How to set up Google Search Console, and what to check each month

What Search Console is, and what it isn't

Google describes Search Console as "a free service offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google Search results." In plain terms, it's the one place where Google itself tells you which searches showed your website, how often people clicked, which of your pages it has indexed and whether it has found a problem.

It's worth being clear about what it doesn't do. Google says "You don't have to sign up for Search Console to be included in Google Search results." Setting it up won't lift your rankings on its own. What it gives you is evidence: instead of guessing why enquiries from search have gone quiet, you can see whether your pages are still indexed and whether people are still finding them.

Most small businesses either never set it up, or had a developer set it up years ago in an account nobody can find. Both are easy to fix. This guide covers setting it up properly, the two reports that matter most, and a short monthly check you can do yourself.

Set it up in your business's name

Search Console offers two kinds of property. A URL-prefix property covers one exact version of your address, such as https://www. A Domain property is broader: Google says it "Includes all subdomains (m, www, and so on) and multiple protocols (http, https, ftp)." For most service businesses, a Domain property is the simpler choice because it captures everything under your domain in one place.

The trade-off is verification. "A Domain property requires you to verify ownership using DNS record verification," which means adding a short text record wherever your domain is managed, such as your registrar or hosting provider. If that sounds unfamiliar, it's usually a quick job for whoever manages your domain, and it's worth doing once properly.

Do it from a Google account your business controls, not a staff member's personal login or your agency's account. The owner role matters because, in Google's words, "You can grant permissions to other users only if you are a property owner." Keep ownership yourself and add your agency or developer as a user. A full user can see all the data and take some actions, while a restricted user has "simple view rights on most data." If someone else set the property up and you're not an owner, ask them to add you as one before anything else.

Keep readingKeep your marketing accounts in your business's name

Submit a sitemap, then check which pages are indexed

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages you want Google to know about. Google is clear that it's helpful rather than essential: pages can be discovered without it, but "submitting a sitemap using Search Console might speed up your site's discovery." Many website platforms create one for you automatically, and Google notes that hosts such as Squarespace or Wix "probably manage your sitemap for you." If yours is at an address like /sitemap.xml, submit it once in the Sitemaps report and check it reads without errors.

Next, open the Page indexing report. Don't panic if it shows some pages as not indexed. Google's stated aim is narrower than "everything": "Your goal is to get the canonical version of every important page indexed. Duplicate or alternate pages shouldn't be indexed." What you're really checking is whether your homepage, each service page and your contact page are indexed. It's normal to see old test pages, duplicates and filtered URLs listed as "not indexed".

Some statuses sound worse than they are. For pages marked "Crawled - currently not indexed", Google says "It may or may not be indexed in the future; no need to resubmit this URL for crawling." If an important service page sits there for months, that's a sign to make the page more useful and distinct, not to keep pressing buttons.

Read the Performance report without fooling yourself

The Performance report is where the useful numbers live. By default it shows "click and impression data for your site in Google Search results for the past three months." Four figures sit at the top: clicks (people who clicked through to your site), impressions (how often your site appeared in results), click-through rate (clicks divided by impressions) and average position.

Average position is easy to misread. Google defines it as "The average position of the topmost result from your site," averaged across every search where you appeared. It's a trend to watch over months, not a rank to quote. It also explains a common frustration: you search for yourself and can't find the result Search Console reports, because "Search results are specific to the time, place, device, and recent history of the person searching." Searching your own business from your office isn't a reliable test.

The most practical view is the Pages tab, filtered to your service pages, with the Queries tab to see what people actually typed. As a hypothetical example, a plumber might find their hot water page appears thousands of times a month for "hot water repairs" but is rarely clicked. That's a prompt to check its title and description reflect what searchers want. A page that barely appears at all usually needs better, more specific content first. Either way, clicks aren't enquiries, so tie the trend back to the enquiries you actually receive.

Keep readingConnect search data to real enquiries

Use URL Inspection when one page matters

When you publish a new service page or fix an important one, the URL Inspection tool shows what Google currently knows about that exact address: whether it's indexed, when it was last crawled and which canonical it chose. You can also test the live page and request indexing.

Two limits are worth knowing. First, "There is a daily limit of inspection requests for each property that you own," so save requests for pages that genuinely matter rather than resubmitting your whole site. Second, a pass isn't a promise: Google notes that "URL is on Google" "doesn't guarantee that your page is appearing in Search results." Requesting indexing asks Google to look. It doesn't make a page rank.

A short monthly check

You don't need to live in Search Console. Google itself says "There is no need to sign in to the tool every day. If new issues are found by Google on your site, you'll receive an email from Search Console alerting you." It suggests you "might want to check your account around once every month, or when you make changes to the site's content." That rhythm suits most small businesses. Make sure the alert emails go to an inbox someone actually reads, then work through this list once a month:

• Read any messages, and confirm the Manual actions and Security issues reports show no problems.
• In Page indexing, check your homepage, service pages and contact page are still indexed.
• In Performance, compare the last three months with the previous period for clicks and impressions.
• On the Pages tab, note which service pages gained or lost visibility, and glance at the queries behind them.
• Review Users and permissions, and remove anyone who no longer works on your site.
• Write down one action for the month, such as improving a page that appears often but is rarely clicked.

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