Search engine optimization is one of those buzzwords that gets tossed around a lot, but rarely do people take the time to sit down and really understand what it means—especially on a practical level. For a lot of small and mid-size business owners I’ve worked with here in Franklin, SEO can feel like a dark art: something techy and mysterious, gated by jargon and algorithms.
This guide is for those folks. I’m writing it not from the mountaintop, but from the front porch. The idea is to introduce a very accessible and critically useful SEO tool: Google Search Console. And to do that while honoring the real-world headspace of business owners—busy, stretched thin, wearing many hats—and showing how this free tool can become one of the most valuable windows into your online presence.
But more than just learning what buttons to click, I want to shift how you think about visibility. A website is not a brochure—it’s a conversation. And tools like Search Console allow you to eavesdrop (ethically) on how people are trying to talk to you online.
At its core, Google Search Console (GSC) is a free platform from Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's performance in Google Search results. It's not the same as Google Analytics. While Analytics tells you what people do after they land on your site, Search Console tells you how they got there—or why they didn’t.
I like to compare it to the behind-the-scenes rigging of a stage play. The audience (your customers) sees what happens on the front end (your site design, your content), but GSC gives you a peek backstage to make sure the lighting is right, the doors open when they’re supposed to, and that search engines understand your performance well enough to put you in front of the right crowd.
From a technical development standpoint, GSC is also a feedback loop. When I design a Webflow or WordPress site, it’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about whether Google can crawl it, understand it, and rank it. If a website is the house, then Google Search Console is the home inspector after the work is done.
Let’s look at some specific areas where GSC becomes not just helpful—but essential.
Before anything else, you need to verify ownership of your site. This is what enables Google to share detailed data with you. Verification is essentially saying, “Yes, I own this domain, and I want to see how it’s doing in search.”
There are multiple verification methods:
In Webflow, for example, it’s often easiest to use the meta tag method. Simply copy the verification tag Google gives you, go to your Webflow Project Settings under SEO, and paste it in the appropriate field.
Once verified, Google begins collecting data about your site. It may take a day or two for search performance data to populate, but after that, you’ll have access to a trove of insight.
The "Performance" section in GSC is where I recommend clients start. It shows clicks, impressions, average CTR (click-through rate), and average position over time. These four metrics are like the vitals of your SEO health.
Clicks are how many people clicked on your site from search results. Impressions are how many times your site showed up on the results page—even if it wasn’t clicked.
One client of mine—a Nashville-based wedding photographer—was getting only 30 clicks per month. But she had over 6,000 impressions. What that told us was: people are seeing her site, but not choosing to click. After optimizing her meta titles and descriptions to better speak to the intent behind "candid wedding moments" and "natural light weddings," CTR jumped within two months to over 2%, translating to 150+ clicks/month.
This shows the general ranking of a page or keyword. But it’s not straightforward. “Position 15” doesn’t mean you’re always #15 on Google. It could mean you bounce between #10 and #20 depending on device, user location, personalization, etc.
It’s useful for spotting trends over time. If a blog post is sitting at position 11 (top of page two), a few strategic internal backlinks and heading tweaks could be the nudge to bump it onto page one—where 90% of the clicks live.
One of the most powerful features in Google Search Console is the ability to see what search queries people used to find your site. These aren't just keywords—they're clues to your audience’s questions, desires, and the language they use.
Too often, businesses write content based on how they describe their services, not how real people search for them. GSC bridges that gap.
When I was consulting with a local coffee roaster in Franklin, they were trying to rank for “artisanal coffee beans,” but GSC showed that most of their impressions were coming from queries like “high-end coffee near me” and “local roasters Franklin.”
We adjusted their H1s, added location-specific meta titles (e.g., “Franklin’s Local Coffee Roaster | Hand-Roasted Beans Daily”), and created a landing page specifically for "coffee delivery Franklin TN." In under two months, those queries started turning into leads.
The point here isn’t to chase random search terms, but to meet your audience where they are. Let their search behavior shape how you talk about what you do.
One unsung hero in Search Console is the “Pages” section under Indexing. This is where Google tells you which URLs it can or cannot add to its index—and why.
You might discover:
If your site's been live for months but certain pages aren’t showing up in search, this is where to look. For one first-time blogger on Squarespace, I found 25 blog entries that weren’t appearing in search because the blog template included a noindex tag by default. We removed it, resubmitted the URLs in GSC, and traffic began trickling in within two weeks.
Knowing what Google sees (or doesn’t see) is crucial. It’s like putting up a billboard on the highway but forgetting to turn on the lights—it technically exists, but nobody is noticing it.
Sitemaps are XML files that tell search engines what pages exist on your site and how often they’re updated. Most modern CMS platforms like Webflow or WordPress generate these automatically.
In GSC, you can submit your sitemap URL directly. For Webflow, it's usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Adding this helps Google discover your pages faster and ensure it’s crawling the latest version of your site.
Where this becomes especially important is during site migrations or major updates. When I moved a Wix client to WordPress with a full redesign and updated page structure, old URLs were being shown more than the current ones. We submitted a fresh sitemap in GSC and used the URL Removal tool to temporarily hide outdated pages while new ones took ranking.
Don't assume Google finds what you want it to—it doesn’t read minds, just files.
Google assesses your site’s mobile performance directly. In the Mobile Usability report, GSC will flag:
These issues affect your mobile search rankings more than you might think. Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing.
I once helped an HVAC contractor whose Squarespace site looked fine on desktop. But over 70% of his traffic was mobile, and mobile users were bouncing like crazy. GSC showed multiple tap target issues and scrolling problems tied to old, bloated image containers. Small CSS tweaks made a tangible difference, and his mobile conversions picked up within a few weeks.
Design is about experience. If that experience breaks down on mobile, you’re leaking trust (and money) with every glitchy swipe.
Another important component GSC reports on is Core Web Vitals—an initiative from Google to assess actual user experience metrics like load speed, interactivity, and layout shift.
These are broken into:
Real users hate sluggish, janky websites. Google knows this—and ranks accordingly.
One e-commerce brand I advised had a beautiful Shopify site but slow LCP scores due to oversized banners. We resized hero images, implemented lazy loading, and moved some JS to the footer. Search Console reflected those gains within a month, leading to increased organic visibility and fewer abandoned carts.
In GSC’s “Links” section, you can see which websites link to you, and which of your pages get the most inbound traffic.
Why does this matter? Backlinks still matter—for trust, authority, and rankings. But beyond SEO, it tells you who finds you credible. If a niche blog or community site links to your content, it’s worth reaching out and building that relationship.
For a mental health coach client, we discovered she had been linked from a well-known psychology podcast blog—without her even knowing. We used this to start a collaboration which ended up doubling her email list in six months.
GSC doesn’t just show data. It gives you context for connection.
Google Search Console is not just a thermometer—it’s a blueprint. It gives you raw visibility into what parts of your digital foundation are working, which need repair, and which hidden corners might be blocking growth entirely.
If you’re a business owner, marketer, or even a curious freelancer trying to understand why your site isn’t performing the way you’d hoped—this tool is your inside track. And it rewards engagement. The more you explore its corners, listen to its signals, and respond in-kind, the more aligned your site becomes with real-world behavior.
I always tell clients: digital success isn’t magic, it’s architecture. Tools like Search Console help you see through the walls. Learn to use it well, and you’re not just optimizing your website—you’re optimizing the entire way you show up in the world.
Copyright © Zach Sean Web Design
