Hi there!
I'm Benjamin from Loves Data and in this video we're going to explore the new version of
Google Search Console.
We're going to look at the new interface, the most important changes you should be aware
of and how you can use the 'Performance' report to optimize the content on your website.
The new version is rolling out globally and Google says it's been designed to "simplify
the process of optimizing a website's presence on Google Search".
So let's take a look at the new Google Search Console and how we can use it.
Let's get started!
// Here's a quick summary of the changes you'll see in the new Google Search Console...
It's a complete redesign to make it easier to optimize your website.
There's now 16 months of data available which means you can perform year on year comparisons.
If there is a problem indexing pages on your website, you'll be given details about the
issue and the URLs effected.
There are new options for validating and checking fixes you've applied to your website.
You can now share reports with other people in your organization.
Now let's head to Google Search Console...
The first thing you'll notice is how clean and streamlined the interface is - it's much
easier to get to the information you need.
On the 'Status' page you'll see an overview of your website's performance for the last
3 months.
Let's open the 'Performance' report...
You will see a summary for the key metrics at the top of the report.
You can see total clicks, impressions, average click-through rate and average position.
You can click on each of these metrics to include them in the reporting table.
At the top of the report you can modify the data that's included...
By default you'll be viewing data for web search results over the last 3 month, but
you can click on these to change them.
For example, you can click on 'search type', to then view data for image and video search
results...
And you can change the date range of the report to use other pre-defined ranges, like the
'last 12 months' or even all the available data.
You can also use the 'compare' option to compare two date ranges to each other in the report.
This is a great way to see if metrics and performance are improving.
You can also focus the report further by clicking 'New'.
For example, you can choose to focus on a particular country or device.
The table includes search queries by default, but you can also select the 'Pages', 'Countries'
and 'Devices' tabs to update the report.
So what do you think of the changes to Google Search Console?
I'd love to know!
Now let's head back to the 'Status' page...
Below 'Performance' is 'Index Coverage', this shows you how many pages are being indexed,
along with any errors.
And 'Enhancements' highlights ways to improve your website's appearance in search results,
for example errors and warnings about AMP pages.
Now that we're familiar with the new interface, let's look at how we can actually use the
'Performance' report in Google Search Console.
We're going to look at how we can use the report to optimize our content.
Here's what we need to do...
Step 1.
After you've selected your website in Search Console we need to open the the 'Performance'
report.
Step 2.
At the top of the report make sure that 'Clicks', 'Impressions', 'CTR' and 'Position' are all
selected.
This gives you all of the available data within the report.
Step 3.
You will now see the search queries with the most clicks at the top of the report.
Spend time identifying search queries that are relevant to your business that have a
lower than expected CTR.
I'd recommend starting with ones that have a CTR that is less than 6 percent.
This will give you a list of search queries that you can then use to optimize your content.
Also keep an eye out for search queries that have a strong CTR, but aren't showing an average
position in the top 10 organic results.
There might be opportunities to optimize for these search queries too.
Step 4.
Click on the search query that you want to optimize.
This will show you the page (or pages) to review.
Make a note of the pages you want to optimize.
Step 5.
Now it's time to repeat this process for your landing pages.
To do this select the 'Pages' tab above the table.
Look for pages that have a lower CTR (I'd recommend below 4 percent).
If you notice a page that has a high CTR, but a low average position, these are worth
taking a note of too.
You will now have a list of pages that you can optimize in order to increase their CTR.
Next you'll need to review the page titles and descriptions.
The aim here is to make them as relevant as you can to the search queries people are using
on Google.
The more relevant they are, the higher the CTR and the more likely your website will
be higher in the organic rankings.
You might decide to edit your page titles and descriptions to make them more relevant
and compelling for your audience.
You might also want to make changes to the content on the page too.
I recommend documenting the changes you make so that you can check back to see what you've
changed and if the changes are achieving results.
// So that's how you can use the new Google Search Console to identify pages to optimize
on your website.
The new interface is streamlined and easy to use, and with the ability to view 16 months
of data, Google Search Console has become even more useful for improving content.
What do you think of the new Google Search Console?
Do you like the changes?
I'd love to know!
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you found this video helpful, then please like it, so I know to make more videos
like this.
See you next time!