At any given time, I have GSC open in 2 to 10 tabs. It’s helpful on a macro and micro level -- both when I need to see how many impressions HubSpot is gaining month over month or figure out what’s happened to a high-traffic blog post that suddenly fell.
I’m a content strategist on HubSpot’s SEO team, which means GSC is particularly useful to me. But anyone who’s got a website can and should dip their toes in these waters. According to Google, whether you’re a business owner, SEO specialist, marketer, site administrator, web developer, or app creator, Search Console will come in handy.
I remember the first time I opened GSC -- and it was overwhelming. There were tons of labels I didn’t understand (index coverage?!?), hidden filters, and confusing graphs. Of course, the more I used it, the less confusing it became.
But if you want to skip the learning curve (and why wouldn’t you), good news: I’m going to reveal everything I’ve learned about how to use Google Search Console like a pro.
This guide covers:

What is Google Search Console?
Adding your website to Google Search Console
Setting up owners, users, and permissions
Submitting a sitemap
Understanding dimensions and metrics
Adding filters
Using GSC (26 use cases)


What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools) is a free platform for anyone with a website to monitor how Google views their site and optimize its organic presence. That includes viewing your referring domains, mobile site performance, rich search results, and highest-traffic queries and pages.

If I was reading a post about request for proposals (RFP), I’d want to get to the point … and fast.

I remember my first day at HubSpot. I was so nervous and had a million concerns swimming around in my head.

As a content strategist, I like to ask my clients a lot of questions, starting with, "Who’s your target audience?"

In the competitive realm of digital advertising, understanding your PPC competitors is crucial. If your ads aren‘t performing at their best, it’s likely because you're not fully tuned into what others in the space are doing.

It’s been an eventful week for Spotify. As reported by our sister newsletter The Hustle, the company announced a round of layoffs just days after the launch of its annual campaign Spotify Wrapped.

LinkedIn profiles are the new resumes. LinkedIn shows your skills, featured projects, recommendations, and certifications, to name a few. So, you certainly want to emphasize these skills and ensure they are recognized as your strongest assets.

Welcome to The Creative, a series that gives content creators actionable advice from professionals in the creator economy. Whether you're a seasoned creator or just starting out, read The Creative to learn how to grow your platform, improve your content, and stay ahead in the ever-shifting creator landscape. 

Us marketers know that marketing according to data points alone isn’t enough to get meaningful engagement—that’s the job of a buyer persona.

Let‘s talk AI. We’ve all dabbled in it, been awed by its potential, and maybe even been a bit overwhelmed. Our State of AI Report found that one in five business professionals use AI and/or automation in their role. In marketing, it’s even higher.

Like many others, I get dozens of emails a day. 

Facebook is home to nearly 2 billion monthly active users, so it’s safe to say that having a compelling Facebook Business Page is essential for any company looking to bolster its online presence. It should be easy enough, right? Just slap together a photo and a couple of posts and expect the leads and customers to roll in, right?

Remember when being a “creator” was a laughable teen pastime?

I’ve abandoned numerous websites that were crammed with excessive text and bulky images due to their challenging navigation and overly bookish appearance.

Optimizing your website to generate leads is a no-brainer. However, it's not as simple as throwing a “Click Here” button on your home page and watching the leads pour in.

If you're like many people, you've likely been tempted to impulsively buy a pull out your credit card for a product or service you saw in an Instagram Reel with an incredibly convenient link to shop. 

Collecting high-quality data is crucial to making strategic observations about your customers. Researchers have to consider the best ways to design their surveys and then how to increase survey completion, because it makes the data more reliable.

Earning the trust of prospective customers can be a major challenge. Before you can expect to earn their business, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to deliver on the promises of your product or service. The best way to win new business is with cold, hard proof.

Landing pages may be the equivalent of making a good first impression, but thank you pages are the final memory you leave a website visitor with before they go.

Looking to grow your company’s reach? Education marketing is the answer. Here, you can grow demand for your product, services, or institutions as more people choose online education. The data speaks loudly: The global e-learning industry is set to reach $457.8 billion by 2026.

A car fire ignited a viral marketing moment for the Stanley brand.

Choosing the right logo color scheme for your brand can make a significant impact on memorability and awareness.

2023 was a whirlwind.

To effectively lead a marketing team, you must know your top goals. Whether your goal is to increase revenue or improve your customers’ understanding of your products, starting with a clear objective helps you create a sound marketing strategy for 2023 and beyond.

Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint— a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success.

I’ve submitted hundreds of electronic resumes throughout my career. These digital job applications hold so much weight in the job search process. It’s always nerve-wracking to make sure I’m doing everything right.

Are you eager to uncover the latest insights into landing page statistics? Well, you're in for a treat.

The instrumental to Missy Elliott’s “Pass That Dutch” is blaring through your speakers while Lindsay Lohan is on your screen walking through the halls of North Shore High School. Did you just transport back to the early 2000s?

Have you ever been on a time crunch to create social media content? Most of us have, especially when trying to hop on a trend before it passes. It’s a stressful position — but a social media calendar template can help.

As the former head of marketing for two different tech startups, I learned firsthand that email newsletters can be an incredibly powerful tool in any marketer’s toolbox.