Google Search Console is a free Google tool that shows how your website appears in Google Search: what words people use to find you, where your site ranks, and which pages have made it into Google's database and which have not. You sign in at search.google.com/search-console with your Google account. It used to be called "Google Webmaster Tools", so both names refer to the same product.
Key takeaways:
- Search Console is not an advertising tool and does not push your site up the rankings by itself: it is a reporting dashboard that shows how Google sees your site.
- Setup takes three steps: add the site, verify ownership and submit a sitemap.
- Four sections are enough for day-to-day work: Performance (queries and clicks), Pages (indexing), URL Inspection (checking a single page) and Sitemaps.
- Search Console keeps the last 16 months of data; queries that rank in positions 11–20 are the opportunities that pay off fastest.
- The account must be opened under your own Google account: give an agency or developer user access, not your password.
What is Google Search Console and what is it for?
Google Search Console is Google's official reporting dashboard for website owners. Here Google shares with you what it knows about your site: whether it has been able to find it, whether it can read the pages, and who it shows them to in search and for which words.
A simple comparison: if your website is a shop, Google is the city map. Search Console is the report that the mapmakers send you: whether your shop is on the map, which query people use to find it, and what obstacles lie on the way.
The tool answers four questions:
- How do people find me? The words people type into Google and for which your site appears. These are called queries.
- Where do I rank? The average position for every query and every page.
- Does Google see my site? Which pages are indexed, meaning they have made it into Google's search database, which have not, and why.
- Is there a problem? Warnings about speed, security and Google penalties.
Two notes. First, the tool is free and can be connected to any website (Search Console Help). Second, connecting to Search Console does not raise a site's position by itself: it shows what needs fixing, and you or your team do the fixing. We explained how search optimisation itself works in the article What is SEO.
Google updates its interface often, and Search Console's official help centre is not available in Azerbaijani. That is why this article gives the English names of the sections and explains each one in plain language.
Search Console, Google Analytics and Google Business Profile: what is the difference?
These three tools do not replace one another. Search Console shows what happens on Google before a visitor reaches the site, Google Analytics shows what they do after they arrive, and Google Business Profile manages your company's listing on Google Maps.
| Tool | What it shows | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Visibility in search: queries, position, clicks, indexing | "Do people find me on Google, and with which words?" |
| Google Analytics 4 | Behaviour on the site: number of visitors, sources, pages viewed, enquiries | "Where do visitors come from and what do they do?" |
| Google Business Profile | Company listing on the map and in local search: address, opening hours, reviews | "How do I appear on the map and in 'near me' searches?" |
A simple rule: all three are free, and a business website should have all three connected. Search Console and Analytics can also be linked to each other: in that case, search queries also appear in Analytics reports. We covered the Analytics side separately in the article What is Google Analytics 4.
How do you add a website to Search Console?
To add a site you need a Google account, the site's address and access to the site or to the domain's admin panel. The job usually takes 10–15 minutes.
- Open search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google account. Use a company-owned account, not a personal one.
- From the list at the top left, choose Add property. You will see two options: Domain and URL prefix.
- Choose an option, type the address and press the Continue button.
- Verify ownership; this step is explained in the next section.
| Option | What it covers | Verification method | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | All versions of the site: http and https, www and non-www addresses, subdomains (for example, blog.yourdomain.az) | DNS record only | People with access to the domain's admin panel; gives the most complete picture |
| URL prefix | Only the exact address you type, for example https://yourdomain.az | Several methods: HTML file, HTML tag, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, DNS | People without DNS access, or those who want to track only one section of the site |
If you can choose, take the Domain option: even if the site later moves from a www address to a non-www one, or from http to https, the data stays in one place (Search Console Help).
How do you verify ownership of a site?
Verifying ownership means proving to Google that the site really belongs to you; otherwise anyone could look at a competitor's data. Google offers several methods for this (Search Console Help).
| Method | What you do | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| DNS record | A TXT record supplied by Google is added in the domain's admin panel | The person who manages the domain, or a developer |
| HTML file | A small file supplied by Google is uploaded to the site's root folder | Developer |
| HTML tag | One line is added to the head section of the main page's code | Developer; in WordPress and website builders it can also be done from the settings |
| Google Analytics | If the site has an Analytics code linked to your account, it is verified in one click | You |
| Google Tag Manager | If the site has your Tag Manager container, it is verified in one click | You |
Do not let the word DNS scare you: it is your domain's "address book", and adding one line to it does not affect how the site works. If you do not know where your domain is managed, see the ownership section of the article What is a domain and how do you buy one.
Two important details. First, do not later delete the file, tag or DNS record you added for verification: Google re-checks ownership from time to time, and if the record is not found, access is closed. Second, you can verify with several methods at the same time; for example, if the tag is lost when the site template changes, the DNS record keeps your access.
What is a sitemap and how is it submitted to Search Console?
A sitemap is a file listing the pages on a site, usually located at yourdomain.az/sitemap.xml. For Google it serves as the site's table of contents.
