Earlier this month Google released a MUCH needed update to the Google Search Console. In case you aren’t familiar, this is the application that your webmaster uses to manage how your website is indexed by Google. Being one of Knoxville’s top SEO companies, we were invited to try the beta version of the app and are now excited to see it released to the public.
So What Does This Thing Do?
The management portal was originally called Google Webmaster Tools and was rebranded to Google Search Console in 2015. The app is essentially the secret sauce for how to ensure your website is being indexed correctly by Google Bot. In the past, you’ve been able to configure your sitemap, see analytics for indexed pages, tag featured content for the Google Knowledge Panel and manage many other elements surrounding how Google views your website. This is the central location where we can monitor and address any issues Google might have in accessing your website. Freakin’ important stuff here people.
Problem → Solution.
In the past, this dashboard has been challenging due to the barebones layout. In addition, there’s been a sort of ad-hoc approach to updating the features to accommodate the massive shift to mobile searching. In short, this thing is a pain in the you-know-what to deal with.
Google has finally overhauled the entire UI/UX (user interface/user experience). This upgrade will make it much easier to stay on top of issues surrounding indexing status. They’ve created a new search performance report and modified the index coverage report too.
Cool… Who Cares?
More complete reports and more manageable user interface means two things: better data analysis and better time efficiency. In the end, fixing those two things leads to more successful campaigns. We’re now able to view 16 months of data to make analyzing longer-term trends easier and analyze year-over-year comparisons. This is HUGE since the previous range was only 3 months!
Thanks for nerding out with us…
All in all, this probably won’t affect your life at all. But it certainly makes us happy to see Google taking steps to improve this vital tool.
If you have any questions about Google Search Console, how to utilize the new features or need help understanding this update, get on the phone and call our office. Our team loves to help make sure businesses are being indexed for things their customers are searching!
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