{"id":35750,"date":"2024-11-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=35750"},"modified":"2025-05-21T20:09:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T03:09:25","slug":"google-search-console","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/google-search-console\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Search Console: A Complete Beginner&#8217;s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Did you know, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-traffic-study\/\" rel=\"noopener\">96.55% of websites<\/a> never receive a <em>single <\/em>visitor from Google? We could hardly believe it either!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s right\u2013 countless businesses are making this simple mistake every day \u2014 They create beautiful, content-rich sites, but forget to tell the one guest who brings the crowd: <strong>Google<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This has nothing to do with a website being \u201cgood enough.\u201d Instead, this is entirely because Google has no idea the website exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter Google Search Console (GSC for the cool kids) \u2014 the easiest way to tell Google about your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this guide, you&#8217;ll learn how to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Introduce your website to Google.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure all your pages are discovered.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Monitor your site&#8217;s performance in real time&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and much more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s jump right in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-the-google-search-console\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is the Google Search Console?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"638\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of Google Console &quot;start now&quot; page with header Improve your performance on Google Search\" class=\"wp-image-50550 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-300x120.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-1024x408.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-768x306.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-1536x612.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-600x239.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-1200x479.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-730x291.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-1460x582.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-784x313.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-1568x625.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/01_google_search_console_1x-877x350.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/638;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Google Search Console, previously known as Google Webmaster Tools, is a free web service provided by Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It helps website owners monitor and maintain their site&#8217;s presence in Google search results. Think of it as your website&#8217;s health tracker, constantly monitoring its performance in Google&#8217;s search ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GSC provides a wealth of information about your website&#8217;s search performance, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How often does your site appear in Google search results?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which search queries bring users to your site?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How many users click on your site in the search results?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which other sites link to yours?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any issues Google encounters when crawling your site?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But GSC isn&#8217;t just about providing data. It also offers tools to help you improve your site&#8217;s search performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can submit new content for crawling, monitor and resolve malware or spam issues, and even see which queries are driving traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"glossary-term\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"glossary-term__above-title\"\n\t\thref=\"\"\n\t\ttarget=\"_blank\"\n\t\trel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n\t>\n\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 640 512\"><path d=\"M320 32c-8.1 0-16.1 1.4-23.7 4.1L15.8 137.4C6.3 140.9 0 149.9 0 160s6.3 19.1 15.8 22.6l57.9 20.9C57.3 229.3 48 259.8 48 291.9v28.1c0 28.4-10.8 57.7-22.3 80.8c-6.5 13-13.9 25.8-22.5 37.6C0 442.7-.9 448.3 .9 453.4s6 8.9 11.2 10.2l64 16c4.2 1.1 8.7 .3 12.4-2s6.3-6.1 7.1-10.4c8.6-42.8 4.3-81.2-2.1-108.7C90.3 344.3 86 329.8 80 316.5V291.9c0-30.2 10.2-58.7 27.9-81.5c12.9-15.5 29.6-28 49.2-35.7l157-61.7c8.2-3.2 17.5 .8 20.7 9s-.8 17.5-9 20.7l-157 61.7c-12.4 4.9-23.3 12.4-32.2 21.6l159.6 57.6c7.6 2.7 15.6 4.1 23.7 4.1s16.1-1.4 23.7-4.1L624.2 182.6c9.5-3.4 15.8-12.5 15.8-22.6s-6.3-19.1-15.8-22.6L343.7 36.1C336.1 33.4 328.1 32 320 32zM128 408c0 35.3 86 72 192 72s192-36.7 192-72L496.7 262.6 354.5 314c-11.1 4-22.8 6-34.5 6s-23.5-2-34.5-6L143.3 262.6 128 408z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 384 512\"><path d=\"M342.6 233.4c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.8 0 45.3l-192 192c-12.5 12.5-32.8 12.5-45.3 0s-12.5-32.8 0-45.3L274.7 256 105.4 86.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.8 0-45.3s32.8-12.5 45.3 0l192 192z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t<\/a>\n    <h3>Crawling<\/h3>\n    <p>Crawling is when a search engine bot looks through web pages for indexing and ranking. These bots are often called \u2018crawlers\u2019 or \u2018spiders\u2019. They closely review anything they can find on a page.<\/p>\n            <a\n            href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/glossary\/seo\/crawling\/\"\n                        class=\"btn btn--white-outline btn--sm btn--round\"\n                                    target=\"_blank\"\n            rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n            >\n                            Read More                    <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The best part? You don\u2019t need to be a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/improve-seo\/\" rel=\"noopener\">search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a> expert to use Google Search Console. While it provides advanced features for seasoned professionals, its core functions are accessible to anyone who wants to improve their website&#8217;s performance in Google Search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h2_key-differences-between-old-search-console-and-new-search-console\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Differences Between Old Search Console and New Search Console<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Like most of Google\u2019s services, Search Console is constantly updated with new features and functionalities. One of the most important updates happened in 2018 when Google launched a completely <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2018\/01\/introducing-new-search-console\" rel=\"noopener\">new version<\/a> of Google Search Console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this new version came more detailed performance analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what you can now expect from GSC:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Index Coverage report:<\/strong> Notice which of your web pages Google has indexed and whether it has encountered any indexing problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improved Performance report: <\/strong>Review search analytics data from the previous 16 months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Links report:<\/strong> Get information about who links to your website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>URL inspection:<\/strong> View crawling, indexing, and serving information for any searched URL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from these, the 2018 update added two more features to Google Search Console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Core Web Vitals report:<\/strong> Measures <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/what-is-user-experience\/\" rel=\"noopener\">user experience<\/a> via loading, interactivity, and visual stability.