The only free tool that tells you what Google really thinks of your site.
Google Search Console is a free service from Google that shows how your website is performing in the search results: which searches you appear on, how often it is clicked, which pages are included and which are skipped. It is the only source that tells you what Google actually does with your site.
IN COMMON LANGUAGE
What you get out of it
The most valuable screen is not your position but the overview of searches: the words people typed before they saw your result. That's a real question, not an assumption: and almost always leads to topics you weren't thinking about.
The second is indexation. How many of your pages are actually recorded? A page that is not included cannot be found by definition, and that is a content signal: Google found it too thin or too similar to something else.
The third is the comparison between position and clicks. If you are in fourth place but hardly anyone clicks, it is not due to your position but to your title and description.
WHY IT MATTERS
How to start
You must prove once that the site is yours, usually via a file or a DNS rule. Then it collects data from then on: you don't get anything retroactively, so the sooner you start, the better.
Wait at least four full weeks after registration before drawing any conclusions. Search behavior fluctuates from week to week, and on a handful of days you can't build anything.
- Sign up today — measuring only starts from the moment of connection.
- Submit sitemap — then you see how many pages were actually recorded.
- View searches — the real question, not your assumption.
- Positions 4 to 20 — that's where the quickest profit is.
- Pages without impressions — a signal that the page is too thin.
- Wait for four weeks of data — shorter periods are noise.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
More about Google Search Console
Is Search Console free?
Yes, completely. All you need is a Google Account and one-time access to your domain or website to prove it's yours.
What is the difference with Google Analytics?
Search Console is about what happens before the click: which searches you appear on and how often you click. Analytics is about what visitors do next on your site. They answer different questions and complement each other.
Do I also see my competitors?
No. You only see your own data. For competitive comparison you need an external data set, which by definition is an estimate where Search Console is measurement.
CONTINUE READING
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