- Open yourdomain.az/sitemap.xml in a browser. If you see a list of pages, the sitemap exists. If not, ask your developer: in WordPress and modern platforms it is created automatically.
- In Search Console's left-hand menu, open the Sitemaps section.
- In the "Add a new sitemap" field, type sitemap.xml and press Submit.
- Wait for "Success" in the Status column. If you see "Couldn't fetch", check the address and look again after a few hours.
Submitting a sitemap does not guarantee indexing: it helps Google find the pages, but Google itself decides whether to put them into search (Search Console Help).
How do you read the Performance report?
The Performance report is the most-used section of Search Console: it shows how many times your site appeared in Google Search, how many clicks it received and, on average, what position it ranked in. The official definitions of the metrics are on Google's help page (Search Console Help); the tool keeps the last 16 months of data (Analytics Help).
In the left-hand menu, open Performance → Search results. At the top you will see four metrics:
| Metric | In plain language | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Total clicks | How many times people went from Google to your site | 120 clicks |
| Total impressions | How many times your site appeared in search results | 6,000 impressions |
| Average CTR (click-through rate) | The percentage of those who saw it and clicked: clicks divided by impressions | 2% |
| Average position | The average position your site appeared in; 1 is the very top | 8.4 |
Below the metrics there is a table. Its tabs let you look at the same data from different sides:
- Queries — the words people typed. This is where the answer to "what do people find me with?" lives.
- Pages — which pages of your site bring traffic.
- Countries and Devices — which countries and which devices visitors search from.
- Dates — the trend day by day.
Three ways to get value from the report straight away:
- Find the queries on the second page. Turn on Average position and sort the table by position. Queries that rank in positions 11–20 are on Google's second page: strengthening that page's text and title is the shortest way to move them to the first page.
- Find pages that are seen a lot but clicked little. If impressions are high and CTR is low, the page's title and meta description do not convince the searcher. Rewrite them to fit the query better.
- Count brand queries separately. Clicks that come through your company's name are from people who already know you. New customers come from general queries such as "dentist Baku"; measure growth by exactly these queries. On sites with enough traffic there is also a ready-made brand filter for this.
One warning: clicks in Search Console will not match visits in Google Analytics. One counts clicks on Google, the other counts visits to the site, and their counting rules differ; this is not an error.
Pages report: which pages of the site are on Google?
The Pages report (in the left-hand menu, Indexing → Pages) shows how many of the site's pages are in Google's database and why the rest are not. The index is Google's search database: if a page is not there, it cannot appear for any query.
In the report you will see two groups: Indexed and Not indexed. It is normal to have a second group: Google aims to index not every address on the site but only the main (canonical) pages (Search Console Help). The case to worry about is an important page, for example a service or product page, being in the second group.
The most common statuses:
| Status | In plain language | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Crawled – currently not indexed | Google has read the page but has not added it to the index | Strengthen the content and link to it from other pages |
| Discovered – currently not indexed | Google knows the address but has not read it yet | Add an internal link and wait |
| Page with redirect | The address redirects to another address | Usually not a problem |
| URL marked 'noindex' | The page carries a "do not index" instruction (noindex) | If the page matters, the developer must remove the instruction |
| Not found (404) | The page does not exist | If the page has moved, redirect the old address to the new one |
| Duplicate without user-selected canonical | Google has found several addresses with the same content | The developer must specify the main address |
We cover the cause and fix for each status separately, across 15 reasons, in the article why my site does not appear on Google.
URL Inspection: how do you check a single page?
URL Inspection is a tool that shows the status of one specific page on Google. Type the page's full address into the search field at the very top of Search Console and press Enter.
The result will be one of three answers:
- URL is on Google — the page is indexed and can appear in search.
- URL is not on Google — the page is not indexed; the reason is written below.
- URL is on Google, but has issues — the page is indexed, but there is something to fix.
If you have published a new page or substantially updated an old one, you can ask Google to read it again with the Request indexing button. These requests have a daily limit, submitting the same page repeatedly does not speed up the process, and no request guarantees indexing (Search Console Help).
How do you give an agency or developer access?
To give someone access in Search Console you do not need to share a password: you add the user's email and choose a permission level. Ownership stays with you, and when the collaboration ends you remove access in one click (Search Console Help).
- At the bottom of the left-hand menu, open Settings → Users and permissions.
- Press Add user and type the email linked to the colleague's or agency's Google account.
- Choose the permission level and press Add.
| Level | What they can do | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Everything, including adding and removing users | The company's head and one person you trust |
| Full | Sees all the data and can perform most actions | An SEO specialist, an agency |
| Restricted | Can mostly only view the data | A colleague who prepares reports |
If the site has just been handed over to you, ask: whose account was Search Console opened under? If the account is under the contractor's personal email, ask them to add you as an Owner. It is easier to write this requirement into the contract in advance; an example is in the article Ordering a website: technical brief and contract.