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Page experience report:<\/strong> Allows you to view what percentage of your URLs provide a good experience for visitors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re used to the older version of Google Search Console, you can use some of its same features and reports. That\u2019s because the update retained the reports on sitemaps, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), mobile usability, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/secure-your-wordpress-website\/\" rel=\"noopener\">security issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While this update brought new features (including a personal favorite, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-search-console-performance-report-filters-now-stick-447065\" rel=\"noopener\">sticky filters<\/a>!), it also removed some. You no longer have the HTML improvement reports, property sets, or Android apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h2_how-to-get-started-with-google-search-console-in-2-steps\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Get Started With Google Search Console (in 2 Steps)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you understand the benefits provided in the new Google Search Console, let\u2019s sign up for this free tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This way, you can start improving your search rankings immediately and draw in new visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Add a New Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To get started with Google Search Console, sign into your Google account. Then, go to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\/about\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console<\/a> home page and click on <strong>Start Now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will allow you to add your website to GSC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"932\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of the &quot;welcome to Google Search Console&quot; with two property set up types: &quot;domain&quot; and &quot;URL prefix&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50551 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-300x233.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-1024x795.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-768x596.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-600x466.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-730x567.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-784x609.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/02_add_a_new_website_1x-877x681.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/932;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To start using this tool, you\u2019ll need to select a property type. You can either enter your <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/domain-change-seo\/\" rel=\"noopener\">website\u2019s domain<\/a> or URL prefix. Depending on the option you choose, make sure you use the right format, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Domain:<\/strong> example.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>URL prefix:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.example.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind that if you enter a domain, you\u2019ll need to verify your site ownership using DNS verification. However, with a URL prefix, you can use multiple forms of verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve entered your website, select <strong>Continue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Verify Your Domain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Next up, it\u2019s time to verify that you actually own your website. To do this, you can simply download the HTML file provided to you and upload it to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, even after you finish the verification, you\u2019ll need to keep this in your site files:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1370\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of the &quot;verify ownership&quot; set up page with verification options including: HTML tag, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Domain name provider. \" class=\"wp-image-50552 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-263x300.webp 263w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-897x1024.webp 897w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-768x877.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-600x685.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-730x833.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-784x895.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/03_verify_your_domain_1x-877x1001.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/1370;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are many other methods to verify site ownership. Here are some alternatives to uploading an HTML file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>HTML tag: <\/strong>Copy the given meta tag and paste it into the <strong>&lt;head&gt;<\/strong> section of your home page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Google Analytics:<\/strong> Use your <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/use-google-analytics-wordpress\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Analytics<\/a> tracking code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Google Tag Manager:<\/strong> Use your Google Tag Manager container ID.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Domain name provider:<\/strong> Sign in to your <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/private-domain-registration-faqs\/\" rel=\"noopener\">domain name provider<\/a> and paste the given TXT record into your <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/nameservers-vs-dns-guide\/\" rel=\"noopener\">DNS configuration<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve decided on a method, click on <strong>Verify<\/strong>. This will allow Google to check whether you own the website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1194\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of the verify ownership set up page with &quot;HTML file&quot; selected and a file uploaded.d\" class=\"wp-image-50553 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-1024x1019.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-768x764.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-600x597.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-730x726.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-784x780.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/04_verify_1x-877x873.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/1194;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Once verified, Google will start collecting data about your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can take from a few hours to a few days depending on how well-established your website already is \u2014 so, be patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"article-newsletter article-newsletter--gradient\">\n\n\n<h2>Get Content Delivered Straight to Your Inbox<\/h2><p>Subscribe now to receive all the latest updates, delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p><form class=\"nwsl-form\" id=\"newsletter_block_\" novalidate><div class=\"messages\"><\/div><div class=\"form-group\"><label for=\"input_newsletter_block_\"><input type=\"email\"name=\"email\"id=\"input_newsletter_block_\"placeholder=\"Enter your email address\"novalidatedisabled=\"disabled\"\/><\/label><button type=\"submit\"class=\"btn btn--brand\"disabled=\"disabled\"><span>Sign Me Up!