The Google Search Console is a useful tool for obtaining necessary information about a site, correcting errors and doing everything possible to increase its visibility in search results.
Unfortunately, the console interface is complicated, and the help section can confuse even more, so not all webmasters are aware of the capabilities of such a service and can use it correctly.
We will go through the main tabs and settings of the Google Search Console to clarify the situation. You need a Google account to use the console. If you have one, follow the link to the main page of the console.
First, you should add a site and confirm your rights to it. There are some special ways to perform. The suggested method is to upload the Html file to the site folder. If for some reason you cannot do this, use one of the alternative methods.
To confirm the site, you must copy the proposed meta tag and paste it between “the” and “tags” in the site code. If the site uses WordPress, the tag can be found in the header.php file in the template editor.
You can also use Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager accounts to simplify the process. Another way is confirmation of rights using a domain registrar.
On the next page, a summary opens in front of us.
While there is no information in it since Google displays data with some delay. Therefore, even if the site is already indexed, you will have to wait 2-3 days before the statistics appear.
At the top, you’ll see a welcome message from Google with recommendations. Before looking at each section, let’s move on to the settings.
Search Console Settings
If you do not want to receive email notifications from the Search Console, do not check the box. But it is better not to do this – you can skip an important message (about viruses on the site, sanctions, access errors, etc.).
Site settings – Digital Agency London
The main domain and the scanning frequency are indicated here.
Each site initially has two versions: www.site.ru and site.ru. The information on them completely coincides, but for search engines, these are different sites. To avoid duplication, one domain is selected as the main, and the second is simply glued to it.
Now, when accessing a non-primary domain, it will be redirected to the primary. Choose the option that you prefer to see in the search. In this case, you will need to set up call forwarding.
Please note that you cannot determine the primary domain until you add both versions of the site (with and without www) and confirm the rights to them. Another item in the settings is changing the frequency of a site’s crawl by a robot.
It is recommended to choose the first option: at the discretion of Google. But if your hoster periodically sends letters about exceeding the server load limit, you can temporarily limit the scanning speed to solve the problem.
Change of address
This section is used when changing a domain. The page explains what needs to be done when moving the site to avoid problems with Google.
Google Analytics Resource
If you’re already using the Google Analytics tool, link it to the Google Search Console and get more information about search traffic.
Users and Resource Owners
This tool is useful if, for example, you give a resource for promotion to another specialist or company. To add a new user, enter the address of his Gmail. In this case, you can set user rights. For example, with limited access, the user will not be able to carry out any actions on the site – only view some data.
When selling a site, they change the owner. To do this, go to “Resource Owner Management.” There is information about attempts to confirm the rights to the site: quantity, the result (successful/unsuccessful), method of confirmation and date.
Also here you can see the data of the current owners of the site and add a new one. Related users display Google’s site related resources (e.g. AdWords, YouTube, Google+). You can add a binding to a mobile application.
If you link the site and the application, Google will automatically index the application based on the site’s data and show it in a search for mobile devices. After adding a site in messages, a checklist appears on its promotion in the search. This is a list of the basic steps you should take to get you started.
Helpful hints
This tab shows errors in rich cards if you have any. Useful tips allow you to give the user even more information on request directly in the search results.
By clicking on the Create useful cards button, you will be taken to a page with instructions for creating cards.
They are sorted by content type (article, book, course, event, music, etc.) and by individual snippet elements (breadcrumbs, carousel, logo, etc.). The Google Search Console is a very cool free webmaster tool. It helps to identify errors on the site, get information about violations and security problems and provides a lot of useful statistics for analysis. Only here you can evaluate the look of the site in a Google search and take the necessary measures to make it more visible to the user.
Therefore, it is worth exploring the console interface. Moreover, it is not difficult.
