{"id":34,"date":"2026-10-23T13:27:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/how-to-use-google-search-console\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T13:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T12:27:33","slug":"how-to-use-google-search-console","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/how-to-use-google-search-console\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use Google Search Console: a step-by-step guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To use Google Search Console, sign in with your Google account, add your site as a Domain property and verify ownership (DNS is the most reliable method). Then submit your sitemap. After that, use the Performance report and URL Inspection tool to see which searches bring clicks and whether Google has indexed your pages.<\/p>\n<div class=\"key-facts\">\n<p><strong>At a glance<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Search Console is a free Google tool showing queries, clicks, impressions and average position for your site (<a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\">Google Search Console<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>There are two property types: Domain (covers all subdomains and both HTTP and HTTPS) and URL prefix (only the exact address entered).<\/li>\n<li>For a few URLs use the URL Inspection tool to request a recrawl. For many URLs submit a sitemap.<\/li>\n<li>Crawling after a request can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.<\/li>\n<li>SEO typically takes three to six months to build, so check Search Console trends monthly rather than daily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>What is Google Search Console and what is it for?<\/h2>\n<p>Google Search Console is a free Google tool that shows how your site performs in Google Search, which searches bring visitors, and whether Google can find and index your pages. All you need is a Google account and a website you can prove you own.<\/p>\n<p>It used to be called Google Webmaster Tools, so older guides may use that name. You will also see old report names in articles written a few years back, so if a screenshot looks different from your screen, trust your screen.<\/p>\n<h3>How it differs from Google Analytics<\/h3>\n<p>Search Console shows what happens before the click: the searches people typed, how often your pages appeared and how often they were chosen. Google Analytics shows what happens after the click, such as which pages visitors view and how they move around. You want both. For deciding what to write about next, though, Search Console is the one to use.<\/p>\n<h3>Who uses it<\/h3>\n<p>Business owners use it to see whether their site is being found. Marketers and agencies use it to report on progress and spot opportunities. Developers use it to catch problems early. These include indexing and technical ones.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I set up Google Search Console?<\/h2>\n<p>Go to Search Console, sign in, choose a Domain or URL prefix property, enter your site address and verify ownership. The whole job usually takes ten minutes or so, most of it spent on verification.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Open <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\">Google Search Console<\/a> and sign in with the Google account you want to own the data.<\/li>\n<li>Click the property selector at the top left and choose Add property.<\/li>\n<li>Pick Domain or URL prefix and enter your address.<\/li>\n<li>Follow the verification prompt (covered in the next section).<\/li>\n<li>Submit your sitemap once verification succeeds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Domain or URL prefix: which should I choose?<\/h3>\n<p>We recommend Domain for most sites. A Domain property covers all subdomains and both HTTP and HTTPS versions in one view. A URL prefix property only covers the exact address you enter, so <em>https:\/\/www.example.co.uk<\/em> and <em>https:\/\/example.co.uk<\/em> would be treated separately. URL prefix is handy when you only have access to one section of a site or cannot edit DNS.<\/p>\n<h3>Waiting for data<\/h3>\n<p>Data does not appear the moment you verify. Expect a little while before the first reports fill in. Bear in mind Search Console does not show history from before you added the property in the same way for every report, so set it up early.<\/p>\n<h3>WordPress, Shopify and Wix<\/h3>\n<p>Most site builders create a sitemap for you. WordPress sites often have one at \/sitemap.xml or \/wp-sitemap.xml depending on the setup. Shopify and Wix both generate a \/sitemap.xml automatically. Open the address in your browser to confirm it loads before you submit it.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I verify my site in Google Search Console?<\/h2>\n<p>Verify ownership by adding a DNS record from your domain provider, or for URL prefix properties by uploading an HTML file, adding a meta tag, or using Google Analytics or Tag Manager. DNS is the most reliable because it does not depend on your site&#8217;s pages or theme.