You are probably wondering, “what is google search console used for?”. Google Analytics is a free service that enables users to gauge their website traffic, troubleshoot problems, observe keyword performance, and get support from Google. Some of this may include rich search results, viewing your referring domains, highest-traffic queries and pages and mobile site performance. You are able to see how many times your site may appear in search engines and your average position.
How to add your website to GSC
- You’ll first log into your Google account and make sure it is a business account.
- You then go to Google Webmaster Tools.
- Click “Add a property.”
- Click “Website” as your option and add your site. Copy and paste exactly what is in your browser bar.
- Click “Continue.”
- Pick how you would like to verify you own your website.
- Add all of the possible domains your site may have or support.
What is it exactly?
GSC is a free tool that helps users measure site traffic, fix issues, see keyword performance and receive help from Google about their website. It tells you how to make adjustments and provides insight on how you’re doing in the organic search in the Google Index. Unlike Google Analytics, GSC just shows how your search performance is doing and the number of clicks you have organically. A performance report will give you structured data on clicks, impressions, ctr and average position. Here is a better understanding of what that report shows.
Clicks
This metric shows you how many users visit your site from clicks in Google Search. This won’t give you the period of time they are on your site, if they are using a mobile device or what pages they visited. It simply tells you how many clicks you have.
Impressions
This is defined as how many times your site appears in search results, regardless if it receives a click or not. This would be how many links to your site a user saw in the Google search results.
CTR
This metric, average ctr, stands for click-through-rate. It is a measure of how many clicks your site received, divided by how many impressions it received.
Average Position
This metric means the average position of the topmost result from your site for a given keyword. All of these metrics can assist in a business trying to grow or what changes might need to be made on their website or to their digital marketing strategy.
Is Google Search Console an SEO tool?
It is just one of many! There may be some overlap between GSC and Google Analytics but they are both going to break down mobile usability and what is drawing in more traffic.