The Search Console is a free tool that allows users to monitor site performance in Google organic search results. Data regarding clicks, impressions, position and more can be accessed to get a better understanding of what people are searching for when they reach your site. Here are a few ways you can use the Search Console to improve organic search performance.
Analyze Search Performance Data and Focus on What’s Successful
The Performance tab in the search console will show you how your site is performing in Google organic search with info on clicks, impressions, click-through rate and position. You’ll be able to see the top queries, pages, countries and devices for organic search traffic to your site.
Data related to organic search traffic can then be used to confirm your content is being connected to your desired keywords and which pages have been most successful. You can then use these insights to determine the type of content that would be best to publish for SEO moving forward.
View Index Status and Submit New URLs
Using the Inspect any URL search bar in the Search Console will allow you to view the index status of any url on your site. The tool will scan the url and provide information related to:
- When the page was last crawled
- Is a crawl allowed
- Canonical url
- Mobile-usability of page
- Breadcrumbs
- Sitelinks searchbox
The tool can also be used to request indexing for a new url. It’s a good idea to request indexing for new pages in the search console whenever new content is published to ensure it gets indexed ASAP.
Check for Crawl Errors
The Pages tab will show you which pages on your site are already in the Google Search Console and if there are any errors preventing urls from getting indexed. It’s important to make sure there’s no issues with search bots crawling your site to get the most possible exposure on search engine results pages.
Check Status of Internal/External Links
The Links tab near the bottom of the sidebar in the Search Console Dashboard will show you the number of internal/external links are pointed at your site. This info can help determine which pages could use more links as well as backlink opportunities to boost page rank.
Submit Sitemap
The Sitemaps tab in the sidebar will give you the option to submit a sitemap to Google or check the status of a sitemap if it’s already been submitted. A sitemap will help make sure Google understands the focus of your site and is able to find key pages.
A sitemap can also be a valuable tool for you to avoid duplicate content issues when creating new content for SEO.
Valuable Organic SEO Tool
Using the Google Search Console is a valuable way to get insights into how your site is performing in Google organic search. It offers a variety of tools you can use to check index status, identify crawl errors and determine what content is bringing traffic to your site. Taking advantage of these tools will help you leverage the most valuable content on your site to maximize your SEO efforts.