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SEO Basics

Guide

Set up Google Search Console (and read the 5 reports that matter)

GSC is Google telling you exactly how it sees your site. Free, essential, and underused. Works for B2B and B2C.

11 min read·8 steps
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  1. Add your property at search.google.com/search-console

    Two options: Domain (verifies all subdomains, requires DNS access) or URL prefix (verifies a single URL). Pick Domain if you own the DNS, it's cleaner. Add a TXT record at your DNS provider (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap), wait 5 minutes, click verify.

  2. Submit your sitemap

    Sitemaps > Add new sitemap > enter 'sitemap.xml'. Most website builders (Shopify, Wix, WordPress with Yoast) generate this automatically at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Submitting tells Google 'here's every page on my site, please index them all'.

  3. Report 1, Performance (the most important)

    Left menu > Performance > Search results. Shows: total clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. Filter by query, page, country, and device. Queries where you rank #6 to #10 are one small optimisation away from #1.

  4. Report 2, Pages (Indexing status)

    Indexing > Pages. Shows which pages Google has indexed (green) vs excluded (grey). If your important page shows 'Discovered, not indexed', Google found it but decided it wasn't worth ranking. Fix content quality, add internal links, improve page speed.

  5. Report 3, Enhancements (Structured data)

    Enhancements > Products / FAQ / Breadcrumbs. Shows if your schema markup is valid. Errors here mean you're missing rich results (star ratings, price snippets, FAQ dropdowns). Fix errors, they add real visibility.

  6. Report 4, Links

    Links > Top linking sites (backlinks) and top internal linking pages. Weak internal linking is why deep pages don't rank. If your top service page has under 5 internal links pointing to it, you're wasting authority.

  7. Report 5, Manual actions & Security

    Security & Manual actions. Should say 'No issues detected'. If it doesn't, Google has penalised your site. Fix immediately, request review, wait 2 to 4 weeks.

  8. Set up email alerts

    Settings > Users and permissions > Email preferences. Google will email you when your site drops in search, indexing breaks, or you get a manual penalty. Turn all on. Free early-warning system.

That’s the whole thing.

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