Google Search Console, commonly abbreviated as GSC, is a free Google service used to monitor a website’s visibility, performance and technical status in Google Search. Site owners, SEO specialists, digital marketers and web developers can use this tool to better understand how a website is seen by Google. Google Search Console provides data on many areas, including search performance, indexing status, sitemap submission, page experience, security issues and manual actions.
GSC is especially useful for analysing organic search performance. Through the Performance report, users can track how many times a website appeared in Google search results, how many clicks it received, its average click-through rate and its average position. It is also possible to analyse which queries, pages, countries, devices and search appearances generate performance. These insights are highly valuable for building SEO strategies, identifying content opportunities and evaluating the performance of existing pages.
Google Search Console should not be confused with Google Analytics. Google Analytics analyses user behaviour, sessions, conversions and traffic sources inside the website, while Search Console focuses more on visibility and technical eligibility in Google Search. For example, GSC can show how many impressions and clicks a page received for a specific query. However, to analyse which pages users visited after arriving on the website, how long they stayed or which conversions they completed, web analytics tools such as Google Analytics are needed.
One of the important use cases of GSC is checking indexing and crawling status. The Page Indexing report shows the Google indexing status of URLs that Google knows about in your property. Through this report, users can see which pages are indexed, which pages are not indexed and why they are not indexed. Statuses such as “Crawled, currently not indexed,” “Discovered, currently not indexed,” “Excluded by noindex tag” or “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” can provide important signals for SEO analysis.
The URL Inspection tool is used to check how Google sees a specific page. This tool can show a URL’s index status in Google, whether it may be indexable, the last crawl information and some technical details. It also allows users to run a live URL test and request recrawling for eligible pages. However, submitting an indexing request does not mean that Google will definitely index the page.
Sitemaps can also be submitted through Google Search Console. The Sitemaps report is used to inform Google about important URLs on a website, view the status of submitted sitemaps and track errors Google encountered while processing sitemap files. An XML sitemap can help Google discover important pages, but it does not guarantee that every URL in the sitemap will be indexed. For this reason, sitemaps should include only canonical, accessible, indexable and high-quality pages.
Google Search Console is also critical for checking security issues and manual actions. The Security Issues report can show harmful behaviour detected by Google on a site, such as phishing, malware or unwanted software. The Manual Actions report lists issues manually detected by Google, usually related to attempts to manipulate the search index. Such actions can cause pages or an entire site to rank lower in search results or be removed from results.
The Removals tool in GSC should be used carefully. This tool can be used to temporarily remove URLs from Google search results for a property you own. According to Google, the Removals tool provides a temporary removal of about six months. To permanently remove content from Google, the page must be removed from the site, access must be blocked, noindex must be used or the appropriate technical method must be applied. Therefore, the Removals tool should not be treated as a permanent deletion tool for content that you do not want indexed.
Google Search Console should be used by business owners, SEO specialists, marketing teams, content teams and web developers. Business owners can monitor the overall visibility and critical issues of their websites on Google. SEO specialists can create optimization plans based on query performance, indexing issues, page-level declines and technical problems. Web developers can check crawling, indexing, structured data, HTTPS, page experience and technical accessibility issues.
To start using Google Search Console, a property must first be added. GSC offers different property types, including Domain property and URL-prefix property. A Domain property is used to monitor a domain more broadly across all protocols and subdomains and usually requires DNS verification. A URL-prefix property is defined for a specific protocol and URL structure. After the property is added, site ownership must be verified.
The Change of Address tool in Search Console can also be used in specific situations. When a website is moved from one domain to another, this tool helps inform Google about the change and supports the migration of Google Search results from the old site to the new one. However, it should be used after the site has been moved and redirects have been set up correctly. Organic performance can be affected if URL structure, 301 redirects, sitemap, canonical tags and internal linking are not managed properly.
In summary, Google Search Console is one of the core SEO tools used to monitor a website’s performance, visibility and technical status in Google Search. It brings together critical data such as clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, queries, pages, indexing status, sitemap errors, security issues and manual actions in a single interface. However, GSC does not measure all user behaviour or the full conversion journey on its own. For successful SEO and digital marketing analysis, Search Console data should be evaluated together with Google Analytics, server logs, crawling tools, advertising data and business outcomes.
