Google Search Console: a simple start for website owners

Your website is ready, but does Google see it? Which words do people search for when they find you? Which pages do not appear in search at all? Google's free tool, Google Search Console, answers these questions. You do not need to be a developer: for most small businesses a short look once a month is enough.

What Search Console is and what it is not

Search Console shows how your site is doing in Google search: impressions, clicks, indexing problems, page speed and user experience. It is not Google Analytics — it does not show what visitors do inside the site, but what happens in search. It is not an advertising tool either: you cannot pay here to rank higher.

1. Add the site and verify ownership

Go to search.google.com/search-console with a Google account and add a "property". There are two options:

Domain — covers the whole domain: with and without www, http and https, all subdomains. You verify it by adding a TXT record to the domain's DNS settings.
URL prefix — covers only a specific address. You can verify it with an HTML file, a meta tag, Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager.

Choose "Domain" if you can. If you do not have access to the DNS settings, whoever manages your domain can do it.

2. Submit a sitemap

A sitemap is a file listing the pages of your site, usually at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. In Search Console, enter its address in the "Sitemaps" section. This helps Google find new pages more easily. A sitemap does not guarantee indexing, but it simplifies the process.

3. The Performance report — the most useful section

Here you will see four metrics:

Clicks — how many times people came to the site from search;
Impressions — how many times your site was shown in search results;
CTR — what share of impressions turned into clicks;
Average position — roughly where you appeared in the results.

The "Queries" table shows which words people used to find you. It often reveals surprises: you write "corporate website", while customers search for "website for a company". It is worth adding such words to your texts and headings.

A useful habit: find pages with many impressions but a low CTR. They appear in search, but the title and description do not invite a click — rewrite them more clearly.

4. Page indexing

The "Pages" report shows which pages are in Google's index, which are not, and why. Not every "not indexed" entry is an error — for example, it is normal for redirected or duplicate pages to stay out of the index. Pay attention if an important service page is missing from the index and check the reason.

5. URL inspection

Type the address of any page into the search bar at the top — you will see whether Google has indexed it and when it last crawled it. For a new or updated page you can request indexing from here.

6. Core Web Vitals

This report covers loading speed and visual stability of your pages, based on data from real users. On small sites there may not be enough data and the report can stay empty — that is normal. To check speed separately you can also use Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool: enter the page address and see what slows it down on phones.

What not to expect

Data appears with a delay of a few days, and a new site shows very small numbers in the first weeks. The Performance report keeps the last 16 months of data — so it is a good idea to connect Search Console as soon as the site goes live, so the history builds up.

Search Console, Google Business Profile and CRM

Search Console shows traffic from search; to appear on the map and in local search you need a Google Business Profile. Both tools only show what happens up to the click. What comes after the click — the enquiry, the call, the sale — is the CRM's job: on SBT Web sites a form enquiry goes straight into SBT CRM as a lead, and at month end you see which channel brought sales. More: The SBT synergy: website and CRM together.

With SBT Web

With SBT Web you get a website by subscription: design, hosting, domain, SSL and monthly edits are included, the site is ready in 7–14 days, in AZ / EN / RU. Plans start at 63 ₼ per month (excl. VAT); website and CRM together — 20% off both. See the SBT Web plans or, if you have questions, write to us: web@sbt.az · +994 55 455 27 26.