<\/span><svg width=\"21\" height=\"14\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 14\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M13.8523 0.42524L12.9323 1.34521C12.7095 1.56801 12.7132 1.9304 12.9404 2.14865L16.7241 5.7823H0.5625C0.251859 5.7823 0 6.03416 0 6.3448V7.6573C0 7.96794 0.251859 8.2198 0.5625 8.2198H16.7241L12.9405 11.8535C12.7132 12.0717 12.7095 12.4341 12.9323 12.6569L13.8523 13.5769C14.072 13.7965 14.4281 13.7965 14.6478 13.5769L20.8259 7.39879C21.0456 7.17913 21.0456 6.82298 20.8259 6.60327L14.6477 0.42524C14.4281 0.205584 14.0719 0.205584 13.8523 0.42524Z\" fill=\"white\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/button><\/div><\/form><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h2_how-to-read-google-search-console-data\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Read Google Search Console Data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright, assuming that your data has started flowing in and you see some spikes in the graph, how do you make use of it? What do you do with all this information?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few important sections on the Google Search Console that you must regularly track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first one is going to be your website performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understand Your Site&#8217;s Performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cSearch results\u201d report is at the heart of Google Search Console. It provides a treasure trove of data about how your site performs in Google Search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, we have an existing website with some search volume data. Let\u2019s break down the individual metrics shown above the chart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"983\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of the &quot;Search results&quot; performance page in Google SC with total clicks (421k) and total impressions (16M) with other graphs and data.\" class=\"wp-image-50554 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-1536x944.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-600x369.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-1200x737.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-730x448.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-1460x897.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-784x482.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-1568x963.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05_performance_report-877x539.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/983;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Total impressions:<\/strong> How many times your site appeared in search results.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Total clicks:<\/strong> How many times users clicked through to your site.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Average click-through rate (CTR):<\/strong> The percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Average position:<\/strong> Where your site ranks in search results on average.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>With these metrics, you get a bird&#8217;s-eye perspective of how your site has performed over the selected time range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But GSC doesn&#8217;t stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the <strong>Date, Search Type,<\/strong> and<strong> Filters <\/strong>options, you can drill down into specific date ranges, traffic sources, queries, pages, countries, devices, and more. The goal? To get granular insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"807\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of Performance on search results zoomed in on the &quot;Add filter&quot; drop-down with options: query, page, country, device, and search appearance. \" class=\"wp-image-50555 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-300x151.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-1024x516.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-768x387.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-1536x775.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-600x303.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-1200x605.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-730x368.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-1460x736.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-784x395.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-1568x791.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/06_performance_search-877x442.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/807;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, you can check what keywords a particular page ranks well for \u2014 and maybe discover keywords you did not previously consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, consider an article written for the keyword \u201cHow to create a website.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a couple of weeks, you notice that the same article also ranks for the keyword \u201cHow to create an e-commerce website.&#8221;<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means Google knows your article is relevant but not relevant <em>enough<\/em> for the second keyword. With this information, you can create another article for creating e-commerce websites, link out to the new article from the old one, and submit it for indexing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data like this can help you create more content around a topic that Google already ranks your website for and thus get more traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or you could compare how your website ranks for desktop users vs. mobile users and see if there\u2019s anything you can do to close the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, in the screenshot below, you can see that on desktop, our website receives 370,000 clicks, close to 7 times more than mobile, where we only see 51,000 clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"797\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_.webp\" alt=\"screenshot with device option selection &quot;Compare&quot; showing mobile vs. desktop in total clicks, impressions, average CTR and position. \" class=\"wp-image-50557 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-300x149.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-1024x510.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-768x383.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-1536x765.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-600x299.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-1200x598.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-730x364.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-1460x727.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-784x391.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-1568x781.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/07_performance_report_-877x437.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/797;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Performance report also allows you to compare data over time \u2014 a feature that helps you see the impact of your SEO efforts or identify sudden changes in your search performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indexing To Help Google Find Your Content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Not all pages get indexed on Google. If you have 1,000 pages, for instance, it\u2019s likely that Google will either never find all of them or deem some pages irrelevant and never show them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you do something to fix it? Absolutely. GSC has an <strong>Indexing<\/strong> section on the left side panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Indexing<\/strong> is a process that helps Google <em>(or any other search engine) <\/em>add a new webpage to their database of pages known as the index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"glossary-term\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"glossary-term__above-title\"\n\t\thref=\"\"\n\t\ttarget=\"_blank\"\n\t\trel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n\t>\n\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 640 512\"><path d=\"M320 32c-8.1 0-16.1 1.4-23.7 4.1L15.8 137.4C6.3 140.9 0 149.9 0 160s6.3 19.1 15.8 22.6l57.9 20.9C57.3 229.3 48 259.8 48 291.9v28.1c0 28.4-10.8 57.7-22.3 80.8c-6.5 13-13.9 25.8-22.5 37.6C0 442.7-.9 448.3 .9 453.4s6 8.9 11.2 10.2l64 16c4.2 1.1 8.7 .3 12.4-2s6.3-6.1 7.1-10.4c8.6-42.8 4.3-81.2-2.1-108.7C90.3 344.3 86 329.8 80 316.5V291.9c0-30.2 10.2-58.7 27.9-81.5c12.9-15.5 29.6-28 49.2-35.7l157-61.7c8.2-3.2 17.5 .8 20.7 9s-.8 17.5-9 20.7l-157 61.7c-12.4 4.9-23.3 12.4-32.2 21.6l159.6 57.6c7.6 2.7 15.6 4.1 23.7 4.1s16.1-1.4 23.7-4.1L624.2 182.6c9.5-3.4 15.8-12.5 15.8-22.6s-6.3-19.1-15.8-22.6L343.7 36.1C336.1 33.4 328.1 32 320 32zM128 408c0 35.3 86 72 192 72s192-36.7 192-72L496.7 262.6 354.5 314c-11.1 4-22.8 6-34.5 6s-23.5-2-34.5-6L143.3 262.6 128 408z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 384 512\"><path d=\"M342.6 233.4c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.8 0 45.3l-192 192c-12.5 12.5-32.8 12.5-45.3 0s-12.5-32.8 0-45.3L274.7 256 105.4 86.