Googles webmaster tools, or Search Console as it is now called, used to be primarily to ensure a site is indexed, submitting a sitemap and identifying 404s.
In recent years it has been padded out with more features making it even more important for a website to use as part of their marketing and general management strategy.
Following the implementation of SSL on the primary Google search, Google implemented search analytics into the Search Console, which allows you to see specific keywords you were found for as well as their average position.
As part of the continued expansion of the Search Console, Google has announced verified users will be able to access the new Search Performance, Index Coverage, AMP status and Job posting reports.
With this launch, the search performance report will have a year-plus of data, which has long been a priority request from the industry.
Google’s new Search Performance report is similar to the Search Analytics report, but it gives 16 months of data. The report lets you see clicks, impressions, CTR and average position. It also enables you to filter by web, image or video search results and segment by query, page, country or device type. Google indicates this data will also soon be available via the Search Console API.
The Index Coverage report is similar to the Index Status report: It shows webmasters how well Google is indexing their site. It lists properly indexed URLs and gives warnings about indexing issues — along with explanations for why Google is not indexing some URLs.
These new features will be of great benefit for both SEO companies such as ourselves and site owners. It will allow us to focus on keywords that are generating the most traffic and identify problem areas with websites.
If you have a website and don’t have access to your Search Console, we would be more than happy to help, and you can contact us via our contact page or on 01253 963016
