Steps to Use Google Search Console to Drive Results

7 min readApr 23, 2025

Your website is live. That’s a good start. But how do you know if it’s doing well on Google? Are people clicking on your pages?

Are there any errors blocking your growth? These are things every business should know.

Google Search Console can help you find all these answers.

It’s a free tool that shows how your website performs in search results. You’ll see what target keywords you need, which pages get traffic, and what problems need fixing.

The best part? You don’t need any technical skills to use it. Follow a few simple steps, and you’ll start making smarter decisions.

In this blog, you’ll learn the exact steps to use this tool and drive results.

What is Google Search Console?

Webmaster tool, now known as Google Search Console, is a staple part of Google’s SEO strategy.

GSC is free to use and provides the most comprehensive, real-time SEO dataset available anywhere.

It helps you:

Track and fix drops in search rankings
Monitor keyword performance and user queries
Submit pages for faster indexing by Google
Identify and fix crawl or indexing errors
Check mobile usability and site loading issues
Discover which pages get the most clicks
Track backlinks and internal link structure
Get alerts for security or manual penalties
Improve how your pages show up in search results

How to Use Google Search Console

There are many benefits of using GSC, including discovering keyword performance and gaining valuable SEO insights. It is one of the top keyword research tools that provides your business with massive information.

Whether you’re deciding on the most effective keywords or analyzing which content formats perform best, Google Search Console provides the answers.

Creating a Google Search Console (GSC) account is simple. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Sign in to GSC

Go to Google Search Console
Sign in using your Google account

Step 2: Add Your Website

Click “Start Now.”

2. Choose Property Type:

Domain (Covers all subdomains & protocols)
URL Prefix (Only for a specific URL)

3. Enter your website URL

Step 3: Verify Website Ownership

For Domain Property: Add a DNS record via your domain provider
For URL Prefix: Use one of these methods:

HTML File (Upload to website root)
HTML Tag (Add to website’s <head>)
Google Analytics (Verify using GA account)
Google Tag Manager

Step 4: Submit Sitemap & Start Monitoring

In GSC, go to “Sitemaps”
Enter your sitemap URL
Click Submit

How to Drive More Traffic to Your Site Using Google Search Console

Google Search Console allows business owners to monitor and analyze their website performance.

With GSC, business owners can identify keyword opportunities, fix technical SEO issues, and enhance the site’s visibility on Google.

Here’s how you can use Google Search Console to improve your SEO:

1. Submit XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap is feasible for Google Crawl to index your website pages.

Go to Google Search Console > Sitemaps and submit your sitemap URL.
Keep your sitemap current to help Google discover and index your latest content effectively.
Ensure your sitemap does not contain broken links or duplicate pages.

2. Fix Indexing Issues

Ensuring all important pages are indexed helps improve their visibility in Google search results.

Use the “Index Coverage” report to identify pages with errors, warnings, or exclusions preventing indexing.
Request indexing via the URL Inspection Tool if Google has not indexed an important page.
Fix issues like blocked pages (robots.txt), canonical errors, or “no index” tags to ensure proper indexing.

3. Optimize Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Improving click-through rate improves organic traffic and makes your website appear in SERP- Search Engine Result Pages.

Identify pages with high impressions and optimize their titles & meta descriptions.
Use compelling titles with keywords and powerful words like “Best,” “Guide,” or “How-to” to attract more clicks.
Implement rich snippets to make search results visually appealing and engaging.

4. Identify High-Performing Keywords

Monitoring high-performing keywords helps refine your content strategy and boost visibility.

Use the Performance Report to find keywords that rank between positions 5–20 and optimize content to improve rankings.
Identify low-competition, high-search-volume keywords and create content targeting those terms.
Track long-tail keywords that drive traffic and create supporting content to improve relevance.

5. Improve Core Web Vitals

Google prioritizes websites with excellent user experience, measured by Core Web Vitals.

Check the Core Web Vitals Report for the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Improve page speed by optimizing images, using a fast hosting provider, and enabling browser caching.
Resolve mobile usability problems by ensuring a responsive design, eliminating overlapping text, and improving loading speed.

6. Monitor Mobile Usability

Mobile-first indexing ensures that your mobile website is user-friendly and provides a smooth browsing experience.

Use the Mobile Usability Report to check for errors like small text, clickable elements, or viewport issues.
Optimize for fast mobile loading speed by using AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) or lightweight design.
Ensure a responsive layout that adapts to different screen sizes without affecting usability.

7. Use Performance Reports

Analyzing GSC data helps identify growth opportunities and refine your Google SEO strategy.

Monitor organic traffic trends, top-performing pages, and keyword rankings over time to optimize content.
Track search queries that drive clicks and update content to improve rankings for those terms.
Compare desktop vs. mobile traffic to optimize UX and content for both platforms.

8. Leverage Internal Linking

Strategic internal linking improves site structure, helps Google discover pages, and boosts rankings.

Using descriptive anchor text that includes keywords is a best practice for improving contextual relevance and ranking.
GSC provides tools to find orphan pages by allowing users to view their internal link data.
It can help identify which pages have the most internal links

Google Search Console is an essential tool for developing a solid SEO strategy. By submitting an XML sitemap, fixing indexing issues, optimizing CTR, and leveraging keyword insights, you can significantly increase website traffic.

Use insights from GSC reports to make data-driven updates that improve your visibility and attract more visitors.

Key Google Search Console Reports for SEO Management

Google Search Console provides several critical reports that digital marketers, SEO specialists, and site administrators can use to monitor and optimize their websites:

Check for Google Search Manual Actions: If your website violates Google’s guidelines, it might receive a manual action penalty, which could result in lower rankings or removal from search results. Use the Manual Actions Report to detect any issues and take corrective action.

Temporarily Hide Pages from Google Search: If you need to remove specific content from Google’s search results, the Removals Tool allows you to do so. However, this removal lasts only six months, so consider a permanent solution.

Tell Google About a Site Migration: If you’re moving your website to a new domain or subdomain, use the Change of Address Tool to notify Google. This helps ensure a smooth transition of search rankings and prevents loss of traffic.

Review Issues with Structured Data Implementation: Google’s Rich Result Status Reports help you analyze whether your structured data is working correctly. If errors exist, these reports provide detailed warnings and debugging tips to improve your site’s appearance in rich search results.

Conclusion

Google Search Console is a powerful and free tool that helps you understand how your website is doing on Google. It shows what’s working, what needs fixing, and how to get more traffic.

By using it regularly — like checking keyword reports, fixing errors, and improving your site’s speed — you can make smart changes that really boost your results.

Whether you’re new to SEO or have some experience, GSC makes it easier to grow your online presence step by step.