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.8 0-45.3s32.8-12.5 45.3 0l192 192z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t<\/a>\n    <h3>Index<\/h3>\n    <p>An index is a list of all accessible pages on a website, created by web crawlers. Search engines use it to find pages when users type queries.<\/p>\n            <a\n            href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/glossary\/seo\/index\/\"\n                        class=\"btn btn--white-outline btn--sm btn--round\"\n                                    target=\"_blank\"\n            rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n            >\n                            Read More                    <\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This index is then used to sort and rank pages when someone searches for different keywords on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"983\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing.webp\" alt=\"screenshot Google SC bringing attention to the nav on the left-hand side, specifically the option for &quot;pages&quot; under &quot;Indexing&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50559 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-300x184.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-1024x629.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-768x472.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-1536x944.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-600x369.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-1200x737.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-730x448.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-1460x897.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-784x482.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-1568x963.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/08_indexing-877x539.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/983;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Click the <strong>Pages<\/strong> option under it, and you\u2019ll see all the pages that Google has indexed as well as pages that either can\u2019t be indexed, had an error \u2014 or, there was something that prevented Google from indexing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"722\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data.webp\" alt=\"close up of the index report showing a split bar graph through a date range of &quot;not indexed&quot; verses &quot;indexed&quot; pages. \" class=\"wp-image-50560 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-300x181.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-1024x616.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-768x462.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-600x361.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-730x439.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-784x472.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/09_indexing_data-877x528.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/722;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"959\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed.webp\" alt=\"page header &quot;why pages aren't indexed&quot; subheader &quot;pages that aren't indexed can't be served on Google&quot; with pages and reasons listed. \" class=\"wp-image-50561 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-300x240.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-1024x818.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-768x614.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-600x480.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-730x583.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-784x627.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/10_not_indexed-877x701.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/959;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you\u2019ll note above, the pages that aren\u2019t indexed by Google have specific reasons, and they\u2019re listed in this report. For instance, the \u201cPage with redirect\u201d reason has 2,675 pages in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can click through the reasons on your GSC to explore what the pages are, and what you can do to fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing is, these 2,675 pages aren\u2019t something to worry about. They\u2019re simply a list of pages redirected to a new URL during site updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, pay close attention to the errors. You want to fix any pages that are not indexed due to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-wordpress-404-error\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Not found (404)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/500-internal-server-error\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Server errors<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-redirect-loop-wordpress-error\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Redirect errors<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/common-wordpress-errors\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Any other errors<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are the pages Google crawlers haven\u2019t been able to access or have some error that prevents them from being read by these crawlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Using the URL Inspection Tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t want to go through so many errors and the pages in them, you can also check individual URLs by simply entering the specific URL in the search bar at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"287\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool.webp\" alt=\"screnshot of Google URL: https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/managed-vps\" class=\"wp-image-50562 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-300x54.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-1024x184.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-768x138.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-1536x276.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-600x108.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-1200x215.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-730x131.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-1460x262.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-784x141.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-1568x281.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/11_url_inspection_tool-877x157.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/287;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll then be taken to the individual page indexing report page. Here, if your page is indexed, it\u2019ll show a page like the one below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"897\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed.webp\" alt=\"URL inspection with checkmarks by &quot;URL is on Google&quot; &quot;Page Indexing&quot; &quot;HTTPS&quot; and &quot;Breadcrumbs.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50564 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-1024x574.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-768x431.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-1536x861.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-600x336.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-1200x673.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-730x409.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-1460x819.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-784x440.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-1568x879.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/12_url_inspection_indexed-877x492.