Have you ever wondered what Google really thinks about your website? Google Search Console (GSC) is your direct window to find out. This free tool shows you exactly how Google sees your site and how it appears in search results.
In 2025, GSC has become absolutely essential for these reasons:
If you don't use GSC, it's like having a physical store without knowing if the sign on the door says “open” or “closed”. You're missing out on crucial information that could make the difference between online success and failure.
Before you can access all of this valuable data, you need to prove to Google that you really own the website. This process is called ownership verification.
Follow these steps to get started:
Step 1: Go to Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account.
Step 2: Click “Add Property” and choose between:
Step 3: Choose your verification method. Google offers you several options:
My recommendation: Use the DNS method if you can access your domain settings. It's the most comprehensive and doesn't require touching your site's code.
This is where the magic really begins. Connecting GSC with GA4 is like joining two pieces of the puzzle that give you a complete picture of your online performance.
To connect both tools:
Step 1: Enter your GA4 property.
Step 2: Go to “Administrator” > “Product Links”.
Step 3: Select “Search Console” > “Link”.
Step 4: Choose the Search Console property that corresponds to your site.
This connection allows you to:
Practical tip: Check every month that the connection is still working. Sometimes it can break after major updates on either platform.
Once you have access to GSC, there are some basic settings you should do immediately to ensure that Google can crawl and index your site properly.
Submitting your sitemap:
A sitemap is like a map of your website that tells Google where to find all your important pages.
Step 1: Make sure you have an XML sitemap. Most platforms like WordPress generate it automatically.
Step 2: In GSC, go to “Sitemaps” in the side menu.
Step 3: Click “Add a new sitemap”.
Step 4: Type in the URL of your sitemap (usually it's yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and click “Submit”.
Important indexing settings:
Don't underestimate this initial setup. A well-configured site in GSC will be found and indexed much more efficiently by Google, which means better visibility for your business.
The performance report is your new obsession. Here you'll find real data about how your site appears on Google and how users interact with your results.
The most important data you'll see:
To get the most out of keyword analysis:
Step 1: Click the “Inquiries” tab to see exactly what people are looking for when they find your site.
Step 2: Sort by impressions to see the highest-volume searches.
Step 3: Look for keywords with a lot of impressions but few clicks (these are golden opportunities for improvement).
Step 4: Identify terms with high CTR to understand what type of content resonates best with your audience.
A trick that few people know: Use the date comparison feature to see seasonal trends or the impact of Google updates on your traffic.
The URL inspection tool allows you to see any page on your site exactly as Google sees it. It's like putting on Google glasses to examine your content.
To use this feature:
Step 1: In the top GSC search bar, paste the URL you want to inspect.
Step 2: Check if Google can access the page and if it's indexed.
Step 3: Examine the version that Google has saved and compare it with your current version.
Step 4: If you've made important changes, click “Request indexing” to ask Google to review the page again.
In 2025, Google is processing these requests much faster, but use them strategically:
This tool is especially useful when you're publishing new content or updating important pages and you want to make sure that Google sees the changes.
Core Web Vitals are metrics that Google uses to measure how good a user experience is on your site. In simple terms, they measure if your site loads fast and works well.
The three key metrics are:
To review your performance:
Step 1: Go to “Page Experience” in the GSC side menu.
Step 2: Review the “Core Web Vitals” report.
Step 3: Analyze mobile and desktop separately (mobile is more important because most traffic comes from phones).
Step 4: Identify problem pages and prioritize the most important pages for your business.
GSC will also alert you to mobile usability issues such as:
Don't ignore these reports. A better user experience not only improves your rankings, but it also turns more visitors into customers.
Link analysis in GSC helps you understand how the pages of your site are connected and who else on the internet is talking about you.
Internal links (links within your site):
Step 1: Go to “Links” > “Internal Links”.
Step 2: Identify pages that receive few internal links (these may need more attention).
Step 3: Check if you're distributing “authority” well among your most important pages.
