Organic search engine optimization (SEO) is a process that takes time and does not end even when you reach the first position for the keywords you targeted (just like a soccer team that wins a championship needs to defend the title the following year). To cope with the workload and the abundance of data that accumulates in search engine optimization, Google creates tools for SEOs that help monitor important information, gain insights regarding pages on the site, and draw conclusions about the status of your site in Google Search. One of the primary tools Google built for SEO specialists is Google Search Console.
This guide contains everything you need to know about Google Console, one of Google’s tracking and measurement tools. If you have no experience in SEO, this guide will provide you with the key points for using the system.
How to add your website to Google Console
First, go to Google Search Console and click on Add Property. Next, copy and paste your homepage URL into the domain field, and now, it’s time to verify your site.
There are 7 ways to verify your site. Here are the 3 main methods:
- Uploading a unique HTML file to your website.
- Adding special CNAME or TXT records to your domain settings.
- HTML Tag – simply upload a short snippet of code to the section of your homepage code.
Link Google Analytics to Google Console
Back in 2013, Google switched all searches to HTTPS. This is essential for website security, but it makes things harder for site owners. It also caused keyword data to disappear from Google Analytics. Instead, all we get is: “Not Provided”. There is an easy way to get some of the keyword data back – link your Google Analytics to your Google Console account.
Open your Google Analytics tool. Then, click on the Admin button at the bottom of the left menu. Under admin options, click on the Property Settings link. Scroll down until you see the Adjust Search Console button and click it. Click on Add, then scroll down until you find your site, check the box, and click Save. Now Google Analytics and Google Console are linked, and you will be able to view some of the keyword data.
Note:
For those using the new Google Analytics view (Google Analytics 4), instead of the “Adjust Search Console” button, a “Link to Search Console” button will appear alongside other Google tools that can be linked to Analytics.
Check for security issues
At this stage, check if you have any security issues that could harm your website’s rankings. To do this, click on Security Issues. In most cases, you will receive a response that there are no security issues, but it is always worth checking.
Add a sitemap
If you have a one-page site, you won’t need to submit a sitemap to Google because there are no pages and posts on the site that Google’s robot needs to crawl. But, for larger sites, such as e-commerce sites with thousands of pages, a sitemap is essential. First, you need to create a sitemap. If you have a WordPress site with the Yoast SEO plugin, you should already have a sitemap.
1. Sitemap with Yoast SEO
If you don’t have a sitemap yet, download and install the Yoast SEO plugin, and then set XML Sitemaps to enabled (under General/Features): To view the sitemap, click on the See the XML sitemap link which will lead you to your sitemap. Copy it and add it under the Sitemaps tab in Google Console.
2. Sitemap with the website domain
Not using Yoast SEO? Go to yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (replace the word yoursite with your domain). If you have a sitemap, it is usually here. If not, you will need to create a new one.
Links
Click on Links in the left-hand menu to view all website links. The system divides the links into a column of internal links and a column of external links. In the external links, you can view all the domains linking to your site, to which pages on your site, and you can also discover all the Anchor Text (the words from which a link to your site originated) used in the various domains. In the internal links column, you can view the entire link hierarchy on your site.
Site performance
To view site performance, click on Performance in the left-hand menu. We will go through the different options from top to bottom. First, you can sort the results by search type (Web, Image, Video, News). At the same time, you can select dates (previous day, last 7 days, 28 days, last 3 to 16 months, or custom dates you can choose). You can also make a comparison between a period of time and the identical period prior to it.
In the next section, you can choose which data Google Console will display: the number of clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position for each page/query. Further down the page, you can view all Google Console data. The system allows you to sort the results by queries, pages, countries, devices, and dates. This way, you can perform precise tracking and measurement of all organic search results on Google.
Website browsing experience
Another section displays the User Experience on the site and is located on the left side, where you can select Page Experience and Mobile Usability. Click on Page Experience to see the score the system gives you for secure pages on the site (HTTPS), mobile user experience, and basic structure of the site’s pages. This way, you can understand where you can make improvements so that your site fits the system’s needs. Moreover, these improvements have a direct impact on your website’s ranking in Google’s search engine.
Enhancements
Click on the Enhancements section in the left-hand menu to view several important parameters. You can check the validity of breadcrumbs, a very important parameter in website optimization. In WordPress sites, there are many themes that include the breadcrumb option. Additionally, you can use dedicated plugins for breadcrumbs, or if you already have the Yoast SEO plugin installed, there is an option to enable breadcrumbs. It is recommended to use the Yoast SEO plugin if you are working with Elementor, as the plugin’s breadcrumbs integrate well with it. Breadcrumbs are of great importance in terms of SEO on Google; in fact, they improve the user experience so that the user knows where they are on the site with easy navigation capability.
The following parameters, Products and Review Snippets, are active only for e-commerce sites with product pages. In the “Products” parameter, you can check the validity of all product fields (image, brand, description, and more); if there are warnings, they should be fixed quickly so that the product pages comply well with Google’s requirements. In the “Review Snippets” parameter, you can see the quantity and validity of product reviews on your site. In addition, there are more parameters such as Sitelinks Searchbox, Logo, FAQ, and more. It is recommended to optimize the site pages according to the warnings and recommendations of Google Console.
Settings
Under Settings, also located in the left-hand menu, you can verify domain ownership, add users and permissions, and even notify Google of an address change if you want to move your site to a new domain address.
In conclusion
Organic SEO for websites takes place over months and even years; the goal is to constantly stay at the top, and for that, we must use tools and aids. In this guide, we covered the Google Search Console navigation bar in full. All the parameters detailed above are assistive tools that Google implemented in Google Search Console to help us promote the site better and more accurately in the world’s largest search engine.
About the author
Oren Hacham, 38, owner of GO TOP company specializing in digital marketing for businesses. SEO Expert on Google with over 11 years of experience in the field. He also works in social media marketing for businesses with an emphasis on paid advertising on Instagram and Facebook.