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/897;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you come across an important URL that isn\u2019t indexed, you\u2019ll see a page like the one below. Hit <strong>REQUEST INDEXING<\/strong> to ask Google Bots to crawl your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"723\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing.webp\" alt=\"URL Inspection page where &quot;URL is not on Google&quot; has an &quot;i&quot; icon and attention is called to the &quot;REQUEST INDEXING&quot; button. \" class=\"wp-image-50565 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-300x136.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-1024x463.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-768x347.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-1536x694.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-600x271.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-1200x542.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-730x330.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-1460x660.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-784x354.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-1568x709.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/13_request_indexing-877x396.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/723;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>REQUEST INDEXING<\/strong> option can also be used if you did some major update to a page and want those updates to be pulled by Google as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add an XML Sitemap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To put it simply, an XML sitemap is a file that tells Google which web pages are the most important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you create one for your website, it can help search engines determine which content to crawl. With that, you not only simplify indexing and prioritize certain pages but also prevent Google from crawling unnecessary pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a new site, submitting the XML sitemap to GSC can help Google find all the required pages on your site and start indexing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re using <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wordpress-6-1\/\" rel=\"noopener\">WordPress<\/a>, plugins like <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-seo\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Yoast SEO<\/a> and<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/google-sitemap-generator\/\" rel=\"noopener\"> XML Sitemap Generator<\/a> let you build your first sitemap with just a few clicks. Additionally, outside of WordPress, you can also use a site like <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slickplan.com\/xml-sitemap-generator\" rel=\"noopener\">Slickplan<\/a> or the aptly named <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/xml-sitemaps.com\" rel=\"noopener\">XML-Sitemaps.com.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, Google Search Console makes it simple to submit a sitemap. It can even check your added sitemap for any errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, let\u2019s create one with Yoast SEO and submit it, shall we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, install and activate the plugin. Then, go to <strong>Yoast SEO<\/strong> &gt; <strong>General<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Features<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"457\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo.webp\" alt=\"WordPress screenshot with &quot;Yoast SEO&quot; selected on the nav, right screen shows the plugin options calling attention to the features tab. \" class=\"wp-image-50566 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-300x114.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-1024x390.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-768x292.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-600x229.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-730x278.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-784x299.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/14_yoast_seo-877x334.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/457;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Scroll down to the XML sitemaps setting. Make sure that it\u2019s turned on, then save your changes like so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"292\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps.webp\" alt=\"close up of the same page, but scrolled down to find &quot;XLM sitemaps ?&quot; with toggle &quot;on.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50568 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-300x73.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-1024x249.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-768x187.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-600x146.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-730x178.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-784x191.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/15_xml_sitemaps-877x213.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/292;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This will automatically generate an XML sitemap for your website. To view this, click on the question mark icon &gt; <strong>See the XML sitemap<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"309\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps.webp\" alt=\"screenshot showing additional text: Enable the XML sitemaps that Yoast SEO generates. See the SML sitemap. Read why XML Sitemaps are important for your site.\" class=\"wp-image-50569 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-300x77.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-1024x264.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-768x198.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-600x155.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-730x188.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-784x202.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/16_enable_xml_sitemaps-877x226.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/309;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This will generate your XML sitemap on a new page. You can review this information, then copy its link:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"590\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of SXL Sitemap generated by Yoast SEO listening 4 sitemaps\" class=\"wp-image-50570 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-300x148.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-1024x503.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-768x378.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-600x295.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-730x359.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-784x385.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/17_xml_sitemaps-877x431.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/590;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you can go back to Google Search Console and find the <strong>Sitemaps<\/strong> tab. Under <strong>Add a new sitemap<\/strong>, enter the URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"799\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of Sitemaps tab in GSC with attention to the &quot;Add a new sitemap&quot; input and the subsequent &quot;success&quot; status shown once submitted. \" class=\"wp-image-50571 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-1024x511.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-768x384.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-1536x767.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-600x300.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-1200x599.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-730x365.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-1460x729.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-784x392.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-1568x783.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/18_add_new_sitemaps-877x438.