Google Search Console (GSC)
Free tool from Google that shows how your site performs in search. Index coverage, search queries, Core Web Vitals, manual actions. If you're not using it, you're flying blind.
Why It Matters
Google Search Console is the only source of truth for how Google sees your site. Third-party tools estimate. GSC shows you the actual data - which queries drive impressions and clicks, which pages are indexed, what errors Google found, whether you have any manual penalties.
Every SEO decision should be informed by GSC data. It's free, it's directly from Google, and it's the closest thing to a dashboard for your site's search performance. There's no excuse for not using it.
In Practice
Set up GSC for every domain you manage. Submit your XML sitemap. Check the Performance report for search queries, impressions, clicks, CTR, and average position.
Monitor the Index Coverage report weekly. It tells you exactly which pages are indexed, which are excluded, and why. The "Excluded" list is where you find crawl issues, canonical conflicts, and noindex problems.
Use the URL Inspection tool to check individual pages - see the last crawl date, indexing status, and rendered HTML. The Core Web Vitals report shows page experience data from real users.
Related Terms
Glossary
Indexing
Adding a crawled page to Google's database so it can appear in search results.
Glossary
Core Web Vitals
Google's page experience metrics - loading speed, visual stability, and interactivity.
Glossary
Crawling
How search engine bots discover and download your pages - the first step to ranking.
Glossary
Impressions
How many times your page appeared in search results, whether anyone clicked or not.
Glossary
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of searchers who see your listing and actually click it.
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