A good internal link structure:
External links (backlinks from other sites):
Step 1: Go to “Links” > “External Links”.
Step 2: See which sites link to you and which pages of yours receive the most links.
Step 3: Review what text other sites use to link to you (this tells Google what your content is about).
Important note: GSC only shows you a sample of your backlinks, not all of them. For a complete analysis, combine it with specialized tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush.
Use this data to find opportunities to improve your internal links and to discover potential collaborations with sites that already know you.
The CTR (clickthrough rate) tells you how attractive your result is when it appears on Google. If your CTR is low, it means that people see you but don't click. That's a missed opportunity.
To improve your CTR:
Step 1: In the performance report, identify pages that appear in good positions (top 10) but have low CTR.
Step 2: Optimize your titles to make them more attractive:
Step 3: Improve your meta descriptions:
Practical trick: See the other results that appear next to yours on Google. What do they have that makes them more attractive? Learn from the competition.
Remember: it's not just about getting more clicks, it's about attracting people who really need what you offer.
Crawl errors are like obstacles that prevent Google from exploring your site properly. If Google can't access your pages, it can't position them.
Common problems you'll encounter:
To solve these problems:
Step 1: Go to the “Coverage” report and check the pages with errors.
Step 2: Prioritize errors on important pages (use Google Analytics to see which ones get the most traffic).
Step 3: For important 404 pages, create a 301 redirect to a similar or relevant page.
Step 4: For server errors, contact your technical team or hosting provider.
Step 5: Review your robots.txt file to make sure you're not blocking valuable content.
Spend time each month reviewing and correcting these errors. Accumulated technical problems can cause Google to lose confidence in the quality of your site.
Structured data is code that helps Google better understand your content. When you implement them correctly, you can achieve rich results that make your listing stand out more on Google.
How to review your structured data in GSC:
Step 1: Go to the “Improvements” section and review the different categories (articles, products, FAQs, etc.).
Step 2: Identify errors or warnings in your implementation.
Step 3: Use Google's rich results testing tool to validate corrections.
Most useful types of structured data in 2026:
To implement structured data properly:
Rich results can significantly increase your CTR without needing to improve your position in Google. It's an easy win that many sites don't take advantage of.
Manual actions are penalties that Google's human team applies when they detect that your site violates their quality guidelines. GSC will immediately notify you if this occurs.
How to handle manual actions:
Step 1: Regularly review the “Manual Actions” section in GSC.
Step 2: If you receive a penalty:
The security report alerts you to serious problems such as:
If you receive security alerts:
Step 1: Act immediately to protect your users.
Step 2: It identifies and removes all malicious code.
Step 3: Strengthen your site's security:
Step 4: Ask Google for a review after you've fixed everything.
Do not take these warnings lightly. Security issues don't just destroy your SEO, but they can completely ruin the trust your users have in your brand.
To become an expert using GSC, you need to know what metrics really matter and how to use them to make intelligent decisions.
How to correlate metrics for valuable insights:
To create an improvement plan based on real data:
Step 1: Establish your current baseline
Step 2: Prioritize the Most Promising Opportunities
Step 3: Create specific and measurable objectives
Practical tip: Create a document or spreadsheet where you write down your monthly GSC KPIs. This will allow you to identify trends and demonstrate the real impact of your SEO work.
GSC is powerful, but its value multiplies when you combine it strategically with other tools.
Integrations that really make a difference:
Google Sheets: Export GSC data and create customized dashboards where you can do deeper analysis and historical monitoring.
Google Data Studio (now Looker Studio): Combine data from GSC, Google Analytics, and other sources to create visual dashboards that show the full picture of your performance.
Professional SEO tools: Use Semrush, Ahrefs, or similar to supplement GSC data with competition analysis and discovery of new keyword opportunities.
WordPress and other CMS: Plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math integrate GSC data directly into your administration panel, facilitating daily optimization.
If you have access to technical resources, consider using the GSC API to:
Practical example: Set up a Google Sheets sheet that automatically imports your weekly GSC KPIs. This will give you a complete history that you can analyze to detect trends that aren't obvious in the standard interface.