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Method<\/th>\n<th>What it needs<\/th>\n<th>Difficulty<\/th>\n<th>Best when<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>DNS TXT record<\/td>\n<td>Access to your domain provider<\/td>\n<td>Medium<\/td>\n<td>You want the most reliable option, or need a Domain property<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>HTML file upload<\/td>\n<td>Ability to upload a file to your site&#8217;s root<\/td>\n<td>Medium<\/td>\n<td>You have file access but not DNS access<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>HTML meta tag<\/td>\n<td>Ability to edit the head of your home page<\/td>\n<td>Easy<\/td>\n<td>Your CMS lets you add header code<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Google Analytics<\/td>\n<td>Edit permission on the Analytics property<\/td>\n<td>Easy<\/td>\n<td>Analytics is already installed on the site<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Google Tag Manager<\/td>\n<td>Publish permission on the container<\/td>\n<td>Easy<\/td>\n<td>Tag Manager is already installed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Verifying with a DNS TXT record<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Choose Domain when adding your property and copy the TXT record Google gives you.<\/li>\n<li>Log in to wherever your domain&#8217;s DNS is managed. This is often your domain registrar or hosting company, in a section called DNS, DNS records or Advanced DNS.<\/li>\n<li>Add a new TXT record. Leave the host or name as @ (or blank) unless your provider says otherwise, and paste Google&#8217;s value.<\/li>\n<li>Save, go back to Search Console and click Verify.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>DNS changes can take a while to spread. If verification fails first time, wait and try again later rather than adding the record repeatedly.<\/p>\n<h3>If verification keeps failing<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Check you pasted the full value with no extra spaces.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure you added the record where your domain&#8217;s nameservers actually point, which is not always where you bought the domain.<\/li>\n<li>For the meta tag, confirm it sits in the head of the home page and that a cache plugin is not serving an old copy.<\/li>\n<li>Once verified, leave the record or tag in place. Removing it can cause you to lose verified status.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>An agency tip on ownership<\/h3>\n<p>RankOtter was built by PS Website Design Ltd, a UK web and app development agency that has built and looked after websites for UK businesses since 2009. We use RankOtter on our own clients&#8217; websites. One lesson from that work: keep a shared owner account for each property, so access survives staff changes. Add named people as extra owners or users too, rather than relying on one person&#8217;s login.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I submit a sitemap to Google Search Console?<\/h2>\n<p>Open Sitemaps in the left menu, enter your sitemap address (usually \/sitemap.xml) and click Submit. Google will then fetch the file and list the URLs it found.<\/p>\n<figure><img class=\"wp-image-33\" src=\"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/submitting-sitemap-google-search-console-desk.webp\" width=\"1024\" height=\"688\" alt=\"Woman with her hair in a bun typing at a desk, facing a blank monitor, with a notebook, mug and phone beside her.\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/submitting-sitemap-google-search-console-desk.webp 1024w, https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/submitting-sitemap-google-search-console-desk-300x202.webp 300w, https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/submitting-sitemap-google-search-console-desk-768x516.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Submitting a sitemap is a quick task you can do from any desk once you are signed in to Search Console.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Finding your sitemap<\/h3>\n<p>Try typing your domain followed by \/sitemap.xml in a browser. WordPress, Shopify and Wix usually make one automatically. If you use an SEO plugin, it may generate its own sitemap address, shown in the plugin&#8217;s settings. Your robots.txt file sometimes lists the sitemap location too.<\/p>\n<h3>Reading the status<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Success<\/strong> means Google fetched and read the file.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Couldn&#8217;t fetch<\/strong> means Google could not get the file. Check the address loads in a browser, is not blocked and has no typos. Give it a little time and resubmit if needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Discovered URLs<\/strong> shows how many addresses Google found in the sitemap. If that number is far lower than your page count, something is missing from the file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>When you need one<\/h3>\n<p>A small, well-linked site can be found without a sitemap, but submitting one is quick and gives Google a clear list of what you want indexed. With many URLs, a sitemap is the right tool. For just a few pages, the URL Inspection tool is faster.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure new posts appear in the sitemap automatically if you publish regularly. Most platforms do this, but check after your first new post by reloading the sitemap file and looking for it.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I use the Performance report?