Google Search Console is Google's free tool for website owners. It tells you which searches bring visitors, which pages are indexed and what problems Google found. Here is where to look.
Getting set up
Add your site as a domain property and verify it with a DNS TXT record at your domain provider. Domain verification covers every subdomain and both http and https.
1. Performance
Shows the searches your site appears for, clicks, impressions and average position. Look for queries with many impressions but few clicks: improving those page titles and descriptions is often the quickest win.
2. Pages (indexing)
Lists which pages are indexed and why others are not. Pay attention to important pages marked "Crawled, currently not indexed" or blocked by mistake.
3. Sitemaps
Submit your XML sitemap so Google discovers new pages faster, and check it is read without errors.
4. Experience and Core Web Vitals
Shows whether real visitors find your pages fast and stable, separately for mobile and desktop. Slow groups of pages point to templates worth optimising.
5. Security and manual actions
Normally empty. If Google detects hacked content or applies a penalty, it appears here. Check it whenever traffic drops suddenly.
Good habits
- Look at Performance monthly and compare with the previous period.
- After a redesign or migration, check the Pages report weekly for a while.
- Use "Validate fix" after correcting an issue, so Google rechecks it.
Do not forget Bing
Bing Webmaster Tools offers similar reports and supports IndexNow for faster indexing; it also feeds several other search and AI services.
At IDX
Our free website analysis checks SEO basics alongside speed and security. If you are moving your site, our migration team keeps URLs and redirects intact so your search presence survives.
IDX on digital infrastructure
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