A Beginners Guide To Google Search Console

What Is Google Search Console?

Just like Analytics, Google Search Console is an integral free tool from Google that all websites should be using. But many website owners are unaware of the SEO benefits the platform can bring to their domain. Find out what Google Search Console is, how it works and how it can help your business, here:

Google Search Console (abbreviated as GSC) is one of Google’s vital free SEO tools to monitor and control your online visibility. Previously known as Google Webmaster Tools, the search console is a nifty platform to perform a variety of features relating to broken links, site indexing and penalties from Google.

How Can You Set-Up GSC For Your Website?

GSC is a free tool and setting up one for your own website couldn’t be easier! Simply head to the Google Search Console hub, where you’ll be in invited to ‘Start Now’. Using a Google email you’ll be directed to the welcome page, where you can choose to verify your account by either domain or URL prefix. Doing so just by URL prefix means you can verify through your Google Analytics account – but if you choose to set-up your GSC at domain level then you’ll be required to verify by DNS. Once your account has been verified you’re good to go!

What Are The Features Of Google Search Console?

There are a host of benefits and features to using GSC. Some of the most common uses for the platform include:

• Disavowing links. If you have toxic and spammy links then you can tell Google to ignore them, meaning they won’t negatively impact your SEO. Once you’ve exported the URLs you want to disavow, you can upload them into GSC’s disavow tool.
• Search traffic. Use GSC for a detailed analysis of the search terms and behaviours of users coming to your site. You can see the search terms that your website appeared for, as well as the number of impressions and the position that you ranked in during a certain time period.
• Crawl pages. If you’ve made changes to a page and want it to be re-crawled faster then you can submit it to GSC.
• Mobile responsive. GSC gives you insight into any mobile issues that your website is facing, allowing you to deal with these. This is especially important now that Google has moved over to mobile-first indexing.
• Manual actions. Keep an overview of any pending mental actions and take actions to resolve them with minimal impact based on the advice of Google Search Console.

Get Help On Your SEO Campaign Today

Do you want to find out more about Google Search Console and the other tools available to help your website’s visibility? Or want support and additional resources to accelerate your SEO efforts online? Get in touch with our friendly team today to see how our experts can help you achieve your business goals!