A company launches a new website, adds analytics, and waits for visitors from search. A month later, traffic is low, and nobody knows whether Google has even found the new pages.

Google Search Console is a free tool that answers that question. It shows how Google sees your site: which pages are indexed, which searches show your pages, and what problems it found. You do not need to be an SEO specialist to use the basics.

Week 1: Set it up properly

  • Verify the whole domain, not just one address, so that every subdomain and both "www" and non-"www" versions are covered. A DNS record is the most reliable method.
  • Submit your sitemap, usually at /sitemap.xml. If your site has one, it lists every page you want found.
  • Give access to the right people, including a backup owner, so the account does not disappear when one person leaves.

Week 2: Check which pages are indexed

Open the page indexing report. Compare the number of indexed pages with the number you expect. If important pages are missing, check a few with the URL inspection tool. Common reasons:

  • The page is new and has not been crawled yet. This often resolves on its own.
  • The page is marked "noindex" by mistake, often left over from a staging site.
  • Google treats it as a duplicate of another page, for example two language versions without correct language links.

Not every excluded page is a problem. Redirects, tag pages, and old URLs are often excluded on purpose.

Week 3: Look at real searches

The performance report shows which search terms showed your pages and how often people clicked. For a new site the numbers will be small, but they are real. Look for:

  • Searches that match your services. These confirm the site is visible for the right topics.
  • Pages that appear often but are rarely clicked. Their titles and descriptions may need to be clearer.
  • Unexpected searches that suggest a topic worth writing about.

Week 4: Fix what matters and ignore the rest

Prioritise issues that affect important pages: service pages, case studies, and the contact page. Mobile usability problems and pages that fail to load deserve attention. Minor warnings on rarely visited pages can wait.

Keep a monthly habit

Once a month, spend twenty minutes checking indexed pages, the top searches, and any new errors. Record a few numbers so you can see the trend. Combine this with your website analytics, which shows what visitors do after they arrive. If you are redesigning, read our guide to keeping search traffic through a redesign.

To review how search engines see your site, email Storm Nova Labs.