--- title: "Google Search Console" description: "A free tool from Google that provides data and diagnostic information about how your website performs in Google Search — including which queries drive traffic, which pages are indexed, Core Web Vitals scores, crawl errors, and manual action notifications." url: "https://skribra.com/glossary/google-search-console" type: "glossary-term" category: "Analytics & Measurement" updated: "2026-06-09" --- # Google Search Console **Definition.** A free tool from Google that provides data and diagnostic information about how your website performs in Google Search — including which queries drive traffic, which pages are indexed, Core Web Vitals scores, crawl errors, and manual action notifications. **In short.** Google Search Console is Google's official tool for understanding how your site performs in Google Search. It shows which queries bring traffic, which pages are indexed, and what technical issues Google has found — it's essential, free, and should be the first place you check for SEO data. ## Key points - Search Console shows actual Google data — clicks, impressions, and average position for every query driving traffic to your site - The 'Coverage' report shows which pages are indexed and which are excluded, with specific error reasons for excluded pages - Core Web Vitals report shows real-user performance data (field data) collected by Chrome, not just lab scores - Search Console is the only tool that notifies you of manual actions (Google penalties) against your site ## Key Search Console Reports Search Console's most valuable reports for SEO practitioners[1]. The Performance report shows clicks, impressions, [CTR](https://skribra.com/glossary/click-through-rate), and average position for queries, pages, countries, and devices — filterable by date range. Filter by 'Queries' to find keywords where you rank on page 2 (positions 11-20) that could be [pushed to page 1 with content improvements](https://skribra.com/features/seo-agents). The URL Inspection tool shows how Googlebot sees any specific page — its rendered content, indexing status, and [canonical URL](https://skribra.com/glossary/canonical-url) as Google interprets it. The Coverage report categorizes all submitted URLs as Valid, Valid with warnings, Excluded, or Error — 'Excluded' pages often reveal [canonical](https://skribra.com/glossary/canonical-url) choices Google has made that differ from your intent. The Links report shows your top internally and externally linked pages. ## Using Search Console for Keyword Research The Performance report is an underutilized keyword research tool[1][2]. Filter to show queries with high impressions but low [CTR](https://skribra.com/glossary/click-through-rate) — these are rankings where your [title](https://skribra.com/glossary/title-tag) or [meta description](https://skribra.com/glossary/meta-description) isn't compelling enough to generate clicks relative to your position. Filter to show queries in positions 4-15 — these are ranking pages just outside the top positions where focused optimization could push them to page 1. Export all queries driving impressions to your site and group them by intent to identify [content gaps](https://skribra.com/glossary/content-gap) — queries that bring impressions but no page on your site directly addresses. Sort by 'impressions' descending to find high-potential keywords your site has visibility for but low pages meeting — all opportunities for new [content briefs](https://skribra.com/glossary/content-brief). ## Technical SEO in Search Console Search Console is the primary diagnostic tool for technical SEO issues[2]. The Page Experience report shows [Core Web Vitals](https://skribra.com/glossary/core-web-vitals) status (Good, Needs Improvement, Poor) based on real Chrome user data. The Mobile Usability report identifies pages with mobile-specific issues like clickable elements too close together or text too small. Manual Actions lists any penalties applied to your site by Google's reviewers — rare but devastating when they occur. The Sitemaps section confirms whether your submitted [XML Sitemap](https://skribra.com/glossary/sitemap) was processed successfully and how many URLs were indexed from it. Set up email alerts in Search Console settings to receive notifications for: new manual actions, security issues, and indexing coverage drops — these require immediate attention and shouldn't be discovered only during manual review. ## Related terms - [Click-Through Rate (CTR)](https://skribra.com/glossary/click-through-rate): The percentage of users who click on a search result after seeing it in the SERP, calculated as (clicks ÷ impressions) × 100. - [Crawl Errors](https://skribra.com/glossary/crawl-errors): Problems that search engine crawlers encounter when attempting to access and process pages on a website — including HTTP errors (404, 500), redirect issues, and DNS failures — which prevent pages from being properly indexed. - [Core Web Vitals](https://skribra.com/glossary/core-web-vitals): Google's set of real-world user experience metrics — Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — used as ranking signals in the Page Experience update. - [Indexing](https://skribra.com/glossary/indexing): The process by which a search engine stores and organizes crawled web pages in its database so they can be retrieved and displayed in search results. ## Sources 1. [Google Search Central — Get Started with Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/search-console-start) 2. [Ahrefs — Google Search Console: The Complete Guide](https://ahrefs.com/blog/google-search-console/) ## Machine-readable index - HTML version of this page: https://skribra.com/glossary/google-search-console - Site index for agents: https://skribra.com/llms.txt - Sitemap: https://skribra.com/sitemap.xml - Public REST API: https://skribra.com/api/v1 - OpenAPI specification: https://skribra.com/openapi.json