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/799;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After you add the sitemap, it\u2019ll appear under <strong>Submitted sitemaps<\/strong>, as you can see in the above screenshot. You\u2019ll be able to see the status of the latest read date and the status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Possible status values include: \u201cSuccess,\u201d \u201cHas errors,\u201d and \u201cCouldn\u2019t fetch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, Google Search Console will tell you the number of URLs that were found in the sitemap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Requesting Pages To Be Removed From Google<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, Google may index unnecessary pages or ones that we don\u2019t want others to see \u2014 even if you\u2019ve followed the best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, suppose you have a media file that\u2019s locked behind the login page. But Google ends up finding the URL and indexing it on search. Now, anyone can search for the media file name + your website URL, and find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can prevent it from happening with no-index attributes or using the <strong>robots.txt<\/strong> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there\u2019s always a chance that some page gets left out during updates. That\u2019s when you need to remove the page from the search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To create a new removal request, under the same <strong>Indexing<\/strong> section on the left panel, click <strong>Removals<\/strong>, and you\u2019ll be taken to this page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"457\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1024x457.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of the &quot;Removals&quot; tab in GSC with attention to the &quot;Temporary Removals&quot;  tab and the &quot;New Request&quot; button in red on the right. \" class=\"wp-image-50573 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1024x457.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-300x134.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-768x343.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1536x685.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-600x268.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1200x536.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-730x326.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1460x652.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-784x350.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-1568x700.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals-877x391.webp 877w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/19_temporary_removals.webp 1600w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1024px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1024\/457;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now create a new request for removing content under the <strong>TEMPORARILY REMOVE URL<\/strong> tab and click on <strong>New Request.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"977\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of the &quot;new request&quot; form with an &quot;Enter URL&quot; text bar and two selection options: Remove this URL only and Remove all URLs with this prefix. \" class=\"wp-image-50574 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-300x183.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-1024x625.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-768x469.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-1536x938.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-600x366.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-1200x733.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-730x446.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-1460x892.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-784x479.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-1568x957.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20_new_request-877x536.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/977;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Google doesn\u2019t allow permanent removals because it\u2019s likely the bot will find the URL again and index it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Temporary removals give you time to no-index the page and block it using robots \u2014 thus fixing the root of this issue instead of relying on Google\u2019s URL removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Page Experience Scores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, we\u2019ve done a fair bit of technical stuff till now. Let\u2019s get back to your website and how GSC scores it for the users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, we\u2019ll look at the <strong>Page experience<\/strong> page. Under the <strong>Experience<\/strong> section on the left sidebar, click <strong>Page Experience<\/strong>, and you\u2019ll be redirected to a page that looks like the one below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"818\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of GSC on the &quot;Page Experience&quot; tab\" class=\"wp-image-50576 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-300x153.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-1024x524.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-768x393.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-1536x785.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-600x307.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-1200x614.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-730x373.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-1460x746.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-784x401.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-1568x802.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/21_page_experience-877x448.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/818;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Page experience requires that your website have a fair amount of traffic before Google can assess the experience across the user base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also takes quite some time to generate since it\u2019s based on real-world user experiences. So, if you don\u2019t already see this, you can move on and simply work towards <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/how-to-optimize-your-site-for-mobile\/\" rel=\"noopener\">creating a mobile-friendly website<\/a>, and following other user experience best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/improve-core-web-vitals\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Core Web Vitals (CWV)<\/a> framework was released, the Page Experience report is just a simplified summary of that report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you click on any of the scores, you\u2019ll be redirected to the Core Web Vitals page \u2014 so let\u2019s move on to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Core Web Vitals: The User Experience Trifecta<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 2020, Google has moved away from other metrics like page speed, DOM content loaded, Time to First Byte (TTFB), etc., and now focuses on user experience as a ranking factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This culminated in the introduction of Core Web Vitals \u2014 a set of metrics that measure key aspects of user experience. These metrics are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Largest Contentful Paint (LCP):<\/strong> This measure evaluates loading performance. To provide a good user experience, LCP should occur within 2.5 seconds of the page first starting to load.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>First Input Delay (FID):<\/strong> Measures interactivity. Pages should have an FID of 100 milliseconds or less.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS):<\/strong> Measures visual stability. Pages should maintain a CLS of 0.1 or less.