Google Search Console

How do I set up Google Search Console?

Sign in to Search Console with a Google account, add your website address as a “property,” and verify that you own that address. That's all it takes. A property is the unit Search Console uses to collect and show data. Even after verification, it can take a few days for the Performance report to fill in.

For a business website, the most important thing is to make a Google account in your own name the “Owner.” Your web agency can see the same screens once you add them as a user. That way the data and access stay with you even if you switch agencies or the contract ends.

It's best to register on the day your website goes live. From day one there's a record of which pages Google visits and when, which gives you a baseline to compare against if a problem shows up later.

1. 01Sign in with your business Google account and go to search.google.com/search-console.
2. 02Under “Add property,” choose either a Domain property or a URL-prefix property and enter your website address.
3. 03Follow the instructions to verify ownership. A Domain property requires adding a verification TXT record in your domain's management panel (DNS).
4. 04In the “Sitemaps” menu, enter your sitemap address (usually yourbusiness.kr/sitemap.xml) and submit it.
5. 05Enter your front page address in the search bar at the top to run a URL Inspection, and if it isn't indexed yet, click “Request indexing.”
6. 06Under “Settings > Users and permissions,” add your agency's account with only the permissions it needs.
7. 07A few days later, check whether impression and click numbers have started appearing in the “Performance” report.

What's the difference between a Domain property and a URL-prefix property?

A Domain property covers every address under one domain at once, while a URL-prefix property covers only pages that start with the exact address you enter. For example, if you register gage.kr as a Domain property, addresses with and without www, and both http and https, all show up in one view.

A URL-prefix property needs the exact starting address, like https://www.gage.kr/, so versions with or without www, or with http vs. https, have to be registered separately. On the plus side, you can verify ownership by adding a verification file or tag to your website, which is handy when it's hard to get into your domain's management panel.

For a business website, a safe approach is to see everything through one Domain property and add a URL-prefix property when you need it. Registering both is fine, too.

How do I read clicks, impressions and position in the Performance report?

The Performance report shows how you're doing in Google Search with four numbers: clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR) and average position. Impressions are how many times your page appeared in search results, clicks are how many of those were actually clicked, and CTR is clicks divided by impressions.

Average position is roughly where your page appeared in search results, on average. Because it's an average across many different search terms, you can't look at that one number and conclude “our business ranks at position X.” For an accurate picture, break it down by search term in the “Queries” tab.

When your page shows up as a link in Google's AI Overviews or AI Mode, that's also counted in the “Web” search type performance. The most recent data is still being collected and is preliminary, so it may change a few hours later.

For example, if a flower shop gets lots of impressions but a low CTR for the search “Hapjeong same-day bouquet,” it could try adding “same-day pickup available” to the page title and description shown in search results. If, on the other hand, it gets plenty of clicks but phone calls don't increase, it's time to rework the information and buttons on the page itself.

My page isn't showing up on Google. What should I check in Search Console?

Start by entering that page's address in the search bar at the top to run a URL Inspection. It shows whether Google knows about the page, whether it's been indexed and, if not, why.

The “Pages” report under Indexing sorts all of your website's pages into indexed and not indexed, grouped by reason. Not every missing page is a problem. Admin pages you hid on purpose, or other addresses with the same content, are supposed to be left out.

Requesting indexing is just a signal that says “please take another look.” It isn't a button that puts the page in search right away. Requesting the same page several times won't speed it up either, so fix the cause, request once and wait.

• noindex tag: The page still carries a “don't put me in search” tag. This often happens when test settings from before launch weren't removed.
• Blocked by robots.txt: The path is blocked in the file that tells crawlers where they may and may not go.
• Canonical selection: There are several similar pages, and Google picked a different address as the main (canonical) one.
• Discovered, currently not indexed: Google knows the address but hasn't read the page yet. If your website is new, give it time and keep an eye on it.

What are the most common Search Console mistakes?

The most common mistake is registering only under the agency's account, so you have no access yourself. If you lose touch with the agency, you can't see the data or transfer access, and you have to start over with ownership verification.

Staff or marketing people can be added as users with “Full” or “Restricted” permission. Keep yourself as the owner and grant or remove access only as needed; that's the easiest way to manage it.

• Submitting the sitemap once at the start and ignoring errors like “Couldn't fetch”
• Page addresses changed when the website was rebuilt, but the setting that forwards old addresses to the new ones (redirects) was left out
• Judging whether things are good or bad from average position alone
• Not reading the email alerts Search Console sends

What should I ask my web agency about Search Console?

Three questions are enough: “Is Search Console owner access on my account?”, “What's the sitemap address, and has it been submitted?” and “After launch, who checks performance, and how often?”

What should I check in Search Console once a month?

10 minutes a month is enough. Compare last month with this month in the Performance report, skim the top 10 search terms, and check the “Pages” report for any new errors.

The search term list shows you exactly how customers phrase things. For a Pilates studio, if terms like “prenatal Pilates” or “1:1 trial class” show up, add information or a Q&A covering them to your website.

In months when something changed at your business, like a price increase, new closing days or a new menu, also look at how impressions and clicks changed for that page. If the numbers dropped sharply, use URL Inspection to check whether the address changed or the page fell out of the index.