Google Search Console Tips
Google Search Console (previously called Webmaster Tools) is a free tool provided by Google for website owners to monitor performance and traffic. GSC also offers search engine optimization recommendations and fixes. Our SEO Office Hours recaps below cover a range of advice from Google to help you better understand and get the most out of this fundamental SEO tool.
Geo-targeting Doesn’t Restrict Pages to a Specific Country
Geo-targeting in Search Console indicates to Google that a page is more relevant for a specific country, and it may rank higher for local search queries, not that it will be removed for other countries.
Voice Queries Are Included in Search Console As Normal Queries
Voice queries appear in Search Console but they aren’t split out separately from other queries. Voice queries may be split out from typed queries at some point if this provides extra value for webmasters.
Not All Links Shown in Search Console
Not all links are shown in Search Console. Google tries to pick ones that are relevant and doesn’t include every example of a sitewide link.
URL Removal Tool Works for Any Domain
If a page has been removed from a site with a 404, you can use the URL removal tool to remove it from Google’s index, including other domains you don’t directly control.
Parameters Applied at Site Level Recommended as They Are Easier to Manage
John recommends applying parameters in Search Console at a site level as this is easier to manage than at a page level. However, if the same parameter changes the content on one page but is irrelevant on another then you will need to separate these in Search Console.
Use GSC Reports to Identify Trends Rather Than Absolute Values
Use reports in Search Console to identify trends rather than paying attention to the absolute numbers as these can take some time to update.
Ranking Fluctuations Between Different Countries Due to Differing Competition
It is common for ranking fluctuations to exist from country to country because of differences in the level of competition for these queries. You may consider splitting your site into individual country versions, using subdomains or subdirectories, if you have content specific to users in different countries. The target country for individual content can then be specified in GSC.
Site Removal Request is Fastest Way to Remove Site From Search
Disallowing a whole site won’t necessarily remove it from search. If the site has links pointing to it then Google may still index pages based on information from the anchor text. The fastest way to remove a site from search is using the site removal request in Search Console.
Avoid Internal Tracking Parameters or Make Google Aware in GSC
Internal links with parameters does affect crawling and indexing, as Googlebot could potentially be crawling a lot of URLs that lead to the same content and aren’t as useful for search. The parameter handling tool is GSC can be used in these cases to let Google know these parameters can be ignored or you can avoid using internal tracking parameters.
GSC Sitemaps Report Can Take Couple of Days to Update
Sitemaps report in GSC can take a couple of days to update after changes have been made to the sitemap and may explain why non-existent errors are reported.