Maintaining a technically healthy website in 2025 requires a systematic approach. Establishing maintenance routines using GSC is crucial for long-term success.
Quarterly Audit Plan That Actually Works:
Month 1 - Week 1: Technical Health
Month 1 - Week 2: Performance Analysis
Month 2 - Week 3: Data-Based Optimization
Month 3 - Week 4: Strategic Planning
Set up automatic alerts to receive immediate notifications about:
Document each audit in a master file. This will allow you to identify recurring patterns and demonstrate the value of your SEO work with concrete data.
GSC has evolved dramatically in recent years, and 2025 marks an important turning point in how digital marketing professionals use this tool.
Key trends that are redefining GSC:
Embedded artificial intelligence: GSC now offers you personalized recommendations based on the automatic analysis of your site. Instead of just showing you data, it suggests specific actions that can improve your performance.
Approach focused on user experience: Core Web Vitals reports have become more detailed and actionable, reflecting that Google increasingly values the real user experience over traditional technical factors.
More granular data on search intent: GSC now provides better insights into what users are actually looking for, allowing you to optimize for specific needs instead of just keywords.
Seamless integration with the Google ecosystem: The connection between GSC, GA4, Google Ads and other Google tools is more fluid, facilitating a comprehensive analysis of your digital presence.
To keep up to date with GSC news:
Google Search Console isn't just another tool in your digital marketing arsenal. It's your direct connection to Google's mind, your guide to understanding what users are really looking for, and your early warning system for problems that could sink you in search results.
In 2025, mastering GSC isn't optional for anyone who wants to succeed online. It's the difference between navigating blindly and having an accurate GPS that guides you to success.
Your next step is simple: open Google Search Console now, review your most recent data, and identify a specific improvement you can implement this week. Success in SEO doesn't come from knowing all the strategies, but from consistently applying what you learn.
Have you ever wondered what Google really thinks about your website? Google Search Console (GSC) is your direct window to find out. This free tool shows you exactly how Google sees your site and how it appears in search results.
In 2025, GSC has become absolutely essential for these reasons:
If you don't use GSC, it's like having a physical store without knowing if the sign on the door says “open” or “closed”. You're missing out on crucial information that could make the difference between online success and failure.
Before you can access all of this valuable data, you need to prove to Google that you really own the website. This process is called ownership verification.
Follow these steps to get started:
Step 1: Go to Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account.
Step 2: Click “Add Property” and choose between:
Step 3: Choose your verification method. Google offers you several options:
My recommendation: Use the DNS method if you can access your domain settings. It's the most comprehensive and doesn't require touching your site's code.
This is where the magic really begins. Connecting GSC with GA4 is like joining two pieces of the puzzle that give you a complete picture of your online performance.
To connect both tools:
Step 1: Enter your GA4 property.
Step 2: Go to “Administrator” > “Product Links”.
Step 3: Select “Search Console” > “Link”.
Step 4: Choose the Search Console property that corresponds to your site.
This connection allows you to:
Practical tip: Check every month that the connection is still working. Sometimes it can break after major updates on either platform.
Once you have access to GSC, there are some basic settings you should do immediately to ensure that Google can crawl and index your site properly.
Submitting your sitemap:
A sitemap is like a map of your website that tells Google where to find all your important pages.
Step 1: Make sure you have an XML sitemap. Most platforms like WordPress generate it automatically.
Step 2: In GSC, go to “Sitemaps” in the side menu.
Step 3: Click “Add a new sitemap”.
Step 4: Type in the URL of your sitemap (usually it's yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and click “Submit”.
Important indexing settings:
Don't underestimate this initial setup. A well-configured site in GSC will be found and indexed much more efficiently by Google, which means better visibility for your business.
The performance report is your new obsession. Here you'll find real data about how your site appears on Google and how users interact with your results.
The most important data you'll see:
To get the most out of keyword analysis:
Step 1: Click the “Inquiries” tab to see exactly what people are looking for when they find your site.
