How to use Google Search Console to improve your SEO

Executive overview

Most people use Google Search Console for vanity metrics — impressions, clicks, average position — which provide little actionable value. Four specific workflows turn it into a real SEO improvement tool.

The most valuable use of Search Console is finding keywords close to the top that just need a push — not monitoring the metrics you already know.

Improve CTR for underperforming keywords

• Filter the search results report to show keywords ranking below position 8
• Sort by position descending; ignore queries with very low impressions
• For each candidate keyword, check the linked pages tab and assess on-page optimisation, internal links, or other improvements
• Use common sense — don't insert grammatically broken keyword variants

Find high-ranking pages with low CTR

• Filter to keywords ranking in the top 3 positions, then sort by CTR ascending
• Low CTR despite strong rankings usually means SERP features (featured snippets, ads, video carousels) are displacing organic results
• For featured-snippet-dominated SERPs: optimise to own the snippet
• For ad-heavy SERPs: weigh whether commercial intent actually benefits your goals before investing effort

Fix sitemap errors and exclusions

• Go to the sitemaps report and click the sitemap icon to see errors, warnings, valid URLs, and excluded pages
• Common issue: a redirected URL still listed in the sitemap because the old post remains published in the CMS
• Fix: delete or unpublish the old post; Search Console will clear the exclusion on its next crawl

Find pages that need internal links or should be pruned

• In the links report, sort internal links by count ascending to surface forgotten pages
• Pages with very few internal links are often low-traffic, outdated, or off-topic — candidates for deletion or redirect
• For pages worth keeping: search site:yourdomain.com [keyword] to find all existing pages where you can add internal links
• Search Console does not show orphan pages (zero internal links) — these are invisible to Google unless an external backlink exists

Search Console limitations

• Caps data exports at 1,000 rows
• No keyword search volume data (Google Keyword Planner gives only range values unless running paid ads)
• Data covers your site only — no competitor visibility
• Third-party tools (e.g. Ahrefs) are needed for competitive keyword analysis and deeper technical auditing