Google Search Console is a free tool that shows how Google sees your website: which searches you appear for, which pages are indexed, and what's broken. If you only set up one SEO tool, make it this one.
Search Console vs Google Analytics
- Search Console shows what happens before the click: searches, impressions, rankings, clicks, indexing.
- Google Analytics shows what happens after the click: what visitors do on your site and whether they enquire or buy.
You need both. See our GA4 setup guide.
Setting it up
- Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with a business Google account.
- Choose Domain property (recommended). It covers http, https, www and all subdomains.
- Verify ownership by adding a DNS TXT record at your domain registrar or DNS provider. For .lk domains, this is usually through your hosting provider or Cloudflare.
- Wait for verification; it can take from minutes to a few hours.
Data starts appearing within a couple of days.
The Performance report
This is where you'll spend most of your time. It shows:
- Clicks: how many people clicked through to your site from Google
- Impressions: how often your pages appeared in results
- CTR: click-through rate, clicks divided by impressions
- Average position: your average ranking
Useful ways to use it
- Queries tab: see the actual searches people use to find you. You'll often discover keywords you never targeted.
- Pages tab: see which pages earn the most clicks.
- Countries filter: select Sri Lanka to see local performance, especially if you also get overseas traffic.
- Compare dates: compare the last 3 months with the previous period or the same period last year.
Quick win: high impressions, low CTR
Sort queries by impressions. If a query has many impressions but a low CTR, your title and meta description may not be convincing. Rewrite them. See title tags and meta descriptions that get clicks.
Quick win: positions 8 to 20
Pages ranking just off page one often need only modest improvements: more depth, better internal links, a clearer title. These are your fastest wins.
The Pages (indexing) report
Shows which pages are indexed and why others aren't. Full explanation: fixing page indexing issues.
Sitemaps
Submit your XML sitemap here so Google can find all your pages. Guide: XML sitemaps.
URL Inspection
Paste any URL to see whether it's indexed, when Google last crawled it, and how Google renders it. Use Request indexing after publishing or updating an important page.
Core Web Vitals
Shows real-user speed data for your pages on mobile and desktop, grouped as Good, Needs improvement or Poor. See Core Web Vitals explained.
Security and manual actions
Check these occasionally. If your site is hacked or breaks Google's spam policies, you'll be told here. Search Console also emails you about serious issues, so make sure the email address is one someone reads.
Monthly routine (15 minutes)
- Performance: compare clicks and impressions with last month.
- Look for queries with high impressions and low CTR.
- Pages report: any new errors?
- Core Web Vitals: any pages turned Poor?
Want this turned into a clear monthly report? We build Search Console and GA4 dashboards for clients. See Looker Studio SEO dashboards or our Google Analytics setup service.