Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool offered by Google that helps website owners, digital marketers, and web developers monitor and improve their site’s performance in Google Search results. It’s an essential resource for anyone looking to optimize their website for organic search traffic and maintain its technical health.
Key Features of Google Search Console
Performance Monitoring
- Tracks your website’s organic search performance, including metrics like clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position for search queries.
- Provides insights into which keywords your site ranks for and how users interact with your search results.
URL Inspection Tool
- Allows you to check the indexing status of individual URLs.
- Offers detailed information about how Google views a specific page, including mobile usability, structured data, and crawling issues.
Index Coverage Report
- Shows the status of pages Google has indexed on your site.
- Highlights errors, warnings, and excluded pages, helping you resolve issues that prevent proper indexing.
Sitemaps and Robots.txt
- Lets you submit XML sitemaps to help Google discover and crawl your site efficiently.
- Checks for errors in your robots.txt file to ensure proper directives for search engine crawlers.
Mobile Usability Report
- Evaluates your site’s mobile-friendliness and identifies issues like text that is too small, clickable elements too close together, or content wider than the screen.
Security Issues and Manual Actions
- Alerts you to potential security issues like malware or hacking attempts.
- Notifies you of manual actions taken by Google due to guideline violations, providing guidance for resolution.
Link Analysis
- Offers insights into the internal and external links to your site.
- Highlights top linking pages, anchor texts, and domains for a better understanding of your backlink profile.
Core Web Vitals Report
- Tracks key metrics related to page experience, such as loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
Structured Data and Rich Results
- Identifies errors in structured data markup, helping your site qualify for rich results in search (e.g., review stars, FAQs).
