Your Direct Line to Google
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool that shows you exactly how Google sees your website. It’s the most underused SEO tool available, yet it provides insights that expensive paid tools can’t replicate. Every business with a website should be using it.
Setting Up Google Search Console
Verify your website ownership through DNS, HTML file upload, or Google Analytics. Once verified, you’ll have access to performance data, indexing information, and technical issues that affect your search visibility.
Essential Reports
Performance Report
This is GSC’s crown jewel. It shows every query that triggers your site in Google search, along with clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position. Use this data to find quick-win keyword opportunities: queries where you rank on page one but have low CTR (optimize your title and meta description) and queries where you rank positions 8-20 (improve content to push to page one).
Coverage Report
Shows which pages are indexed, which have errors, and which are excluded. Fix errors promptly — they prevent Google from indexing your content. Common issues include 404 errors, redirect loops, and crawl anomalies.
Core Web Vitals
Google evaluates your page experience through Core Web Vitals: loading performance (LCP), interactivity (FID/INP), and visual stability (CLS). Pages failing these metrics may rank lower than competitors with better page experience.
Submitting Sitemaps
Submit your XML sitemap to help Google discover and index your pages. Most CMS platforms generate sitemaps automatically. Check GSC regularly to ensure all important pages are being indexed.
URL Inspection Tool
Check any URL to see how Google views it. Is it indexed? When was it last crawled? Are there any issues? You can also request indexing for new or updated pages to speed up their appearance in search results.
Links Report
See which websites link to yours (external links) and how your internal pages link to each other. This helps you understand your backlink profile and optimize internal linking.
Take Control of Your Search Presence
Brandastic helps businesses leverage Google Search Console data for better SEO results. Get a free SEO consultation.
