Google Search Console

Overview page

Once the verification is complete, we are directed to the Overview page where we can see all the major analytics regarding our site in a go. Under the "Performance" section, we can see how well our website is performing in Google Search results. Under the Indexing section, we can see how well Google can find and index our webpages. The "Experience" section is where Google ranks the page experience, mobile usability, and other related factors for our website’s pages.

The "Enhancements" section gives us an overview of the structured data that Google found while crawling our website and whether it’s enough to give the pages a chance to appear in Rich Snippets. We can click the "full report" button for these sections to get a detailed picture of the analytics category we’re interested in. Alternatively, we can also open the full reports from the tab on the left side of the Overview screen. This tab has a set of pages we can go to to explore different areas of analytics in depth.

Performance

The Performance report gives us a detailed picture of how well our site is performing on Google. There are a variety of metrics that we can find on this page alone. The report shows a graph of how our site’s search traffic is changing over time. We can see data from a maximum of 16 months back from today. The report will also show us where most of our traffic is coming from and the search queries made on mobile devices that show up our site in the results.

We can see which pages and which keywords our website is ranking for. By checking the data on this tab regularly, we will also be able to keep track of the keywords and pages on our site that need work. Other than the performance report for Google Search, we can also see performance metrics for Google Discover and Google News if our site is eligible for these.

The Performance tab includes dedicated tabs for Queries, Pages, Countries, Devices, Search Appearance and Dates to show the complete metrics relevant to each of these areas.

The graphical information displayed for each of these topics can be sorted with one or more of the following metrics:

• Total clicks

• Total impressions

• Average CTR

• Average position

Total clicks

Total clicks are the number of clicks on Google search that take users to our property.

Total impressions

Total impressions are the total number of times that our site’s pages appear on Google Search results. An impression is counted each time a user visits a result page that our site’s link is on, even if the link is not actually scrolled into view. However, if the page appears on the second page of the search result, but the user did not go beyond the first page of the results, an impression isn’t counted.

Average CTR

Average CTR is the percentage of people who actually clicked the page out of all the people who saw it in the search results. It is calculated using the expression:

Average position

Average position gives the average ranking of the page or keyword during the time period of the result. We can adjust the time period to see the average position during our selected duration.

URL inspection

This report gives us details on how Google indexes a specific page on our website and whether or not the page is eligible to appear in rich results.

When we enter a web page into the tool, the first thing we should see is that the "URL is on Google". This means that the page has a chance to show up in Google searches.

If we click "View Crawled Page", we’ll be able to see the HTML response that Google got back after requesting our page. We can also use the option to Request Indexing if we want Google to crawl and index the page again.

Next, we can see that the page is indexed by Google. In case of any problems related to indexing of the page, we should be able to see the errors here and subsequently fix them to resolve the issue.

Under the Enhancements and Experience section, we’ll be able to see different metrics related to the page experience and mobile usability of the webpage we searched. If it all looks good to Google, we’ll see the green ticks. In case of any errors, we’ll get a description of the problem so we may fix it.

Additionally, there’s also a "Test Live URL" button on top that we can click to request a live testing of the web page. This can help us in case we want to check if the changes have reflected after any errors that we might have resolved on the page.

Indexing

The next section on Google Search Console is called Indexing. This tab shows us all the pages on our site that are indexed by Google, and also all of those that are not indexed. For the pages that are not indexed by Google, the report also gives the reasons so we know the problems that need work.

Indexing of a page means that the page has been visited by Google crawler. If a page has been visited by Google, it means that it has a chance to appear in the search results.

Sitemaps

Other than the Page indexing, there’s also a subsection for sitemaps under this tab, which shows a list of submitted sitemaps for the property. Using the same tab, we can also submit a sitemap to Google. This sitemap will help Google find pages, images, and videos on our website that we want indexed, to make sure that these resources get a fair chance to appear in Google Search results.

Removals

There may be instances when we need to remove certain content on our website immediately from appearing in Google Search results. This may be due to some maintenance on the page or outdated content that we want to get rid of. In any case, a page can be removed from search results from the Removals section of the Indexing tab in Google Search Console. We can create a request to remove specific URLs from Google.

Experience

The Experience section of Google Search Console includes two reports, one is the Page Experience report, and the other one is the Core Web Vitals report. In page experience, Google measures metrics for individual URLs. These metrics are a ranking signal that Google uses to display the URL in search results.

The important signals for page experience that are delivered in this section include:

Core web vitals

Core web vitals focuses on the page loading experience of the URL. These metrics determine how well a page loads once a user clicks its link. According to Google, when a URL meets the core web vitals thresholds, the users are 24% less likely to abandon the page while it loads. Core web vitals are made up of three individual metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and First Input Delay (FID).

• Largest Contentful Paint measures the time it takes for the page’s main content to load. An LCP of less than or equal to 2.5 seconds is a good metric for a page.

• Cumulative Layout Shift measures the stability of a page. A CLS of less than or equal to 0.1 ensures a good user experience according to Google.

• First Input Delay is the time it takes for the page to become interactive to the user. Ideally, FID should not be greater than 100 ms.

Mobile-friendly

This metric measures the performance of the page when it is loaded in a mobile device. For a "Good" status for mobile use on the Page Experience report, mobile URLs should be free of any errors related to their use on mobile devices. We can also check if the page is mobile friendly by entering the URL in Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

HTTPS

As we already know, the page must be served over the HTTPS protocol to enable a secure connection for the page viewers. If the page is being served over HTTP, the report will give a warning to switch our site to HTTPS.

No intrusive interstitials

Intrusive interstitials are page elements, such as pop-up ads or modal windows, that obstruct the user’s view of the web page. They also make it hard for Google and other search engines to parse our content, which may lead to a decline in the performance of the page in search results. If a website has too many pop-ups, users are unlikely to visit the page again. So, no intrusive interstitials makes sure that the content on the page is easily accessible to both users and search engines.