How to use Google Search Console

Add and verify a Search Console property

Start by adding the widest property that matches what you want to measure, then verify that you control it. Google Search Console has two property types: Domain and URL-prefix. Google's property setup and verification guide explains the options and verification steps.

A Domain property covers every subdomain and protocol for a domain, such as example.com, including www.example.com and HTTP or HTTPS URLs. It is verified through DNS. Choose it when you want one view across the whole domain and can edit its DNS records. A URL-prefix property covers only URLs beneath the exact prefix entered. For example, the HTTPS prefix for www.example.com does not include the HTTP version or another subdomain. It supports several verification methods, including an HTML file, an HTML tag, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager or DNS.

In Search Console, choose the property type, enter the domain or URL prefix, and follow the offered verification method. For a DNS check, add the TXT record at your DNS host and return to Search Console to verify. For a URL-prefix check, use a method you can maintain; a verification file or tag can stop working if it is removed. Keep the verification method in place so ownership can continue to be confirmed.

Once verified, open the property selector to check that you are viewing the right site. If you manage both a Domain property and specific URL-prefix properties, remember that their coverage differs; avoid comparing totals as if they represent identical sets of URLs.

Read the Performance report

Performance is where to begin when you want to know which Google searches show your site and which pages receive visits. The Search results report includes four headline metrics:

• Clicks counts clicks from Google search results to your property.
• Impressions counts appearances of a link to your property in search results.
• CTR is the click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions.
• Average position summarizes the position of your topmost result for the selected grouping. It is an average, not a fixed rank every searcher sees.

Use the tabs to break results down by queries, pages, countries, devices, dates and search appearances. Apply a query or page filter to investigate one slice, and compare date ranges when you need to see how the same slice changed. Search Console can omit some queries for privacy, so query rows may not add up to the property's total clicks or impressions. Read the metric definitions in Google's Performance report documentation before interpreting a change.

Look for a useful question rather than a dramatic number: a page with impressions but few clicks may deserve a closer look at its title and snippet; a query gaining impressions may suggest a topic worth strengthening on the landing page. Check the date range and filters before deciding a trend is real. Our guide to average position in Search Console explains why that metric can move even when no single ranking changed in the way you expected.

Use Page indexing to find patterns

Page indexing summarizes what Google knows about URLs in a property and groups URLs by their indexing status. Start with the reason a set of pages is not indexed, then inspect examples from the affected group. A status can be expected: a duplicate URL or a page intentionally excluded by a canonical or noindex directive may not need to appear in Google's index. Other cases, such as a server error or an unintended block, need investigation.

Open a status row to see example URLs and check whether the affected pages share a template, internal link pattern, canonical, robots directive or response problem. Fix the cause on the site first; then use the report's validation option where available to ask Google to check the fix. Validation is a request to recheck, not a promise that every URL will be indexed.

For a specific “crawled, currently not indexed” status, see our guide to what crawled, currently not indexed means. If a new or updated page is missing, our guide to how to rank on Google covers the foundations of making useful pages discoverable and competitive. If the page is deliberately excluded, review how a noindex directive works and confirm it is doing what you intended. Google's Page indexing report help describes the report's coverage and limitations.

Inspect an individual URL

URL Inspection answers a page-level question: what does Search Console know about this exact URL? Paste a URL from the selected property into the inspection bar. The result can show whether the URL is on Google, its last crawl information, the canonical Google selected, and any indexing or enhancement details available for that page. Choose Test live URL when you have changed a page and want to check its current accessibility and rendered content.

Use the inspection in a sequence: confirm the exact URL and property, review the indexed result, test the live page if needed, and compare Google's selected canonical with the canonical you intended. If the page is eligible and the live test succeeds, you can request indexing for a new or changed URL. Google may recrawl it later, and requesting indexing does not guarantee inclusion or affect its ranking. The URL Inspection tool guide explains the indexed and live views.

Submit and monitor sitemaps

A sitemap helps Search Console discover the URLs you want Google to know about; it does not force crawling or indexing. Open Sitemaps in the property, enter the sitemap URL and submit it. Check the status and any reported processing errors. If your sitemap index points to multiple sitemap files, use the index where appropriate so you can monitor the group from one submission.

Keep the sitemap limited to canonical URLs you want in search, and update it when those URLs change. A sitemap is a discovery hint, not a substitute for crawlable internal links or a technically accessible page. Google's sitemap overview covers formats and submission. For help checking sitemap syntax and URL responses, use our XML sitemap guide and sitemap validator.

Check Core Web Vitals

The Core Web Vitals report groups page experience data by status and URL groups, using field data where available. Review whether a group is marked as good, needs improvement or poor, then open representative URLs and investigate the shared template or page element. Search Console's report is useful for finding groups of pages to examine; it is not a substitute for testing an individual page and understanding the data behind its status.

Google defines the current Core Web Vitals metrics and thresholds in its Core Web Vitals documentation. Use our LCP, INP and CLS thresholds guide to understand what each measures, then run a URL through the Core Web Vitals checker as a follow-up diagnostic.

Understand the Links report

The Links report summarizes links Google has discovered for your property. It includes views of external links, such as top linked pages and linking sites, and internal links between pages on your site. Use it to find pages that attract links and to spot important pages that have few internal links pointing to them. The report is sampled and may not list every link Google knows about; treat it as a useful overview, not a complete link database.

Click a report section to see its available rows and examples. Investigate links in context: a count alone does not tell you whether a link is relevant or useful, and the report is not a score of link quality. Google's Links report help describes what is included. For the details specific to Google's backlink view, see our article on Search Console backlinks.

Check Bing too

Search Console reports Google Search; it does not tell you how your pages perform in Bing. If Bing matters to your audience, add and verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools and review its own search and crawl reports. The setup and reports differ, so keep each search engine's metrics separate. Follow our Bing Webmaster Tools guide to get started.

How MrKeyword uses your Search Console data

MrKeyword connects to your own Search Console property and uses its query data in rank tracking. The free rank tracker and rank tracking feature let you track chosen keywords and see Search Console positions alongside the tracked keyword view. This is useful when you want a focused list of terms to monitor instead of repeatedly filtering a large report.

Search Console is the source of its own reported data; MrKeyword does not make an unreported query or position appear. Connect a verified property and select the keywords you care about, then use the numbers as a starting point for investigating pages and search demand. Open Search Console itself when you need its full report filters, indexing diagnostics, URL Inspection or sitemap tools.

A simple weekly workflow

Start with Performance and a consistent date range. Look for pages or queries with a meaningful change, then use Page indexing to check whether a technical pattern could explain it. Inspect an affected URL when you need page-level evidence. Review the sitemap and Core Web Vitals reports when discovery or page experience is the question, and consult the Links report when you are checking internal discovery or external references. Record what you changed so the next comparison has context.

Search Console is a reporting and diagnostic tool, not a guarantee of rankings. Pair its evidence with the page itself, the site's technical behavior and the intent behind the query. That keeps the next action tied to an observed issue instead of a dashboard number on its own.

Questions and answers