Google Search Console user guide: Step by step for beginners

Google Search Console is a free Google tool showing how a website appears in Google search, which queries generate clicks, and which pages cannot be indexed. To start using it, verify website ownership, submit the sitemap, and then read a few basic reports at regular intervals.

This guide explains in sequence which screens a business owner or website administrator opening Search Console for the first time should examine and why. Property type selection, verification methods, Performance and Page indexing reports, URL Inspection, Core Web Vitals, the generative AI report opened to all websites in 2026, and older reports no longer available are covered in separate sections.

What does Google Search Console do?

Google Search Console shows the website’s status on Google’s side: visibility in search results, crawling and indexing problems, security warnings, and structural shortcomings Google detects on the website. It does not show what visitors do after entering the website; that question belongs to Google Analytics.

This distinction is what beginners most often confuse. Search Console describes the part up to someone seeing and clicking a search result; Analytics measures the session, page navigation, and conversions after the click. The two can be linked, but neither substitutes for the other.

Google Search Console is meaningful for websites of every size. Even on a corporate website with a few pages, the homepage dropping from the index or the website being attacked and producing spam pages is first noticed through Search Console warnings.

Should you choose a Domain or URL-prefix property?

When first adding a website, choose one of two property types; this determines which addresses reports cover. The comparison below summarizes their differences:

For most businesses, the most organized approach in a Google Search Console account is to use the Domain property as the main view and, if necessary, add a URL-prefix property for the website’s actual address alongside it. This provides both the full picture and continued access to tools that work only with URL-prefix properties.

How is website ownership verified?

Because Search Console data is private, Google does not open reports before ownership is proved. According to Google’s ownership verification documentation, the main methods available are:

• DNS record: Add the TXT record Google provides to the domain provider’s panel; this is the mandatory method for Domain properties.
• HTML file upload: Upload Google’s provided file unchanged to the website’s root directory; this cannot be used for Domain properties.
• HTML tag: Add a meta tag to the homepage’s head section; in WordPress, this is usually done through the SEO plugin’s settings field.
• Google Analytics or Tag Manager: If the page already has tracking code for which you have access permission, verification is completed through that code.

An important note in the documentation is that defining multiple methods simultaneously is safe. If a theme change deletes the meta tag or tracking code is removed, verification is lost; a second method preserves access in that situation. When taking over a website from another agency or employee, removing previous owners’ verification records is also a security step that must not be missed.

Which metrics are read in the Performance report?

The Performance report shows website impressions in Google search, clicks, their ratio CTR, and average position. The default view covers the last three months; the date range and search type (web, image, video, news) are changed through the filters at the top.

The report’s strength lies in its dimensions. Queries separates the searches where the website appears, Pages shows which URLs receive traffic, and Countries and Devices distinguish where the audience comes from and which devices they use. A page with high impressions but few clicks may indicate its title and description need rewriting.

Average position needs careful interpretation. Google’s help page notes that search results vary with a person’s location, device, and history, so the website may not appear when a query shown in the report is searched manually. Looking at weekly or monthly trends is healthier than the instantaneous ranking of one query.