What should you look at once a month?
There is no need to log in to Search Console every day: Google itself considers looking about once a month enough (Google Search Central). For sites that run ads actively or are updated often, a weekly look is more convenient. The checklist is as follows:
- Performance. Compare the last 28 days with the previous 28 days (Date → Compare). If clicks have fallen, look at which page and which query they fell on.
- Queries. Pick one of the queries in positions 11–20 and improve that page.
- Pages. Has the "Not indexed" count risen sharply? If so, look at the cause.
- Core Web Vitals. If any page is rated "Poor", check it with the steps in the article why a website loads slowly.
- Manual actions and Security issues. Both should say that no problems were found. If you see a warning, message your developer immediately.
Google also sends an email when it finds a serious problem, so link the account to an address you read regularly.
What is new in Search Console in 2026?
Over the last two years, several features have been added to Search Console that are useful even for a beginner. All were announced on Google's official blog (Google Search Central Blog).
| What's new | What it gives you | Since |
|---|---|---|
| 24-hour view | The last day's data by hour, with a delay of a few hours | December 2024 |
| Insights report | A simple overview of the site's results: rising and falling pages, top queries | June 2025 |
| Annotations | Add notes on the chart such as "site updated" or "ads started" | November 2025 |
| Brand queries filter | Separate queries that include the company name from those that do not | From March 2026, on all eligible sites |
| Weekly and monthly view | Show the chart by weeks and months instead of days | December 2025 |
| Generative AI report | How many times the site appeared in Google's AI answers (AI Overviews, AI Mode) | From August 2026, on all sites |
One important detail: impressions and clicks from AI Overviews and AI Mode are included in the Performance report's overall figures (Google Search Central). We explain separately how a brand appears in AI answers in the article What is GEO.
How does Advertol use Search Console?
In Advertol's website projects, Search Console is opened under the client's own Google account, and the team is added there as users. When the site goes live, the sitemap is submitted, and the indexing of the main pages and the redirects from the old site are checked.
An example of the tool's value from our own experience: in September 2026, Advertol discovered on its own site that Google was indexing English-address copies of untranslated articles, and fixed the canonical and hreflang settings. We describe this incident in detail in the article why my site does not appear on Google.
As with the Aston Martin website, when speed and technical SEO are planned together with the design, most Search Console warnings never appear. Advertol is an agency based in Baku: website and mobile app development, Meta and Google advertising, SMM, CRM and AI automation are run by a single team. If you are planning a new site, read how the website and app development service works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Search Console free?
Yes, Google Search Console is completely free: there is no subscription fee and no charge by number of sites or pages. All you need is a Google account and the ability to verify ownership of the site.
When does data appear after adding a site?
According to Google, it takes a few days for data to start accumulating. The most recent figures in the Performance report are also considered preliminary and may be revised later. So connect the site to Search Console from the first day: data only starts being collected after you connect.
Does Search Console push a site up in Google?
No, Search Console does not directly affect rankings: it is a measurement and diagnostics tool. Position is determined by the page's content, speed, internal links and the site's authority. Search Console shows what needs fixing on which page.
Is Search Console available in Azerbaijani?
Search Console's official help centre is not available in Azerbaijani: the language list includes English, Russian and Turkish, but not Azerbaijani. So it is more convenient to use the tool in one of those languages. This article gives the English names of the sections so that you can compare them with what you see on screen.
The site is new — who should connect Search Console?
Usually the team that builds the site connects it, but the account must be opened under your Google account. When you take over the site, check that you are an Owner in Search Console and that the sitemap has been submitted. It is free and takes fifteen minutes, so there is no point leaving it "for later".
Can you look at a competitor's site in Search Console?
No, Search Console only shows data for sites whose ownership you have verified. Third-party SEO tools estimate competitors' traffic and keywords, but their figures are only approximate. For your own site, Search Console is the most accurate source.
Conclusion
Google Search Console is the free way to learn about your site's standing on Google directly from Google itself. Add the site, verify ownership, submit a sitemap and look at the Performance and Pages reports at least once a month: you will see which queries you are close to the first page for and which pages have not made it into the index. Open the account in your own name, and give others user access rather than your password.
If you are stuck on setup, or want to understand why your site does not appear on Google the way you expect, book a free strategy meeting or write to the Advertol team.
Sources
- Google Search Console Help — About Search Console
- Google Search Console Help — Add a website property to Search Console
- Google Search Console Help — Verify your site ownership
- Google Search Console Help — Manage your sitemaps using the Sitemaps report
- Google Search Console Help — Performance report (Search results)
- Google Search Console Help — Page indexing report
- Google Search Console Help — URL Inspection tool
- Google Search Console Help — Managing owners, users, and permissions
- Google Analytics Help — Connect Search Console to Google Analytics
- Google Search Central — How to use Search Console, 10.12.2025
- Google Search Central — AI features and your website, 10.12.2025
- Google Search Central Blog — Search Console updates, 2024–2026