5 Google Search Console Tips Most People Overlook

As a Bristol design agency we’re all about backing local businesses and helping our clients punch above their weight online. There’s nothing better than watching a website we’ve built climb the rankings and actually work for someone. In this latest instalment of our tool tips series (for local legends and beyond) we’re diving into your hotline to the search engine overlord.

Google Search Console (GSC) is often seen as just a tool for tracking search rankings but it’s got way more up its sleeve. Here are five key insights most people totally overlook.

1. Your Site Can Rank for Keywords You’ve Never Targeted

GSC’s Performance Report reveals search queries that bring traffic to your site, many of which you may not have intentionally optimised for. This is a goldmine for finding content gaps and new keyword opportunities to target in future updates.

GSC’s had a bit of a glow-up recently with the new Insights section giving you a crystal-clear snapshot of what’s working (and what’s flopping). You’ll get top-performing pages, search queries, traffic sources and trending content all served up in a way that actually makes sense at a glance.

2. Indexing Issues Are More Common Than You Think

Just because you’ve published a page doesn’t mean Google has indexed it. The Page Report helps uncover orphan pages, crawl errors, and “Discovered – currently not indexed” warnings, which could be limiting your visibility in search results. You can also test and track more advanced site enhancements such as Rich Snippets and Schema.

3. Google Tells You Exactly What’s Wrong With Your SEO

The Page Experience and Core Web Vitals reports highlight slow-loading pages, mobile usability issues and security concerns – things that can directly impact rankings. Most site owners ignore these warnings, but fixing them can significantly boost performance.

4. You Can See (and Remove) Harmful Backlinks

While Google’s algorithm ignores most spammy links, if you’ve been hit with manual penalties or poor-quality backlinks, the Disavow Tool (found outside GSC in Google’s Disavow Links tool) can help you remove bad links that might be dragging your rankings down.

5. Sitemaps Are Not Set-and-Forget

Submitting a sitemap isn’t a one-time task. Regularly check the Sitemaps Report to ensure Google is actually crawling and indexing your pages. A broken or outdated sitemap could prevent new content from appearing in search results.

Want to master Google Search Console? We can help register your website with Google and you’ll gain a competitive edge in SEO that most website owners overlook. Speak to an expert website developer today.