Measurement. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Google Search Console
Also called: GSC, Search Console
Google Search Console is Google's free report of how a site performs in search: which queries show it, how many clicks and impressions it earns, which pages are indexed and what errors Google found.
In practice
It is the only source of real search data. Every rank tracker and SEO tool is estimating; Search Console is counting. Connect it the day the site launches, and check the Performance and Pages reports monthly.
An agency that cannot show you Search Console is showing you something else.
Related terms
- IndexingIndexing is Google adding a page to its database so it can appear in search results, and a page that has been crawled but not indexed cannot rank for anything.
- ImpressionsAn impression is one appearance of a page or ad in search results or on a screen, counted whether or not anyone clicked it.
- Click-through rateClick-through rate is clicks divided by impressions, and in search it rises steeply with position: a first-place result earns many times the clicks of a tenth-place one.
- Non-brand searchNon-brand search is any query that does not include the business's own name, so non-brand clicks are the clearest measure of whether marketing, rather than reputation, is bringing in new customers.
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