Search Console
Google Search Console ↗
Google Search Console is a free tool for search performance and indexing diagnostics. Search-result interactions and on-site behavior are different measurements, so interpret Search Console separately from GA4.
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27 terms
Search Console
Domain Property ↗
A Domain property groups a domain’s subdomains and protocols in Search Console. Verification normally uses DNS; both TXT and CNAME instructions are supported, rather than TXT alone.
Search Console
URL-prefix Property ↗
URL prefix properties are a type of property that monitors only a range of URL paths that you specify in Search Console. Ownership can be verified using meta tags or HTML files without DNS, making registration easy and useful when analyzing only specific sections.
Search Console
Site Ownership Verification ↗
Site ownership verification proves control of a site in Search Console. Use a method supported by the property type, meet its permissions and installation requirements, and retain the verification token.
Search Console
Performance Report ↗
The Search Console search performance report analyzes clicks, impressions, CTR and average position. Query data is aggregated and partly withheld; it is not a complete history of every user search.
Search Console
Search Results Report ↗
The search results report is a report that checks the search performance of a website, including search exposure and clicks, in Google Search Console.
Search Console
Discover Report ↗
The Discover report shows clicks, impressions and CTR from Google Discover. Availability requires a minimum impression threshold; a single impression does not necessarily create the report.
Search Console
Average CTR ↗
Average CTR is total clicks divided by total impressions in the selected scope. It is not the simple mean of page-level CTRs, and a low value alone does not establish a title problem.
Search Console
Average Position ↗
Average position averages the topmost position of the property or page for each impression. It combines different queries and contexts, rather than representing a fixed keyword rank.
Search Console
Query ↗
Search Console search terms are text that users actually enter into Google and then your site is exposed. It complements the ‘(not provided)’ problem of GA4 and is the most accurate data source for understanding actual demand.
Search Console
Search Appearance ↗
Search appearance is an analysis dimension in Search Console that determines which search features or result types a page appears in.
Search Console
Indexing ↗
Indexing is the process of analyzing pages retrieved by search engines and storing them as information to be used in searches. Crawling by visiting a page and displaying results for a specific search term are two separate steps.
Search Console
Index Coverage ↗
Search Console’s current Page indexing report separates Indexed and Not indexed URLs and explains reasons. Do not confuse it with the old Valid, Warning, Error and Excluded buckets.
Search Console
URL Inspection ↗
URL Inspection provides indexed information and a live test of a URL’s accessibility and processing. These are different states, and neither guarantees search visibility.
Search Console
Crawling ↗
Crawling is the process by which automated programs, such as search engines, send requests to URLs to retrieve pages and related resources. Not all pages we collect are indexed or appear in search results.
Search Console
Googlebot ↗
Googlebot is the main search engine crawler used by Google Search to crawl and render web pages. It uses a mobile-first crawling method, and robots.txt·robots meta tag·server response code determines the scope of access.
Search Console
Crawl Stats ↗
Crawling statistics is a report in Search Console that shows Googlebot's site crawling frequency, response code, and response time for 90 days. Used to diagnose server errors or causes of crawl budget waste from a server-side perspective.
Search Console
XML Sitemap ↗
An XML sitemap is a file that provides a list of major URLs of a site that search engines should discover in XML format. It does not guarantee indexing and is an auxiliary signal to help URL discovery. The principle is to include only representative canonical URLs and manage them as accessible URLs with a status code of 200 and URLs excluding noindex.
Search Console
Robots.txt ↗
robots.txt is a text file at a site’s root that tells supporting crawlers which paths they may crawl. Blocking crawling does not guarantee removal from search results, and an accidentally deployed Disallow rule can block an entire site.
Search Console
Security Issues ↗
Security issues are items that appear when Search Console detects hacking, malware, or phishing on your site. You should check for CMS plugin vulnerabilities immediately upon detection and submit a review request, as search results will display a warning label and a blocking screen will appear in Chrome.
Search Console
Manual Actions ↗
A manual action follows a Google human reviewer’s finding of spam-policy violations. It may affect some or all search visibility. Fixing issues permits a review request, but does not guarantee removal.
Search Console
Page Experience ↗
Page experience is the overall quality of reading and using a page. Assess speed, stability, security, mobile presentation and interruptions rather than reducing it to one score or ranking signal.
Search Console
Mobile Usability ↗
Mobile usability describes how easily people can read, navigate, and complete tasks on a small screen. Search Console’s Mobile Usability report and the Mobile-Friendly Test were retired in December 2023.
Search Console
Rich Results ↗
Rich results are a supported search format in Google Search that shows additional information, such as products and reviews, in addition to plain text links.