Google Search Console (GSC) is Google's free tool for monitoring and optimizing your site's presence in search results. It is the only source of data straight from Google about how it sees your site. The most important features are:
- Performance: shows clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position for each keyword and page. It is the starting point for any SEO analysis.
- URL Inspection: checks how Google sees a specific page and lets you request indexing.
- Coverage/Indexing: shows which pages are indexed and which have issues (errors, warnings, exclusions).
- Core Web Vitals: performance report with field data (real users) for mobile and desktop.
- Links: shows which sites link to you (backlinks) and how internal links are distributed.
- Sitemaps: submission and monitoring of XML sitemaps.
Every website should have Google Search Console set up from day one. It is free, provides data no paid tool can replicate with the same precision, and is essential for diagnosing indexing and crawling issues.