# How to use Google Search Console in ten minutes a week

You can run Search Console in ten minutes a week and find work worth doing. This guide gives you a simple routine: four filters, one comparison, pages before queries, three findings. It suits a small product site, a store or a SaaS.

Updated 2026-09-13 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-use-google-search-console

## The whole routine in ten minutes

- Open Performance. Set Search type to Web.
- Set Date to Last 28 days, Compare to Previous period.
- Filter Country to your main market. Leave Device on All for now.
- View Pages first. Sort by Clicks. Scan top 20 pages.
- Open a page detail, then switch to Queries for that page.
- Log three things: shown not clicked, page two, cannibalisation.
- Plan one small fix per page, ship this week.

> An impression is counted when a link to your page appears on a loaded results page. On Web search it counts even if the user did not scroll to it.

## Set the four filters that matter

Filters decide the story you see. Keep them stable so trends mean something. These four cover most small sites.

- Search type: Web. Avoid stacking News, Image or Video unless you run those surfaces.
- Date: Last 28 days, compared to Previous period. This smooths day noise and matches the default comparison.
- Country: your main market. If you sell in the UK and US, run each country once a week.
- Device: All devices for decisions, then spot check Mobile for UX hints.

> The report holds up to 16 months of data. Keep 28-day comparisons for speed, and use longer ranges only when checking seasonality or a past launch.

## Compare 28 days the right way

Use the default comparison: the last 28 days against the 28 before. Look for direction, not a courtroom verdict. You ship, then you check trend.

- Clicks: are they up or down for the site and for key pages.
- Impressions: are you shown more. This shows footprint change before clicks move.
- CTR: clicks divided by impressions. Use it to spot title or intent issues page by page, not as a global score.
- Average position: treat as a rough guide. It is the mean of positions per impression. One page can average 8 while appearing at 3 and at 40.

> The query table omits rare and anonymised queries. Do not expect query totals to add up to the page or site totals.

## Start with pages, not queries

Pages are how you ship work. Queries move around. Open Performance and click Pages. Sort by Clicks. Work the top set you can improve now.

1. **Pick one page to fix** Choose a page you can change this week. For example, /pricing or /guides/getting-started.
2. **Open that page’s detail** Click the page row. Now you see metrics for that URL only.
3. **Switch to Queries** Click Queries. You now read what this one page ranks for. This is where you spot the three findings.

You can repeat this for two to three pages each week. That pace is fine. The goal is steady small wins, not a dashboard marathon.

## Finding one: shown but not clicked

Look for queries where the page has many impressions and few clicks. This is the fastest lift you can get without new content. You already show up, you are just not picked.

- Sort Queries by Impressions for this page.
- Scan for CTR that is low for the intent you see.
- Open the live result: click the query, then the search icon. Compare your snippet with rivals. Note the title, URL path, and meta description.

Fixes you can ship today on one URL:

- Title: fit the core phrase in about 60 characters. Example before: “Pricing”. After: “Pricing and plans for YourProduct”.
- Meta description: write a clear one sentence under 155 characters. Make the offer and the next step obvious.
- H1 and first paragraph: match the search intent. If the query is “yourproduct pricing”, do not hide the price. State it or the plan names high on the page.
- URL path: keep it clean, like /pricing. Avoid tracking junk in the index.
- Add one internal link from a strong page, with anchor that matches the query.

> Use CTR to prioritise, not as a league table. Results pages differ, so there is no single good CTR for every query.

A fixed page will show the target phrase in the title, a matching H1 and a clear first sentence. Next week you should see CTR up and the same or more impressions.

## Finding two: page two opportunities

Find queries where the page sits around position 8 to 20. These are striking distance terms. Small on page work and internal links can pull them to page one.

- On the page’s Queries, add a Position filter from 8 to 20.
- Sort by Impressions to find the biggest potential.
- Open the query on Google. Skim the top results to confirm intent.

Ship one targeted upgrade:

- Add a section that answers the core question with the same wording the searcher uses.
- Add a concise FAQ block for the same topic. Use the exact terms people search, like “Is there a free plan?” on /pricing.
- Link to this page from two to three related pages, using descriptive anchors. For example, from /guides/getting-started link “pricing plans” to /pricing.
- Tighten the title and H1 to include the phrase once, without stuffing.

A fixed page will add a clear H2 that matches the term and carry two fresh internal links. Average position should creep up over the next 28 days.

> Average position is over impressions. If you get shown at 3 on one query and 40 on another, the mean can sit at 8. Treat it as a signal, not a promise.

## Finding three: cannibalisation

If two of your URLs earn impressions for the same query, they compete. One usually wins. The other wastes crawl and link equity. Clean this up early on a small site.

1. **Spot it** In the site-level Queries view, click a key query. Switch to Pages. If you see two or more URLs with impressions, you may have cannibalisation.
2. **Pick a primary page** Choose the URL that best fits the intent. For example, /pricing should own “yourproduct pricing”, not /blog/how-we-set-prices.
3. **Consolidate** Merge overlapping content into the primary. 301 redirect the weaker page to it. Update internal links to point only to the primary. Set a canonical to the primary if variants exist.