<\/h2>\n<p>The Performance report shows clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position for your queries and pages, which you filter by date, page, query, country and device. It is the report we open first on any client site.<\/p>\n<h3>What each metric means<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Clicks:<\/strong> how many times people clicked through to your site from Google Search.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impressions:<\/strong> how many times your site appeared in results.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CTR:<\/strong> clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Average position:<\/strong> where your pages typically sat in results. Lower numbers are better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Step by step<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Open Performance and set the date range. Three months is good for recent changes and 16 months for the longer trend.<\/li>\n<li>Use Compare to put one period against another, such as the last three months against the three before.<\/li>\n<li>Add a Country filter and choose United Kingdom if you serve UK customers. Otherwise overseas searches can blur the picture.<\/li>\n<li>Click the Queries tab to see the searches, then click a query to filter to it. Switch to Pages to see which URLs earn the clicks.<\/li>\n<li>Add a Page filter to study one article and the searches it appears for.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Spotting opportunities<\/h3>\n<p>Two patterns are worth hunting for. First, queries where your average position is somewhere between 8 and 20. These pages are close to the first page, so improving the content or linking to it from other pages may help. Second, queries with high impressions but a low CTR. People are seeing you and not clicking, so the title or description may need a rewrite.<\/p>\n<h3>Turning queries into article topics<\/h3>\n<p>Your query list is a record of how real people phrase their questions. We tell customers to write about the questions their customers actually ask, and Search Console shows you many of them in black and white. Group similar queries, then write one clear article per question rather than many thin ones. Google&#8217;s own <a href=\"https:\/\/newsinitiative.withgoogle.com\/resources\/trainings\/start-building-your-audience\/increase-traffic-with-search-console\">training on increasing traffic with Search Console<\/a> is a useful companion.<\/p>\n<p>It is also how we judge our own work. RankOtter&#8217;s results come from your own Google Search Console, not our estimates, so the numbers you see are the numbers Google reports. You can see how that fits into our <a href=\"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/features\">features<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>How do I check if a page is indexed and request indexing?<\/h2>\n<p>Paste the page address into the URL Inspection tool at the top of Search Console to see if it is on Google, then click Request indexing if it is new or updated. Google explains the tool in its help page on how to <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/12482179?hl=en\">inspect and troubleshoot a single page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Reading the result<\/h3>\n<p>The top of the result tells you whether the URL is on Google. If it is, you can view crawl details such as when Google last visited and which page it chose as canonical. If not, the report explains why, such as a noindex tag or a block in robots.txt. Use Test live URL to see how Google fetches the page right now.<\/p>\n<h3>Requesting indexing<\/h3>\n<p>You need owner or full user permission to request indexing. Crawling after a request can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and repeating the request does not speed it up. For a handful of pages this works well. With many pages, rely on your sitemap.<\/p>\n<h3>Why pages are not indexed<\/h3>\n<p>Open the Page indexing report to see every reason at once. Common ones include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>noindex:<\/strong> a tag telling Google to leave the page out, often left on by accident after a site build.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Blocked by robots.txt:<\/strong> your robots file stops Google crawling the page.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Duplicate:<\/strong> Google sees the page as a copy of another and picks a different version.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crawled but not indexed:<\/strong> Google visited and chose not to include it, which often points to thin or very similar content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Robots.txt and AI search tools<\/h3>\n<p>While you are looking at blocks, open yourdomain.co.uk\/robots.txt and read it. We tell customers to check their robots.txt isn&#8217;t blocking AI search tools as well as Google. A leftover rule from an old developer can quietly keep useful crawlers out. It&#8217;s worth a minute.<\/p>\n<h3>A warning on town pages<\/h3>\n<p>Never publish near-identical pages for different towns, with only the place name swapped. Google treats them as spam, and they are a common cause of pages sitting in the crawled but not indexed pile. Serving several areas? Write something genuinely useful for each, such as real jobs and local detail. Trades businesses may find our <a href=\"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/solutions\/trades\">page for trades<\/a> helpful here.