INTRODUCING GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE

Want to improve your website’s performance on Google? This guide will help you understand the basics of Google Search Console, including how to track your rankings, fix indexing issues, submit sitemaps, and optimize your site for better visibility. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to refine your SEO strategy, this crash course will show you proven methods to boost your search rankings!

4/3/20253 min read

Definition
Google Search Console is a free service by Google that enables website owners to monitor and optimize their site's presence in Google Search results. It offers tools to submit sitemaps, check indexing status, and identify issues affecting search performance. Additionally, users can analyze search traffic data, such as queries leading to their site, and receive alerts for problems like indexing errors or security concerns. This service is essential for understanding how Google views your site and for improving its visibility in search results. Google Help Wikipedia Google Help.

How to Get Started
1. Create an account.
The Impressions metric shows your website's average ranking in search results. It provides insights into the search queries people use to find your site, the specific pages they visit, the number of clicks each page receives, and the total impressions for each page. Google Search Console is a platform that allows you to monitor and analyze your website's SEO performance. It provides insights into how your site appears in Google Search results, offering data on search queries, rankings, clicks, and impressions. Essentially, it serves as an analytics tool focused on your site's visibility and interaction within Google's search engine.

2. Create a sitemap:
A sitemap helps Google understand your website structure and index your pages efficiently. Here’s how to create and submit one in Google Search Console:
1. Generate a Sitemap

You need a sitemap file (usually sitemap.xml). You can create it using:

WordPress plugins (e.g., Yoast SEO)
Online sitemap generators (e.g., XML-Sitemaps.com)
Manually coding an XML file (for advanced users)

2. Upload the Sitemap to Your Website

Place the sitemap.xml file in your website’s root directory (e.g., https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml).
Ensure the file is publicly accessible.

3. Submit the Sitemap in Google Search Console

Go to Google Search Console and sign in.
Select your website (property) from the dashboard.
Click "Sitemaps" in the left menu.
In the "Add a new sitemap" section, enter your sitemap URL (e.g., sitemap.xml).
Click "Submit" to notify Google.

4. Verify Submission

After submission, check the "Sitemap Status" for errors or warnings.
Google will periodically crawl and update your sitemap data.

Learn More

How to Create Sitemaps using YoastSEO
XML sitemaps in the YoastSEO plugin can be beneficial for SEO, as it allows search engines to find and crawl your most important pages. You can enable and view the XML sitemaps using the steps below:
1. Log in to your WordPress website.
2. Click on YoastSEO
3. Go to settings
4. Check for site features; in the API section, toggle the switch to on.
5. To view the sitemap, click on View the XML sitemap.

How to Add Your Site on Google Search Console
1. Click on Add Property.
2. Copy and paste your homepage URL into the "domain field."
3. Verify your site, which can be done through
a. HTML file: Upload a unique HTML file to your site.
b. CNAME or TXT Record: Add a special CNAME or TXT record to your domain settings.
c. HTML code snippet: Simply upload a small snippet of code (on an HTML tag) to the⁣ <head> section of your homepage's code.

Set Your Target Country
a. Your CCTLD (for example, co.ng for nigerian sites)
b. The address listed on your website.
3. Your server location.
4. The country you get the most backlinks from.
5. The language your content is written in.
6. Click the "international targeting" link under "search traffic."
7. Click the "country" tab.
8. Check the "target users in" box.
9. Select your target country from the drop-down box.

Link Google Analytics with Search Console
1. Open your Google Analytics.
2. Click on the "Admin" button.
3. Click on the "property settings" link.
4. Scroll until you see the "Adjust Search Console", click it.
5. Click on "Add."
6. Scroll till you find your website, check the box, and hit "save."
Analytics and search console are now linked.

Check for Security Issues
Check if you have any security issues that might be hurting your site's SEO.