A fixed site will have one clear URL per intent. Next week you should see the primary page take most impressions and clicks for the target query, with steadier position.

## What to ignore this week

- Day-to-day swings. Use 28-day comparisons to avoid chasing noise.
- A site-wide CTR goal. CTR varies by query and result type. Use it per page to spot weak snippets.
- Small average position changes. Focus on moving pages from 8 to 20 into the top 7.
- Query totals not matching page totals. Rare and anonymised queries are omitted in query tables.
- Discover or other surfaces unless they are a planned channel. Keep the Search type on Web for this routine.
- Indexing statuses that confirm your own canonicals. “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” is fine unless the canonical is wrong.

> On Web search, an impression counts even if your result is below the fold. In Discover and some carousels, impressions count only when seen.

## One minute on Page indexing

Open Indexing, then Pages. You do not need to read every status each week. Scan for spikes and items you can fix in minutes. Keep it pragmatic.

- Valid and Indexed: your target URLs should live here. Spot check a few key pages.
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag: Google found a canonical to a different URL and agreed with it. This URL is left out on purpose. Only fix if the canonical is wrong.
- Crawled, currently not indexed: re-check after you improve content and links to that page. Do not panic weekly over this bucket.
- Soft 404: fix obviously thin or mismatched pages, or redirect to the best equivalent.

If you change a URL or merge pages, use a 301 redirect and update internal links. Then request indexing on the new canonical URL to speed up the refresh. As of 2026, recrawls can still take days to weeks on small sites. Plan for that lag.

## Your weekly worksheet

Keep a simple doc with three headings: Page, Finding, Next step. Add a date. Each week, add two to three rows and ship the steps. That habit beats any fancy export.

| Page | Finding | Next step | Owner | Shipped |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| /pricing | Shown not clicked on “yourproduct pricing” | Rewrite title and meta, add anchor links to plans | You | Today |
| /guides/getting-started | Page two for “yourproduct setup” | Add a setup checklist section, link from /docs | You | This week |
| /blog/how-we-set-prices | Cannibalises “yourproduct pricing” | Merge into /pricing, 301 redirect, update links | You | This week |

## Questions

### Can anyone use Google Search Console?

Yes. You need to own or manage the site. Add the property, then verify you control it, for example with a DNS record or an HTML file. Once verified, you see search data for that site.

### Can I use Google Search Console for free?

Yes. Search Console is free. It reports how your site appears in Google Search. It does not replace analytics. Use it with your product analytics to see what searchers do after they click.

### How do I access Google Search Console?

Go to search.google.com/search-console and sign in. Add your site, verify ownership, then open Performance. Set Search type to Web, choose Last 28 days, and start with Pages.

### What are the benefits of using Google Search Console?

You see the queries and pages that earn impressions and clicks. You can spot missed clicks, near-miss rankings, and technical indexing issues. It helps you decide what to fix on the page and which page to back with links.

### Should I look at queries or pages first?

Start with pages. You ship changes to a page, not to a query. Then switch to Queries for that page to find shown not clicked, page two and cannibalisation issues tied to that URL.

### How far back does Search Console keep data?

Up to 16 months. For a weekly routine, use the default 28-day comparison to smooth noise. Use longer ranges for seasonal checks or to judge a past relaunch.

## Read next

- [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each.
- [What an impression means in Search Console, and what it does not](https://porteur.ai/guides/what-is-an-impression-in-search-console): An impression is a counted view of your link on a Google results page. Here is what it includes, what it omits, and what to do with it.
- [Pages Google shows and nobody clicks: a title problem, not a page problem](https://porteur.ai/guides/pages-shown-but-never-clicked): If a page gets impressions but no clicks, read its queries and position. On page one, rewrite the title. Past page one, change targeting first.
- [Striking distance keywords: the searches one page from the light](https://porteur.ai/guides/striking-distance-keywords): Find queries you already rank for at positions 11 to 20, fix the one page that’s close, and add links. Faster wins than writing a new page.
- [Keyword cannibalization: two pages, one search, and how to fix it](https://porteur.ai/guides/keyword-cannibalization): Two pages ranking for one query cost you clicks. See it in Search Console, pick a winner, merge or canonicalise, and know when to keep both.
- [Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what Search Console means](https://porteur.ai/guides/alternate-page-with-proper-canonical-tag): What this Search Console status means, when to ignore it, when it hides the wrong page, and the exact checks and fixes to set the right canonical.
- [Share of voice](https://porteur.ai/glossary/share-of-voice): Share of voice in SEO: what it means, how trackers calculate it, when it is useful, how to measure it on your topics, and what to do next.
- [SEO for beginners: your first month, one hour a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/seo-for-beginners): A four‑week SEO plan for beginners. One hour a week to set up Search Console, pick searches, publish two pages, earn first links and track results.

Paste your homepage URL to get a free check that reads your site and rivals on your searches in about thirty seconds, and shows three findings you can ship this week. Free check: https://porteur.ai/