Guides analysis of Google Search Console (GSC) data: performance metrics, indexing, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, and rich results. Covers best practices for monthly monitoring and actionable insights.
When invoking
On
first use
, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On
subsequent use
or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Scope
Performance
Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position; API for export
Insights
Simplified overview; top/trending content and queries
Indexing
Pages indexed, pages not indexed, reasons (Coverage)
Technical
Sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, Enhancements
API
searchanalytics.query for programmatic access
Methodology
How to read charts, avoid common mistakes, correlate with releases
Analysis Best Practices
Chart Reading
Practice
Why
Focus one metric at a time
Stacked bar charts hide fluctuations; toggle off other metrics to see each clearly
Don't compare just two points
End-of-month vs prior month misses mid-month drama; examine full trend
Check beyond top 10
Many reports default to top 10; scroll or paginate for more rows
Screenshot charts
GSC retains limited history; save images for future reference
Record in spreadsheet
Export at month-end; use formulas to track correlations over time
Track release dates
Join dev standups, read release notes; correlate GSC shifts with deployments
Investigation Workflow
Pinpoint date
When did the metric change?
Correlate
Any releases, CMS changes, server maintenance, third-party code?
Decide
Investigate, correct, overlook, or monitor closely
Loop in
Product or dev team for root cause
Key Reports & Metrics
1. Performance (Search Results)
Location
Performance ? Search results
Metric
Use
Clicks
Traffic from Google Search
Impressions
How often site appeared in results
CTR
Whether users think page answers query
Average position
Ranking trend
Dimensions
Query, page, country, device, date. Filter by search type: web, image, video, news. Use to find low-CTR high-impression pages (title/meta optimization opportunities).
Search appearance
AMP, blue link, rich results (filterable in UI and API).
CTR Benchmarks by Position
Use to compare actual CTR vs expected. Benchmarks vary by SERP features (AI Overviews, featured snippets).
Zero-click
When SERP features satisfy intent without a click, organic CTR drops; factor into expectations. See
serp-features
(Zero-Click section),
featured-snippet
. Clean SERPs:
Position
Expected CTR (baseline)
With AI Overviews (lower)
1
25-35%
~19%
2
12-18%
~12%
3
8-12%
~7%
4-5
5-7%
~5%
6-10
2-5%
2-5%
Interpretation
If actual CTR is below expected for your position, prioritize title/meta optimization. Over 90% of first-page results have CTR below 10%; significant upside exists.
Low CTR, High Impressions: Optimization Workflow
Identify
Sort by impressions; filter positions 1-10; 1,000+ monthly impressions
Compare
Actual CTR vs expected for position (see table above)
Gap
e.g., position 4 at 2% CTR vs expected 5-7% ? ~3-5% uplift potential
Action
Optimize title and meta per
title-tag
,
meta-description
; add schema for rich results (+10–20% clicks)
Rich Results & CTR
Pages with review stars, FAQ schema, or other rich snippets see 10-20% more clicks. See
schema-markup
.
2. Insights Report
Location
Performance ? Insights (or Overview)
Simplified overview; replaces standalone Search Console Insights. Data from GSC only (no GA since Dec 2024).
Card
Use
Clicks and impressions
Site visibility and click effectiveness
Your content
Top, trending up, trending down pages
Queries leading to your site
Top, trending up, trending down queries
Top countries
Geographic audience
Branded vs non-branded
Brand recognition (AI-labeled; may mislabel)
Additional traffic sources
Image, Video, News search, Discover
Trending
Based on click change vs previous period. Click items to jump to Performance report filtered to that item.
Query groups
Similar queries grouped; group name = best-performing query. Not available for sub-properties or low-impression sites.
3. Page Indexing (Coverage)
Location
Indexing ? Page indexing
Status grouping
(updated): Valid + Valid with warning ?
Indexed
. Error + Excluded ?
Not indexed
.
Indexed vs Not indexed are complementary
Not all site content should be indexed. Login, admin, duplicate content, legal boilerplate, and low-value pages often intentionally use noindex. Indexed and non-indexed pages can reference each other (e.g., sitemap includes indexable URLs; noindex pages still exist and link internally). Non-indexed is not inherently a problem--investigate only when important pages are excluded. See indexing (noindex usage) and robots-txt (crawl control) for when to exclude.
Metric
Action
Pages indexed
Turn off "Pages not indexed" to view alone; watch for drops
Pages not indexed
Turn off "Pages indexed" to view alone; watch for spikes. Distinguish intentional (noindex, robots) from accidental
Filter
All submitted pages / Unsubmitted pages only (dropdown near top).
Source column
Indicates whether issue is caused by website or Google.
Why pages are not indexed
Drill into reasons and example URLs. Common culprits:
Duplicate content
Noindex tags
Redirect errors
5xx errors
404 errors
Blocked by robots.txt
Discovered ? currently not indexed
Crawled ? currently not indexed
Quick check
If trend line is stable, spend ~3 seconds; move on. Investigate if fourth column (trend) shifts.
Diagnosis workflow
GSC Coverage ? click Issue ? view sample URLs ? identify pattern ? fix (see indexing for fix actions).
Coverage issue types
:
Issue
Meaning
Next step
Crawled - currently not indexed
Crawled but not indexed
See indexing
Excluded by "noindex" tag
Intentionally excluded; often valid (login, admin, legal, etc.)
Ignore if expected; verify important pages not accidentally noindexed
Blocked by robots.txt
Crawl blocked
See
robots-txt
; may be intentional
Redirect / 404
Redirect or missing
Fix URL or redirect
Duplicate / Canonical
Duplicate content
Usually OK; keep canonical
URL Inspection
Verdicts: "URL is on Google," "URL is on Google, but has issues," "URL is not on Google." Use for important pages; verify canonical, internal links, sitemap; Request indexing if needed.
4. Video Indexing (If Applicable)
Location
Indexing ? Video indexing
Videos indexed
/
Videos not indexed
Toggle off the other for clear view
Why videos are not indexed
Thumbnail blocked, invalid size/format, not in main content, etc.
See
video-optimization
for video SEO;
youtube-seo
for YouTube.
5. XML Sitemaps
Location
Indexing ? Sitemaps
Check
Action
Status
Confirm each sitemap says "Success"
URLs indexed
Click sitemap ? see indexed count; drops indicate indexing issues
Bellwether sitemaps
For large sites, monitor templated sitemaps (by country, language, division)
Enterprise: Glitches can block new URL crawling, cause hreflang confusion, delay fresh content discovery.
6. Core Web Vitals
Location
Experience ? Core Web Vitals
Priority
Mobile first (Google's higher expectations for mobile).
Metric
Mobile
Desktop
Good URLs
Target
Secondary
Needs improvement
Fix
Monitor
Poor URLs
Fix
Monitor
Why URLs don't have good score
Click "Open report" → grouped example URLs by issue type. For threshold values and fixes, see
core-web-vitals
.
Tip
Historical chart is short; export to spreadsheet for longer trends. Share with dev team regularly; correlate dates with releases.
Layout
(updated): Two tables--Poor or Need improvement; Good (click "View data about usable pages").
7. Enhancements (Rich Results)
Location
Experience ? Enhancements (Product snippets, Merchant listings under Shopping)
Status
(updated): Two-tier?
invalid
(critical issues, may not appear) vs
valid
(no critical issues; may still have warnings). Warnings no longer top-level.