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"single__related-article\">\n\t<span>Related Article<\/span>\n\t<div class=\"single__related-article__wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single__related-article__title\">\n\t\t\tBetter Performance for Better Rankings: 10 Tips for Improving Core Web Vitals\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/improve-core-web-vitals\/\" class=\"btn btn--sm btn--brand\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\tRead More\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Core Web Vitals report in GSC shows you how your pages perform on these metrics, categorizing them as either &#8220;<strong>Poor<\/strong>,&#8221; &#8220;<strong>Needs Improvement<\/strong>,&#8221; or &#8220;<strong>Good<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what you will see once you have enough pages and Google has created the CWV report for your website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1087\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of the Core Web Vitals report showing two graphs: mobile and desktop overview of poor URLs, URLs that need improvement, and good URLs\" class=\"wp-image-50577 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-300x204.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-1024x696.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-768x522.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-1536x1044.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-600x408.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-1200x815.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-730x496.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-1460x992.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-784x533.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-1568x1065.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/22_core_web_vitals-877x596.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/1087;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You can click <strong>Open Report<\/strong> to see what\u2019s the reason behind the metrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, in the case of the above website, the pages have an <strong>Interaction to Next Paint (INP)<\/strong> of longer than 200 ms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"872\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_.webp\" alt=\"screenshot of GSC showing &quot;Why URLs aren't considered good&quot; with subheader &quot;URLs with these issues don't provide a good page experience.&quot; and 1,849 URLs listed. \" class=\"wp-image-50579 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-300x164.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-1024x558.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-768x419.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-1536x837.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-600x327.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-1200x654.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-730x398.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-1460x796.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-784x427.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-1568x855.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/23_interaction_to_next_paint_inp_-877x478.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/872;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You may see multiple reasons why your URLs have errors, and you can click through further for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"301\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue.webp\" alt=\"warning box &quot;INP issue: longer than 200ms (mobile) with subhead &quot;URLs with the issue need to improve the page experience they provide.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50581 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-300x75.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-1024x257.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-768x193.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-600x151.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-730x183.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-784x197.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24_inp_issue-877x220.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/301;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve fixed the issue, you can click <strong>Validate Fix<\/strong> and Google will then check if the fix is complete. If all goes well, you will no longer see the error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Often Should You Check Core Web Vitals Reports?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s best to check CWV reports at least once every month \u2014 because that\u2019s how long each <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/9205520?hl=en\" rel=\"noopener\">CVW review cycle<\/a> lasts (28 days).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you\u2019ve added new content, changed any pages, updated the theme, etc., Google will take a while to understand the impact and give your website an updated score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, if you\u2019ve validated a fix, you\u2019ll get to know if the error was fixed or if it needs further attention within this timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Find Who Links to Your Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Two things have retained their importance in SEO over the years: excellent content and high-quality links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You want as many good websites to link to your website as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s easy to go overboard here and create random, spammy links. Or maybe your competitor created those spammy links. You can use this section to keep track of all the links pointing to your website that Google knows about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find the <strong>Links<\/strong> option on the left sidebar. Here are some of the details that the links page shows you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1227\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website.webp\" alt=\"Screenshot breaking links into: External links and Internal links listing &quot;top linked pages&quot; for each. Also &quot;Top linking sites.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50582 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website.webp 1600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-300x230.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-1024x785.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-768x589.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-1536x1178.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-600x460.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-1200x920.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-730x560.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-1460x1120.webp 1460w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-784x601.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-1568x1202.webp 1568w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/25_who_links_to_your_website-877x673.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/1227;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Which sites link to yours the most?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is your most linked content?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What anchor text do other sites use when linking to you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And what are some of the top pages that are internally linked?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This information can help you understand which content resonates with other site owners and identify potential partnership opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, the homepage will have the most links. So if you notice this pattern with your site, know that it\u2019s quite typical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this information on hand, you can do a few important things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>See if the most important pages of your website are getting a good amount of links or not.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand what pages are liked by other site owners.