<\/p>\n<h2>What other Search Console reports are worth checking?<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond performance and indexing, check Links, Core Web Vitals and page experience, Security and Manual actions, and Enhancements for structured data. You do not need to read them all every week.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Links:<\/strong> shows which sites link to you and which of your pages are linked most. Look when you want to see what earns attention.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Core Web Vitals and page experience:<\/strong> flags pages that load or respond slowly. Look after design or plugin changes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Security issues and Manual actions:<\/strong> warn you of hacking or a penalty. Any message here needs attention straight away.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enhancements:<\/strong> reports on structured data such as FAQs or products, including errors. Look after adding markup.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>A 15-minute monthly routine<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Go to Performance, set three months, compare with the previous period and note the change in clicks and impressions.<\/li>\n<li>Filter to the United Kingdom and scan the top queries for new questions to write about.<\/li>\n<li>List queries at positions 8 to 20 and pick one or two pages to improve.<\/li>\n<li>Open Page indexing and check for new errors or a drop in indexed pages.<\/li>\n<li>Glance at Security and Manual actions, then Core Web Vitals and Enhancements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Email alerts<\/h3>\n<p>When Search Console finds a serious issue, it emails the property owners and users, so make sure the address on the account is one somebody reads. Check your settings so the right people are included.<\/p>\n<h3>Be patient, then be regular<\/h3>\n<p>SEO takes three to six months to build, so publishing regularly matters more than one perfect post. That is why we suggest a monthly look rather than a daily one. Daily numbers wobble. Monthly trends tell you something. We can help turn what you find into a steady stream of articles, so see our <a href=\"https:\/\/rankotter.ai\/pricing\">pricing<\/a> or get in touch with Rank Otter and we will talk it through with you.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Is Google Search Console free?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Google Search Console is free to use. You only need a Google account and a website you can verify.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the difference between Google Search Console and Google Analytics?<\/h3>\n<p>Search Console shows how people find you in Google Search, including queries, impressions and clicks. Analytics, on the other hand, shows what visitors do once they are on your site. Used together they cover the whole journey.<\/p>\n<h3>How long does it take for data to appear in Search Console?<\/h3>\n<p>It can take a little while after verification for reports to fill in. Be patient for the first few days and check back rather than re-verifying.<\/p>\n<h3>Why is my page not indexed in Google?<\/h3>\n<p>Common causes are a noindex tag, a block in robots.txt, a duplicate of another page or content Google crawled but chose not to include. Use URL Inspection and the Page indexing report to see which applies.<\/p>\n<h3>How do I find keywords I already rank for in Search Console?<\/h3>\n<p>In Performance, choose the Queries tab and set a date range. Filter by page to see the searches a single article appears for, and add a United Kingdom country filter if you serve UK customers.<\/p>\n<h3>How often should I check Google Search Console?<\/h3>\n<p>Monthly is enough for most sites. SEO takes three to six months to build, so trends matter more than day-to-day movement. Check sooner if you receive an alert email.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I give my agency access to Search Console?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Owners can add users in Settings and choose their permission level. Remember that requesting indexing needs owner or full user permission. Keep a shared owner account so access is not lost if someone leaves.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I use Google Search Console for more than one website?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. You can add as many properties as you need to one Google account and switch between them using the property selector at the top left.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to use Google Search Console: set up and verify your site, submit a sitemap, read the Performance report and fix indexing issues, step by step.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,22,25,14,24,23],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo-tools","tag-free-seo-tools","tag-google-search-console","tag-indexing-issues","tag-seo-strategy","tag-site-verification","tag-sitemap-submission"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to use Google Search Console: 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