Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a collection of tools and resources to help website owners, webmasters, marketers, and SEO professionals improve their websites. This powerful platform allows users to monitor website performance in the Google search index, providing invaluable insights and actionable data.
An essential tool for anyone serious about improving search performance and visibility, Google Search Console offers a unique window into how Google perceives and interacts with your site, providing data that can’t be found anywhere else. That’s why we’re committed to keeping you informed fast about Google Search Console news.
Key features
Google Search Console offers a huge variety of features that include:
- Search Appearance Information: Gain insights into how your site appears in search results.
- Search Traffic Analysis: Understand your audience better by analyzing your overall search performance.
- Technical Status Updates: Receive notifications about critical issues affecting your site’s performance in search results.
- Crawl Data and Indexing Insights: Monitor how Google crawls and indexes your site.
- Performance Reports: Access detailed data on your site’s search performance. Core Web Vitals reports provide crucial information about your site’s user experience.
- URL Inspection Tool: Examine specific URLs to understand how Google views and indexes them and troubleshoot any issues.
- Links Analysis: Explore internal and external links to your site.
Leveraging Google Search Console effectively can lead to significant improvements in your site’s search performance. For example:
- The Performance Report can help identify underperforming pages that might benefit from content optimization.
- The Mobile Usability Report can guide improvements in your site’s mobile experience, which is crucial in today’s mobile-first indexing environment.
- The Links Report can inform your link-building strategy by revealing the most linked content and the top linking sites.
The evolution
Originally launched as Google Webmaster Tools, the platform was significantly rebranded in 2015 to become Google Search Console. This change reflected its broader utility for various marketing professionals beyond webmasters.
The evolution of Google Search Console mirrors the changing landscape of SEO and digital marketing in general. As search algorithms become more sophisticated and UX takes center stage, the platform has adapted to provide more insights and actionable data.
Maximizing your Google Search Console experience
We invite you to read our guides and tips for using Google Search Console, along with the latest news and feature updates. The goal of our content is to help you make the most of Google Search Console.
For example, you can learn how to use Google Search Console to get easy SEO wins. You can also explore our comprehensive SEO’s guide on the platform, as it offers an in-depth look at techniques and best practices for seasoned professionals.
Stay tuned to Search Engine Land to ensure you’re always up-to-date with the latest features and best practices of Google Search Console, helping you maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving world of SEO.
Google tool for reporting domain verification and user management issues with Search Console
Google is piloting a program to allow some users to contact Google over Search Console domain verification and user management issues.
Makes you miss the ‘Don’t be evil’ days; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, Facebook's aging user base and what it means for advertisers.
Google Search Console Search Analytics API gains Discover, News and Regex
This data and the features were already in the web interface but now they are also available in the API.
Google Search Console’s public-facing tools to match URL Inspection tool; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, Microsoft adds some nifty features to its Smart Page site builder.
Google Search Console testing tools to match URL Inspection tool
The AMP, Mobile Friendly, and Rich Results testing tools will "align" with the URL Inspection tool, said Google.
Google Search Console adds new rich results status reports errors
Here are some details for the rich result reports from Google to help you perform better in the search results.
We asked, you answered: Should Google add noindex support to robots.txt? Poll results
In total, 84% of the 87 respondents said “yes,” they would like this feature.
Comin’ out of my cage, and I’ve been doing just fine; Monday’s daily brief
Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all
Google Search Console products enhancements report gains more granular errors
Starting September 29th, you may see changes in your products rich results enhancements report in Search Console.
Data, data, data, data rockin’ everywhere; Friday’s daily brief
Plus, set your inclusion attributes in Microsoft Advertising
Google Search Console performance reports are now back to normal
We are now seeing reporting as early as four hours ago!
SEOs experiencing delays in data on Search Console performance reports
If you're missing data, make sure to inform your clients and update your reporting to reflect the glitch.
Advertisers will now get more data in Google Ads… sort of; Friday’s daily brief
Plus, the conundrum of in-house career progression
Google News app will display non-AMP content and send readers to publisher pages
Tracking and performance reports in Google Search Console won’t be affected.
Cleaning house: how Google and Yelp handle fake reviews; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, four tools to check for your title changes in SERPs
Google Search Console lost performance report data for August 23rd and 24th
The data won't be replaced or backfilled, as we hoped for.
Four tools to check for title changes in the SERPs
These tools let you see whether Google changed your title, the date it changed and what it was changed to.
Title changes in Google Search causing distress; Wednesday’s daily brief
Also Google Shopping bug and Google Ads campaign set up screen.
Google confirms it changed how it creates titles for search result listings
Google no longer uses the query to generate these titles but still uses HTML title tags 80% of the time.
Messy SEO Part 1: Navigating a site consolidation migration
Search professionals have found themselves cleaning up issues following site consolidation migrations. This is the exact situation I walked into for the MarTech brand.
Google rankings fluctuation, pages are dropping and reappearing in the index; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, structured data testing tool changes.
Google’s legacy structured data testing tool is now gone
Google replaced it with a navigational page to direct you to the Google rich results tool or Schema.org tool.
Do you follow the Google guidelines?; Wednesday’s daily brief
Also, Target impression share in Microsoft Advertising grows.
How do you plan for in-person consumer behavior and COVID at the same time?; Tuesday’s daily brief
Plus, Google’s math solver guidelines emphasize technical SEO and content accuracy.
Google review snippets bug seems resolved
Google seems to have fixed the bug where review snippets were not displaying in Google Search.
Change is what search marketers expect; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, AMP labels are gone and Google Ads releases three-strikes policy.
Google categorizes what organic search traffic drops look like
This is the first time Google illustrated what different types of traffic drops look like.
Google Search Console performance report adds Math Solvers as search appearance filter
You can now see how your Math Solvers markup is doing using Google Search Console Performance reports.
Google tries to answer publishers questions on visibility concerns in Google News
Applying to be in Google News has been turned off for years, causing confusion to new publishers.
Yet another automation feature rolling out in Google Ads; Friday’s daily brief
Plus, a deep-dive into FLoC cohorts and opportunities for advertisers.
There isn’t always a quick answer in SEO and that is okay; Wednesday’s daily brief
Search Console changed how you debug some AMP URLs.
Google Search Console links AMP debugging to AMP page experience guide
Google made changes to how to debug some AMP URLs within Search Console.
Sharing is caring; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Broad Match Modifier goes away in July
User experience is the difference between mediocre and next-level search marketing
A positive user experience is the now and the future of helping your target audiences get things done while meeting your marketing KPIs.
Google page experience update rolls out just as core update finishes; Wednesday’s daily brief
Plus, Google Search Console Insights report is now open to all
Google Search Console Insights is now available to all
A year after launching the limited beta, you can now access this new set of reports.
Google Ads API, Partner badges, and reputation algorithms; Friday’s daily brief
Plus, check out our updated guide to Bing SEO
What could possibly be better than one Google core update?; Thursday’s daily brief
Plus, how speakers can keep their audience awake during presentations.
Google Search Console regex filter adds negative matching option
Google Search Console improved the regex filter for advanced reporting.
Is more transparency from Google a good thing?; Wednesday’s daily brief
Also UGC spam, shopping policies, phone calls and more.