Search Console and indexing analytics

Articles

• Bing Webmaster Tools setup guide

  Tutorial

  Set up Bing Webmaster Tools, verify your site, submit sitemaps, and use IndexNow for near-real-time indexing alongside your Google Search Console work.

• Google Discover versus Search explained

  Reference guide

  Google Discover versus Search explained: interest-based feed, no queries, eligibility signals, and why standard SEO advice does not apply.

• When and how to request indexing in Google

  Reference guide

  Requesting indexing in Search Console: when it helps, the URL inspection rate limit, and why a sitemap beats repeated clicks for bulk.

• Internal link audit, the how-to that fixes crawl flow

  Tutorial

  Internal link analysis for SEO: crawl, count in-links, find orphans and thin targets, and apply a link plan that helps crawl and index.

• Orphan pages and why they hold back indexing

  Troubleshooting guide

  Orphan pages have no internal links and rarely index; how to find them, why they stay out of the index, and how to link them back in.

• Clearing a cached URL in Search Console

  Troubleshooting guide

  Use Search Console clear cached URL to refresh stale cache, remove outdated titles and snippets shown in results, and understand its limits.

• Diagnosing a sudden drop in clicks in Search Console

  Troubleshooting guide

  Diagnose a sudden Search Console clicks drop: check indexing, rankings, coverage and measurement to find the real cause.

• Comparing date ranges in the Search Console performance report

  Reference guide

  Use Search Console performance compare: set a reference period, pick weekly or monthly granularity, and read the difference column for real change.

• Using the Search Console Core Web Vitals report

  Reference guide

  Search Console Core Web Vitals report: what the good / not-good grouping means, CrUX field data, and how to prioritise fixes.

• Search Console crawl stats, the honest crawl health picture

  Reference guide

  Search Console crawl stats: what crawl and crawl requests measure, normal patterns, and what to do when crawls stop.

• Exporting Search Console data at scale

  Tutorial

  Export Search Console data at scale: interface export limits, the Search Analytics API and row limits, and BigQuery bulk export.

• Reading the Search Console Discover report

  Reference guide

  Reading the Search Console Discover report: what the feed metrics mean, why there is no query dimension, and how to report on page and country.

• Managing Search Console email notifications

  Tutorial

  Manage Search Console email notifications, set recipients, and react to the alerts that signal indexing or security changes.

• Using the Search Console enhancements reports

  Reference guide

  Search Console enhancement reports: supported rich result types, what item-level feedback means, and how to fix issues.

• Using the Search Console external links report

  Tutorial

  The Search Console external links report: what it shows, how to read it for link trends, and the sampling and consolidation caveats.

• Linking Search Console to Google Analytics 4

  Tutorial

  Link Google Search Console to GA4: Admin product links, select the stream, publish the Search Console collection, and understand which dimensions line up.

• Why Search Console and GA4 traffic numbers differ

  Reference guide

  Understand why Search Console clicks and GA4 sessions do not match, what each metric measures, and how to reconcile organic traffic across both tools.

• Setting up Google Search Console for a website

  Tutorial

  Google Search Console setup: domain and URL-prefix property types, DNS and HTML file verification, and adding users with the right roles.

• Search Console says indexed but page not showing

  Troubleshooting guide

  Diagnose pages Google shows as indexed that are not in results: query mismatch, competing pages, quality signals, and how to use URL inspection.

• Search Console indexing analysis workflow

  Reference guide

  Search Console indexing analysis workflow: start from Pages report reasons, sample URLs, find shared causes and measure the fix.

• Google Indexing API for Search Console

  Reference guide

  Google Indexing API explained: the JobPosting and BroadcastEvent limits, the 200 per day quota, and why it is not a page-notify tool.

• Search Console basics for non-search people

  Reference guide

  Search Console basics for non-search people: why the Pages and URL inspection reports exist, what the numbers mean and what to ignore.

