Google Search Console for beginners: set it up and read the reports that matter
How to add your website to Google Search Console, verify it, submit a sitemap and use the Performance, Pages and URL Inspection reports.
ToBrand team · 6 min read
Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your website appears in Google Search: which searches you show up for, which pages are indexed, and what problems Google has found. It doesn't make your site rank by itself, but it's the most direct view you can get of how Google sees you. If you own a business website and haven't set it up, this guide takes you from nothing to a simple monthly routine.
What Search Console can and can't do
It can show you the searches that led people to your site, how often your pages appeared and were clicked, which pages Google has indexed and why others aren't, problems with mobile usability or page speed on real visits, security issues and manual actions, and links from other sites.
It can't show you who your visitors were, what they did after arriving, or exact rankings for every search at every moment. For on-site behaviour you need an analytics tool such as Google Analytics. Search Console is about the journey up to the click.
Step 1: Add your website
- Go to Google Search Console and sign in with a Google account the business controls long term. Avoid using a staff member's personal account.
- Choose "Add property". You will be offered two types:
- Domain property: covers your whole domain, including www and non-www, http and https, and any subdomains. This is the best choice for most businesses.
- URL-prefix property: covers only addresses starting with the exact prefix you enter. Useful if you can't change DNS settings.
- Enter your domain, for example yourbusiness.com.
Step 2: Verify that you own it
For a domain property, Google gives you a TXT record to add to your domain's DNS settings at your registrar or DNS provider. Copy it, add it as a new TXT record, save, and go back to Search Console to click "Verify". DNS changes can take a while to appear, so if it fails at first, wait and try again later.
For a URL-prefix property, there are other options, such as uploading an HTML file to your site, adding a meta tag to your homepage, or using an existing Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager setup. Google's Search Console Help lists each method with steps.
If your developer or agency is doing this, ask them to add you as an owner too, so you never lose access.
Step 3: Submit your sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site you want Google to know about. Most website platforms create one automatically, often at an address such as yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml. Open that address in your browser to check it exists.
- In Search Console, open "Sitemaps" from the left menu.
- Enter the sitemap address and click "Submit".
- Come back after a few days. The status should show "Success" and the number of pages discovered.
Submitting a sitemap helps Google find your pages, but it doesn't guarantee they will be indexed or ranked. Google's Search Central documentation is clear that indexing decisions depend on many factors, including the quality and usefulness of the page.
Step 4: Read the Performance report
This is the report most owners use most. It shows four numbers for a chosen date range:
| Measure | What it means |
|---|---|
| Total clicks | How many times someone clicked through to your site from Google Search |
| Total impressions | How many times a link to your site appeared in search results |
| Average CTR | Clicks divided by impressions, the share of people who saw you and clicked |
| Average position | Your typical position in results, averaged across all the searches you appeared for |
Below the chart, the tabs are where the useful detail lives:
- Queries: the actual searches. You may find people looking for "physiotherapy for back pain in Baner" when your site only says "physiotherapy". That is a content idea.
- Pages: which pages get the clicks. If one service page gets almost none, it may need better content or a clearer title.
- Countries: useful if you serve India, the USA and Vietnam, to see whether each market is finding you.
- Devices: mobile, desktop and tablet. For most local businesses, mobile matters most.
A practical tip: sort queries by impressions and look for ones with many impressions and few clicks. Often the page appears but its title or description doesn't persuade people to click. Rewriting the page title to match what people search for can help.
Step 5: Check the Pages (indexing) report
Under "Indexing", the Pages report shows how many of your pages are indexed and lists reasons why others aren't. Many reasons are normal: redirected pages, duplicates of other pages, or pages you deliberately blocked. What to look for:
- An important page, such as a main service page, listed as not indexed.
- "Server error" or "Not found (404)" for pages that should exist.
- A sudden jump in not-indexed pages after a website change.
Step 6: Use URL Inspection for a single page
Paste any address from your site into the search bar at the top. Search Console tells you whether that page is indexed, when Google last crawled it, and whether it found problems. After publishing a new page or fixing an important one, you can click "Request indexing" to ask Google to crawl it. It's a request, not a guarantee, and repeating it doesn't speed things up.
Other reports worth a glance
- Core Web Vitals: how your pages perform for real visitors. Our guide to Core Web Vitals explains the measurements.
- HTTPS: whether your pages are served securely.
- Manual actions and Security issues: these should say no issues detected. If they don't, act quickly.
- Links: which sites link to you and which of your pages are linked most.
A simple monthly routine (15 minutes)
- Compare the last 28 days with the previous period in Performance. Note any big rise or fall.
- Look at the top queries and pages. Is anything new appearing? Anything dropping?
- Check the Pages report for new errors on important pages.
- Check Manual actions and Security issues.
- Pick one improvement for the month, such as rewriting a weak title or adding a missing FAQ, and make it.
Google's documentation on AI features says that appearances in features such as AI Overviews are counted in the Performance report together with other Search traffic, so a page that answers questions clearly can earn visibility in both. Our guide to SEO for AI search covers that side.
If you'd like someone to set up Search Console properly and explain what your own reports are telling you, ToBrand can help as part of our SEO service, or start with our free website check.
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