Step 2: Sort by impressions to see the highest-volume searches.
Step 3: Look for keywords with a lot of impressions but few clicks (these are golden opportunities for improvement).
Step 4: Identify terms with high CTR to understand what type of content resonates best with your audience.
A trick that few people know: Use the date comparison feature to see seasonal trends or the impact of Google updates on your traffic.
The URL inspection tool allows you to see any page on your site exactly as Google sees it. It's like putting on Google glasses to examine your content.
To use this feature:
Step 1: In the top GSC search bar, paste the URL you want to inspect.
Step 2: Check if Google can access the page and if it's indexed.
Step 3: Examine the version that Google has saved and compare it with your current version.
Step 4: If you've made important changes, click “Request indexing” to ask Google to review the page again.
In 2025, Google is processing these requests much faster, but use them strategically:
This tool is especially useful when you're publishing new content or updating important pages and you want to make sure that Google sees the changes.
Core Web Vitals are metrics that Google uses to measure how good a user experience is on your site. In simple terms, they measure if your site loads fast and works well.
The three key metrics are:
To review your performance:
Step 1: Go to “Page Experience” in the GSC side menu.
Step 2: Review the “Core Web Vitals” report.
Step 3: Analyze mobile and desktop separately (mobile is more important because most traffic comes from phones).
Step 4: Identify problem pages and prioritize the most important pages for your business.
GSC will also alert you to mobile usability issues such as:
Don't ignore these reports. A better user experience not only improves your rankings, but it also turns more visitors into customers.
Link analysis in GSC helps you understand how the pages of your site are connected and who else on the internet is talking about you.
Internal links (links within your site):
Step 1: Go to “Links” > “Internal Links”.
Step 2: Identify pages that receive few internal links (these may need more attention).
Step 3: Check if you're distributing “authority” well among your most important pages.
A good internal link structure:
External links (backlinks from other sites):
Step 1: Go to “Links” > “External Links”.
Step 2: See which sites link to you and which pages of yours receive the most links.
Step 3: Review what text other sites use to link to you (this tells Google what your content is about).
Important note: GSC only shows you a sample of your backlinks, not all of them. For a complete analysis, combine it with specialized tools such as Ahrefs or Semrush.
Use this data to find opportunities to improve your internal links and to discover potential collaborations with sites that already know you.
The CTR (clickthrough rate) tells you how attractive your result is when it appears on Google. If your CTR is low, it means that people see you but don't click. That's a missed opportunity.
To improve your CTR:
Step 1: In the performance report, identify pages that appear in good positions (top 10) but have low CTR.
Step 2: Optimize your titles to make them more attractive:
Step 3: Improve your meta descriptions:
Practical trick: See the other results that appear next to yours on Google. What do they have that makes them more attractive? Learn from the competition.
Remember: it's not just about getting more clicks, it's about attracting people who really need what you offer.
Crawl errors are like obstacles that prevent Google from exploring your site properly. If Google can't access your pages, it can't position them.
Common problems you'll encounter:
To solve these problems:
Step 1: Go to the “Coverage” report and check the pages with errors.
Step 2: Prioritize errors on important pages (use Google Analytics to see which ones get the most traffic).
Step 3: For important 404 pages, create a 301 redirect to a similar or relevant page.
Step 4: For server errors, contact your technical team or hosting provider.
Step 5: Review your robots.txt file to make sure you're not blocking valuable content.
Spend time each month reviewing and correcting these errors. Accumulated technical problems can cause Google to lose confidence in the quality of your site.
Structured data is code that helps Google better understand your content. When you implement them correctly, you can achieve rich results that make your listing stand out more on Google.
How to review your structured data in GSC:
Step 1: Go to the “Improvements” section and review the different categories (articles, products, FAQs, etc.).
Step 2: Identify errors or warnings in your implementation.
Step 3: Use Google's rich results testing tool to validate corrections.
