Getting found Google Search Console for business owners: what to check every month

Search Console isn’t just for specialists. It’s the most direct way to know whether your site works on Google, and the account should belong to your company. This guide explains how to set it up properly and what to check each month without getting lost in the details.

What it’s for (and what it isn’t)

Search Console shows data only Google has: the real searches you appear for, how many times you were seen and how many people clicked, which pages are in the index and why others aren’t. It also flags crawl errors, security issues and manual actions.

It doesn’t show what people do on your site (that’s what analytics is for), and it doesn’t guarantee rankings. It also doesn’t cover searches in other companies’ AI assistants.

Set it up properly from day one

1. Sign in with a Google account your company owns, not an employee’s personal account or your provider’s.
2. Create a “Domain” property (for example, yourcompany.com). It covers every variant: with and without www, http and https.
3. Verify it with a TXT record in your domain’s DNS. If you can’t access your DNS, that’s a sign you should take back that control.
4. Submit your sitemap. On WordPress it’s usually at yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml.
5. Give your provider user access with the permissions they need. Your company should remain the owner.

Performance data is kept for 16 months. If you switch providers and the property was theirs, you lose that history. That’s why the property should be yours.

The monthly check: four reports

1. Performance

Shows clicks, impressions, CTR (the share of impressions that become clicks) and average position, by query and by page. Compare the last month with the previous one and with the same month last year. Focus on searches that describe your services, not just your brand name.

2. Page indexing

Shows how many pages are indexed and why others aren’t. Don’t worry about pages excluded on purpose, such as search results or test pages. Do check whether an important page shows up as “Crawled – currently not indexed” or with an error.

3. Core Web Vitals

Groups your pages by loading experience, using real data from Chrome users, split by mobile and desktop. If you don’t get much traffic, the report may be empty, which is normal.

4. Security issues and manual actions

Both should say “No issues detected”. If something appears, it’s urgent: it may mean your site was hacked or penalized.

How to read the data without drawing the wrong conclusions

• Impressions can go up while clicks don’t: you’re showing up more, but in low positions or for less relevant searches.
• Average position is an average across many searches: one search at position 1 and another at 50 average out to 25.5.
• Week-to-week swings are normal. Look at trends over several months.
• A sharp drop after a redesign usually means URLs changed without redirects.

What to do with what you find

If a key page isn’t indexed, start with our guide on why your website isn’t showing up on Google. If you show up for relevant searches but get few clicks, review that page’s title and description. If you don’t show up for your services at all, the work is in site structure and content.

Frequently asked questions

Is Search Console free?

Yes. It’s a free Google tool.

Is it the same as Google Analytics?

No. Search Console shows how people find you on Google; analytics shows what they do on your site. They complement each other.

Can my provider have access?

Yes, and that’s normal. What matters is that your company owns the property and can remove access whenever it wants.