In short
- It is free and comes from Google: searches, clicks, impressions and average position.
- It flags indexing errors, mobile, speed and security issues.
- You verify your site with a DNS record or a file or tag on the website.
- It doesn't replace Analytics: Search Console covers what happens before the click.
What Search Console is used for
- Seeing which searches your website appears for, with impressions, clicks and average position.
- Checking which pages Google has indexed and why others were left out.
- Submitting your sitemap so Google finds all your pages.
- Asking Google to crawl a page that is new or updated.
- Getting alerts about security issues, manual actions (penalties) or serious errors.
- Checking your Core Web Vitals and mobile experience.
- Seeing which websites link to you.
How to add your website step by step
- Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with a Google account (ideally a business one rather than a personal one).
- Choose the property type. Domain covers every version (with and without www, http and https, subdomains) and is verified with a TXT record in your DNS. URL prefix covers only that exact address and offers more verification methods.
- Verify ownership. For Domain, copy the TXT record and add it wherever you manage your domain. For URL prefix, upload an HTML file, add a meta tag or use your Google Analytics or Tag Manager account.
- Under Sitemaps, submit your sitemap address (usually yourdomain.es/sitemap.xml).
- Add the people who work on your website as users, with restricted permissions if they don't need full access.
The reports worth checking
| Report | What it tells you | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Queries, clicks, impressions, CTR and average position | Spot searches with lots of impressions but few clicks and improve those titles |
| Pages (indexing) | Which pages are indexed, which aren't and why | Fix 404 errors, redirects or pages blocked by mistake |
| URL inspection | How Google sees a specific page | Check a new page and request indexing |
| Sitemaps | Whether Google can read your sitemap | Resubmit it if you change your site structure |
| Core Web Vitals | Good, needs improvement or poor pages | Prioritise speed fixes |
| Links | Sites linking to you and your most-linked pages | Keep an eye on your backlinks |
| Security and manual actions | Hacks or penalties | Act straight away if anything appears |
The Performance report keeps 16 months of data, so you can compare with the same period last year.
Search Console vs Google Analytics
| Search Console | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Your presence in Google's results | What visitors do on your website |
| When | Before the click | After the click |
| Sources | Google Search only | All of them: Google, social, ads, email, direct |
| Example | You appeared 2,000 times for "inheritance lawyer spain" | Visitors spent one minute on the inheritance page |
Ideally, use both and link them together.
A quick win for more clicks
In Performance, switch on all four metrics and sort queries by impressions. Look for queries with lots of impressions, an average position between 5 and 15 and a low CTR. Google is already showing you there, but nobody clicks: rewriting that page's title and description, or improving its content, often brings visits within weeks. This is exactly the kind of opportunity we list in an SEO audit, along with every technical issue on your site. If you're just starting, read keyword research too.
FAQ
Is Google Search Console free?
Yes, completely. You just need a Google account and to verify that the website is yours.
What is the difference between Search Console and Analytics?
Search Console shows how you appear in Google before the click; Analytics shows what visitors do on your site once they arrive, wherever they come from.
Does Search Console improve rankings?
Not on its own, but it shows the errors holding you back and the searches where you can improve, which is the starting point for any SEO work.
How long until it shows data?
The first data usually appears within a few days of verifying the property. History starts from that moment.
What is Google telling you about your site?
We review Search Console, the technical side and your content, and give you a prioritised list of fixes. From €90.
See SEO audit