Google Search Console is an invaluable and 100% free SEO tool that nonprofits can employ to understand how their websites appear organically on Google. The free tool offers a host of useful data and insights. Through Google Search Console, you can learn which keywords are driving users to your webpages, and see how your website is ranking amongst similar nonprofits in search engine ranking pages (SERPs). You’ll also discover whether there are technical issues preventing users from finding your pages, how security and functionality is impacting your web traffic, and so much more.
If you’re getting started in SEO, or simply want to better understand how users discover your nonprofit online, Google Search Console is your best friend!
Understand Your Website’s Performance on Search
A great place to begin is the Performance report. Here, you’ll find a host of useful data to help you understand your SEO performance. Analyze key metrics such as clicks, impressions, click-through rates (CTR), and average keyword position, identify the keywords and pages that are driving traffic to your site. With that knowledge, you can start to understand the areas that are needing improvement. These insights allow for informed decisions on where to focus SEO efforts, so that you can make the biggest impact for your SEO buck.
Pro tip: make use of filters!
To really find meaningful data, you can use the built-in filters of the Performance report to analyze key metrics by search type, keyword, page, country, device, and appearance. Wondering if a particular keyword is ranking on your site? Apply a query filter and you’ll instantly see the number of recent clicks and impressions you’ve gained from it, as well as the average position your pages are in for that search result. Next, find the Pages tab in the data table and you’ll see exactly which page(s) are appearing for this search with the clicks, impression, and rank segmented for each. Do this a few times and you’ll start to see what’s working well for your site’s SEO so that you can repeat the recipe on other pages.
Track your progress
Once you’re able to apply your learnings to make improvements, the Performance report will also help track the impact of SEO changes over time. This longitudinal view is crucial for measuring the effectiveness of your optimization efforts, as well as understanding seasonal or trending shifts in search behavior. By regularly reviewing this report, nonprofits can measure the impact of their changes and continuously refine their strategies.
Discover Valuable Trends and Insights
If data tables and key metrics aren’t quite your thing, Google also offers a more digestible version of the Performance report called Google Search Console Insights. Here, you’ll get all of the important highlights, including how your organic clicks are trending over time, which keywords and content are gaining traction amongst your users, and a list of the top pages that bring visitors to your site. There’s also an Achievements tab, which can help set targets and track progress for growing organic traffic. It’s a great place to help SEO newcomers understand what they should be looking for in the Performance report.
Identify and Resolve Indexing Issues
To be discovered on Search, a web page must first and foremost be listed in the search engine’s index. This is a list of all the pages that Google knows about and will include in the results when a user makes a search. If your page isn’t indexed, it won’t be listed!
Getting indexed isn’t as simple as publishing your page to the web—there are a host of factors, like no-index tags, robots.txt, and even links that can prevent a page from getting listed. Luckily, Google makes the troubleshooting process simple with the Page Inspection tool. Enter a URL into the tool and you’ll get an immediate assessment of whether the page is indexed, what prevented it from being indexed, and even when the last time Google crawled the page for updates.
Furthermore, if you’re looking to understand indexing across all your site’s pages, the Index report will help you do just that. Search Console provides a full breakdown of the number of pages you do or don’t have listed, with reasons for why some aren’t. It’s a great way to understand the technical pieces impacting your website’s SEO.
Dive Into User Experience
A newer addition to the tool is the integration of Google’s Page Experience and Core Web Vitals tools, which can be used to identify technical elements impacting the functionality of your site. It’s a bit on the technical side, however, so we generally recommend having your web developer or SEO professional review this one.
On the other hand, the HTTPS report is a great one to look at regularly so that you can be sure you’re protecting website visitors’ security and privacy. A perfect score is what you should expect to see.
More Reasons We Love Google Search Console
- First party data offers more robust trusted insights
- Intuitive and easy-to-navigate reports are great for SEO newcomers
- Constant updates mean you can always be upping your SEO game
- Did we mention it’s free?
Getting Started with Search Console
Getting started with Search Console is relatively quick and easy compared to other analytics tools from Google. You’ll need to have either an existing Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager property installed correctly on your website, or access to your website’s DNS records. If you’re already set up with Analytics, it’s as simple as adding your website’s homepage URL to the URL prefix option on Search Console’s setup page. Select either the Analytics or Google Tag Manager verification option and within seconds you’ll have access to your new Google Search Console account.
If you prefer to go the DNS route, there are some instructions that Google provides to help users get set up. It takes a bit longer, but you may gain access to even more data with this method, since it allows for tracking across all subdomains associated with your domain.
Final Thoughts
Google Search Console is an essential tool for nonprofits aiming to enhance their online presence and optimize their SEO strategies. Its comprehensive suite of features, from Performance reports to Page Experience metrics, provides invaluable insights into how your website performs in search results and how users interact with your site. By leveraging the data and recommendations offered by Google Search Console, nonprofits can make informed decisions, track progress, and continuously improve their web visibility. Best of all, this powerful tool comes at no cost, making it an accessible resource for organizations of all sizes. Start harnessing the benefits of Google Search Console today and take the first step toward maximizing your nonprofit’s impact online.
