Google Ads campaigns).
- Average CTR Or the click-through rate, calculated as the number of Clicks / Number of Impressions × 100, expressed as a percentage.
- Average Position Or the average ranking of your website.
Understanding these basic metrics is like having a mirror reflecting your website’s performance and what needs to be improved.
In conclusion, Search Console is one of the tools developed by Google and made available for free. It is considered a basic tool for all levels of users for SEO, whether it’s viewing various overviews, checking and fixing problems, to ensure that your website has a good ranking as intended.
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