• Search Console Manual Actions explained

  Troubleshooting guide

  The Search Console Manual Actions report: where it is, the issue types, whether it counts as a penalty, and how to request a review after fixing the cause.

• Mobile usability after the Search Console report retired

  Reference guide

  The Mobile Usability report and Mobile-Friendly Test are gone. Here is what replaced them and how to audit mobile readiness with Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals instead.

• Search Console Pages report, the crawl and index health check

  Reference guide

  Search Console Pages report: indexed versus not-indexed buckets, common reasons, and turning page-level causes into site-wide fixes.

• Search Console performance report filters

  Reference guide

  Search Console performance report filters explained: search type, date range, page and query filters, custom filters, and the traps when combining them.

• Reading the Search Console performance report

  Reference guide

  Reading the Search Console performance report: clicks, impressions, CTR, position, date range, and filtering guidance for non-search people.

• Referring Pages report (retired Link report)

  Reference guide

  The retired Referring Pages legacy report in Search Console Links, what it counted, and how to get backlink and internal-link data now.

• Search Console Removals tool explained

  Troubleshooting guide

  The Search Console Removals tool temporarily hides URLs for about six months; make removal permanent with 404, 410 or noindex before the window lapses.

• Rich Results status troubleshooting

  Troubleshooting guide

  Rich Results status troubleshooting: eligible vs enhanced, item errors, why pages drop out, and the retest workflow.

• The Rich Results Test for structured data validation

  Tutorial

  Rich Results Test guide: test a live URL or code snippet, read eligible versus warnings versus errors, and retest after markup fixes.

• Search query coverage in Search Console

  Reference guide

  Search query coverage: reading search terms and queries in Search Console to find coverage gaps and decide which pages to build next.

• Understanding Search Console search types

  Reference guide

  Understand Search Console search types (Web, Image, Video, News, Discover) and what each filter shows in properties and reports.

• Search Console Security Issues report and review

  Troubleshooting guide

  Locate the Search Console Security Issues report, understand the issue types, clean affected URLs, and request a review to clear hacked or phishing warnings.

• Search Console performance segmentation

  Tutorial

  Search Console performance segmentation: slice clicks and impressions by page, query, device, country and date to find real trends.

• Sitemap error debugging

  Troubleshooting guide

  Debug Search Console sitemap errors: common error causes, how to verify Google read your sitemap, and fixes for count and fetch problems.

• Sitemap ping removal and alternative-language sitemap annotations

  Reference guide

  Sitemap ping is gone: submit through Search Console or robots.txt, keep lastmod accurate, and mark alternative languages with xhtml sitemap annotations.

• Interpreting the Search Console Sitemaps report

  Reference guide

  Learn to read Google Search Console's Sitemaps report, status meanings, page counts, and how to fix submission errors.

• Sudden traffic spike in Search Console

  Troubleshooting guide

  Diagnose a sudden jump in a Search Console page property's clicks, impressions or CTR and separate real wins from data issues.

• URL Inspection APIs and programmatic coverage checks

  Tutorial

  Use the Search Console Content API and Indexing API to automate URL inspection coverage checks, fetch live index state and re-request indexing at scale.

• URL Inspection versus the live test in Search Console

  Reference guide

  URL Inspection versus the live test in Search Console: what each shows, why the live version can differ, and how to request indexing.

• Using Search Console URL inspection

  Tutorial

  How to use Search Console URL inspection to check a page's index status, run the live URL test and read what the result cards mean.

• Search Console URL-prefix vs domain property

  Reference guide

  Search Console domain vs URL-prefix property scope, verification methods, data differences and the accuracy note about multiple properties.

• Using the Search Console video indexing report

  Tutorial

  Read the Search Console video index report: statuses, why videos stay unindexed, VideoObject tips and the revalidation path after a fix.

• Submitting your sitemap to Google

  Tutorial

  Submit an XML sitemap to Google in Search Console, read the success or error response, and fix the common submission mistakes.