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use it to create more content around those topics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reach out to the websites linking out to you the most and find potential partnership opportunities. In addition to improving your website, this may even promote their products on your site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Links have a flywheel effect. You start by getting links from site owners you know in your niche or by partnering with other websites one at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But soon enough, your website has enough traction that you no longer need to put in as much effort to get the same amount of links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Security Reports and Timely Notifications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Google takes web security seriously, and for good reason. A compromised website can harm your users and damage your reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the left sidebar, you\u2019ll see the <strong>Security &amp; Manual Actions<\/strong> section, which has the \u201cSecurity issues\u201d report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"383\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports.webp\" alt=\"zoom in on GSC nag options focusing on &quot;security issues&quot; tab under &quot;security &amp; manual actions.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50583 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports.webp 1000w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-300x115.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-768x294.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-600x230.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-730x280.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-784x300.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/26_security_reports-877x336.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/383;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cSecurity issues\u201d report in GSC alerts you to any security problems Google detects on your site, such as hacking or malware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"301\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues.webp\" alt=\"under &quot;security issues&quot; box with green check mark stating &quot;no issues detected.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-50584 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-300x75.webp 300w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-1024x257.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-768x193.webp 768w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-600x151.webp 600w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-730x183.webp 730w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-784x197.webp 784w, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/27_security_issues-877x220.webp 877w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/301;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If Google detects a security issue, it may display warnings to users in search results or even remove your site from the search results entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you need to keep an eye out for any notifications reporting security issues as well as this page whenever you visit GSC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This report further provides details about the problem and guidance on how to fix it, so you can address issues quickly and protect your site&#8217;s search presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h2_lets-take-your-website-from-invisible-to-invincible\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Let\u2019s Take Your Website From Invisible to Invincible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That was quite a ride through the Google Search Console! Let&#8217;s sum up what we\u2019ve learned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Without GSC, your site might end up in the 96.55% of websites that never see traffic from Google.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>GSC helps you identify your site&#8217;s strengths and weaknesses and the different ways you can improve your website further.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It offers some pretty handy tools for individual page indexing reports, submitting sitemaps, and ensuring that your overall SEO efforts are bearing fruit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Monitoring GSC is like a health check-up for your website. It helps you catch and fix problems before they become\u2026well, <em>actual<\/em> problems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And here\u2019s the deal: if Google can&#8217;t see your website, practically nobody else will either. Using GSC is the easiest step you can take to avoid this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t set up GSC yet, go for it! It&#8217;s easier than you think. And if you&#8217;re already using it, why not try one of those reports we talked about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, if this seems complicated \u2014 or you want an expert to handle it \u2014 let <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/pro-services\/marketing\/seo-marketing\/\" rel=\"noopener\">our SEO professionals do it for you<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We handle your website&#8217;s SEO from start to finish, so you can focus on your core business activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"article-cta-shared article-cta-small article-cta--product\">\n\t<div class=\"tr-img-wrap-outer jsLoading\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-img-lazy \" src=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/blog2018\/assets\/img\/lazy-loading-transparent.webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/product-cta-pro-services-marketing-877x586.webp 1x, https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/product-cta-pro-services-marketing.webp 2x\"  \/><\/div>\n\n\t<a href='https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/pro-services\/marketing\/' class='link-top' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>\n\t\t<span>Pro Services &#8211; Marketing<\/span>\n\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 384 512\" width=\"15\"><path d=\"M342.6 233.4c12.5 12.5 12.5 32.8 0 45.3l-192 192c-12.5 12.5-32.8 12.5-45.3 0s-12.5-32.8 0-45.3L274.7 256 105.4 86.6c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.8 0-45.3s32.8-12.5 45.3 0l192 192z\"\/><\/svg>\n\t<\/a>\n\n\t<div class=\"content-btm\">\n\t\t<h2 class=\"h2--md\">\n\t\t\tGet More Visitors,\u2028Grow\u00a0Your Business\n\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t<p class=\"p--md\">\n\t\t\tThe best-designed site is worthless if no one can find it. Leverage proven online marketing strategies and techniques to help more of your target audience find you.\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t        <a\n            href=\"https:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/pro-services\/marketing\/\"\n                        class=\"btn btn--white-outline btn--sm btn--round\"\n                                    target=\"_blank\"\n            rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n            >\n                            See More                    <\/a>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover how Google Search Console can improve your website&#8217;s visibility. Learn to use this powerful tool to boost your SEO and get found online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1060,"featured_media":50545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Discover how Google Search Console can improve your website's visibility. Learn to use this powerful tool to boost your SEO and get found online.","toc_headlines":"[[\"h-what-is-the-google-search-console\",\"What Is the Google Search Console?\"],[\"h2_key-differences-between-old-search-console-and-new-search-console\",\"Key Differences Between Old Search Console and New Search Console\"],[\"h2_how-to-get-started-with-google-search-console-in-2-steps\",\"How To Get Started With Google Search Console (in 2 Steps)\"],[\"h2_how-to-read-google-search-console-data\",\"How to Read Google Search Console Data\"],[\"h2_lets-take-your-website-from-invisible-to-invincible\",\"Let\u2019s Take Your Website From Invisible to Invincible\"]]","hide_toc":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12852],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-website-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Google Search Console: A Complete Beginner&#039;s Guide - DreamHost<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how Google Search Console can improve your website&#039;s visibility. 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