Most useful types of structured data in 2026:
To implement structured data properly:
Rich results can significantly increase your CTR without needing to improve your position in Google. It's an easy win that many sites don't take advantage of.
Manual actions are penalties that Google's human team applies when they detect that your site violates their quality guidelines. GSC will immediately notify you if this occurs.
How to handle manual actions:
Step 1: Regularly review the “Manual Actions” section in GSC.
Step 2: If you receive a penalty:
The security report alerts you to serious problems such as:
If you receive security alerts:
Step 1: Act immediately to protect your users.
Step 2: It identifies and removes all malicious code.
Step 3: Strengthen your site's security:
Step 4: Ask Google for a review after you've fixed everything.
Do not take these warnings lightly. Security issues don't just destroy your SEO, but they can completely ruin the trust your users have in your brand.
To become an expert using GSC, you need to know what metrics really matter and how to use them to make intelligent decisions.
How to correlate metrics for valuable insights:
To create an improvement plan based on real data:
Step 1: Establish your current baseline
Step 2: Prioritize the Most Promising Opportunities
Step 3: Create specific and measurable objectives
Practical tip: Create a document or spreadsheet where you write down your monthly GSC KPIs. This will allow you to identify trends and demonstrate the real impact of your SEO work.
GSC is powerful, but its value multiplies when you combine it strategically with other tools.
Integrations that really make a difference:
Google Sheets: Export GSC data and create customized dashboards where you can do deeper analysis and historical monitoring.
Google Data Studio (now Looker Studio): Combine data from GSC, Google Analytics, and other sources to create visual dashboards that show the full picture of your performance.
Professional SEO tools: Use Semrush, Ahrefs, or similar to supplement GSC data with competition analysis and discovery of new keyword opportunities.
WordPress and other CMS: Plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math integrate GSC data directly into your administration panel, facilitating daily optimization.
If you have access to technical resources, consider using the GSC API to:
Practical example: Set up a Google Sheets sheet that automatically imports your weekly GSC KPIs. This will give you a complete history that you can analyze to detect trends that aren't obvious in the standard interface.
Maintaining a technically healthy website in 2025 requires a systematic approach. Establishing maintenance routines using GSC is crucial for long-term success.
Quarterly Audit Plan That Actually Works:
Month 1 - Week 1: Technical Health
Month 1 - Week 2: Performance Analysis
Month 2 - Week 3: Data-Based Optimization
Month 3 - Week 4: Strategic Planning
Set up automatic alerts to receive immediate notifications about:
Document each audit in a master file. This will allow you to identify recurring patterns and demonstrate the value of your SEO work with concrete data.
GSC has evolved dramatically in recent years, and 2025 marks an important turning point in how digital marketing professionals use this tool.
Key trends that are redefining GSC:
Embedded artificial intelligence: GSC now offers you personalized recommendations based on the automatic analysis of your site. Instead of just showing you data, it suggests specific actions that can improve your performance.
Approach focused on user experience: Core Web Vitals reports have become more detailed and actionable, reflecting that Google increasingly values the real user experience over traditional technical factors.
More granular data on search intent: GSC now provides better insights into what users are actually looking for, allowing you to optimize for specific needs instead of just keywords.
Seamless integration with the Google ecosystem: The connection between GSC, GA4, Google Ads and other Google tools is more fluid, facilitating a comprehensive analysis of your digital presence.
To keep up to date with GSC news:
Google Search Console isn't just another tool in your digital marketing arsenal. It's your direct connection to Google's mind, your guide to understanding what users are really looking for, and your early warning system for problems that could sink you in search results.
In 2025, mastering GSC isn't optional for anyone who wants to succeed online. It's the difference between navigating blindly and having an accurate GPS that guides you to success.
Your next step is simple: open Google Search Console now, review your most recent data, and identify a specific improvement you can implement this week. Success in SEO doesn't come from knowing all the strategies, but from consistently applying what you learn.
Have you been interested? Go much deeper and turn your career around. Industry professionals and an incredible community are waiting for you.