What Search Console can and cannot tell you
Search Console is Google’s free service for monitoring and troubleshooting a site’s presence in Google Search. It can show whether Google can crawl pages, report indexing problems and provide search performance data.
It is not a promise of traffic or ranking, and you do not have to use it to be eligible for Google Search.
Verify the right property
Ownership must be verified before private site data is available. Check that the property matches the real domain and protocol. A domain property can be a practical choice when you want coverage across protocols and subdomains.
Inspect the important URLs
The URL Inspection tool shows information about Google’s indexed version of a page and can test whether a live URL might be indexable. Use it for the homepage and priority service pages, especially after a launch or a material fix.
- Confirm the page is accessible
- Check the selected canonical
- Review indexing reasons
- Request indexing only after the page is ready
Submit and check the sitemap
A sitemap is hosted on the website and its location can be submitted through Search Console. It tells Google which URLs the site considers important, but it does not guarantee that every URL will be crawled or indexed.
Read performance in context
Queries, pages, impressions and clicks can help you see what is already earning visibility. New properties may take time to show data, and small numbers should not be turned into confident conclusions too quickly.