What Is Google Search Console?

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Google Search Console is a tool developed by Google to help website owners monitor how their site is performing in the Google Search index. Originally known as Google Webmaster Central and then later renamed, Google Webmaster Tools, this tool was eventually rebranded in 2015 to Google Search Console with the hope of expanding the tool’s user-base.

Google explains that the rebranding choice was made in order to communicate that this tool can be helpful to a wide spectrum of users – not just webmasters. Google Search Console wants to be useful to anyone who owns a website, including businesses. Everything that the original Google Webmaster Tools offered is still available on the Google Search Console, and Google is still continuing to add new features and additional functionality to make it more useful for all website owners who want to improve their web presence.

So what exactly does Google Search Console do? And how can Google Search Console benefit businesses?

Put simply, this tool allows you to see your website the same way Google views it. These insights provide information such as which pages have been indexed on your site, what links are pointing to it, which keywords are effective, etc.

How does Google Search Console work?

The goal of the Google Search Console is to give website owners the ability to view and track how their site is performing in the Google search results pages. This free toolset provided by Google allows website owners to view, measure and track data that will tell them how the SEO decisions they make affect their website’s visibility.

Some of the data Google Search Console features can give you includes:

– Information on how many people are visiting your site and how they get to it

– Whether more people access your website via mobile or desktop

– Which pages on your site are the most popular

– Find and fix website errors, identify issues with your site and whether your site has been infected with malware

– Information on search appearance for each individual page

– Accurate, up-to-date reports on search traffic, technical updates, craw data and keywords

– Access to additional educational resources

Comparing Google Search Console with Google Analytics

This question comes up a good bit: how does Google Search Console differ from Google Analytics? Both of these free tools from Google offer website owners data to track your website’s performance online. Google Search Console doesn’t just show the breakdown of the traffic that made it to your site; it shows your traffic potential via impressions and site ranking across Google search results as well. The data provided from each differ from one another, as they are measuring slightly different metrics (for example, “clicks” v “sessions”), but both tools can provide website users valuable information.

Essentially, Google Analytics is used to show you how users interact with your website while Google Search Console can provide data on how the search engines interact with your website.

How Can Google Search Console Help Your Business?

At its core, Google Search Console is all about getting data: what’s getting indexed, what’s getting linked, and what’s working to help get your business found. There’s also the fact that a site that is active in Google Search Console has a better shot at being fully indexed and ranking well, since issues and errors have been identified by the Search Console and can then be repaired.

The trick for businesses is to learn how to break down the data that is gathered from Google Search Console and make the changes that will cause your site to perform better in the Google search results pages. Google Search Console can give you the data, your job is to make the most of that information and formulate a comprehensive marketing plan taking that into account.

Want to Get Found on the Web? EmoryDay Can Help.

If your content doesn’t appear toward the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs), you may want to work with an agency that manages both paid and organic search optimization. At EmoryDay, our specialists can measure and use search metrics to generate quality traffic to your website. Contact us for help making the most of Google Search Console.

 

 

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    Select only the services you want.