If you only use one free tool for an SEO audit, make it Google Search Console. Everything else estimates what Google thinks of your site — Search Console shows you the actual data, straight from Google. The catch is that most people open it, glance at the traffic graph, and miss the reports that actually drive an audit.
Here’s how to use Search Console like an auditor: which reports to open, what each one reveals, and how to turn what you find into a prioritized fix list.
First, the setup
If you haven’t already: add and verify your site in Search Console, and submit your sitemap (yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml). Then give it a little time to gather data. Once it’s running, these are the reports that matter for an audit.
1. The Performance report — find your quick wins
This is where the fastest wins hide. The Performance report shows the queries you appear for, plus your impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), and average position.
Two audit moves to make here:
- High impressions, low CTR. Sort by impressions and look for pages getting shown a lot but rarely clicked. That almost always means a weak title or meta description — a fast, high-impact fix.
- “Striking distance” keywords. Filter for queries where your average position is roughly 8–20 (page one bottom to page two). These are pages Google already likes; a small on-page improvement can push them up into real traffic. This is the single most productive thing to do in an audit.
2. The Pages (Indexing) report — find what’s invisible
A page that isn’t indexed can’t rank, full stop. This report shows how many pages are indexed versus not indexed, and why the excluded ones were left out.
In an audit, scan the “not indexed” reasons for anything important:
- “Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag” on a page you want ranked — a real problem.
- “Alternate page with proper canonical tag” — fine if intended, a bug if not.
- “Discovered – currently not indexed” — often a sign of thin content or crawl budget issues.
- “Crawled – currently not indexed” — Google saw it but didn’t think it worth indexing; usually a content quality signal.
Anything important sitting in “not indexed” is a Tier 1 blocker — fix it first.
3. URL Inspection — check individual pages
For your most important URLs, run them through URL Inspection. It tells you whether the page is indexed, when it was last crawled, which canonical Google chose, and whether there are issues. Use the live test after you make a fix to confirm the page is now crawlable and indexable, then request indexing.
4. The Experience / Core Web Vitals report
Search Console reports your real-world Core Web Vitals — LCP, CLS, and INP — grouped into “Good,” “Needs improvement,” and “Poor,” for mobile and desktop. This is Google’s own view of your page experience, so it’s more trustworthy than a one-off lab test. Note any URL groups flagged “Poor” as technical fixes for your list.
5. Enhancements and structured data
If you use schema (FAQ, Article, Product), Search Console reports whether it’s valid and flags errors. Broken structured data can cost you rich results, so check for errors here and fix them.
6. The Links report
This shows your top linked pages, who links to you (external), and your internal linking. In an audit, use it to spot two things: important pages with too few internal links (add some from strong pages), and any obviously spammy external links (usually safe to ignore unless there’s a real pattern).
7. Manual Actions and Security
Quick but essential: check Manual Actions and Security Issues. These are rare, but if Google has penalized your site or flagged it as hacked, nothing else in your audit matters until it’s resolved. Confirm both say “No issues.”
Turning Search Console findings into an audit list
As you go, sort what you find into the same priority tiers any good audit uses:
- Blockers — indexing problems, manual actions, security issues.
- Quick wins — weak titles on high-impression pages, striking-distance keywords, missing internal links.
- Longer work — Core Web Vitals, structured data, content depth.
Search Console tells you what Google sees. Pair it with an automated audit that crawls your site’s technical details and gives you a single score, and you’ve covered both angles. You can run a free audit here alongside your Search Console review, then track improvements over time (more on that in how to track SEO results). For the full step-by-step audit process this fits into, see the complete SEO audit guide.
Perguntas Frequentes
How do I use Google Search Console for an SEO audit?
Check five reports: Performance (find weak titles and striking-distance keywords), Pages/Indexing (find pages Google can’t index), URL Inspection (check individual pages), Core Web Vitals (page experience), and Manual Actions/Security (rule out penalties). Turn the findings into a prioritized fix list.
What is the most useful Search Console report for SEO?
The Performance report, because it reveals quick wins: pages with high impressions but low click-through (weak titles) and keywords ranking on page two that a small tweak can push higher.
How do I find indexing problems in Search Console?
Open the Pages (Indexing) report and review the “not indexed” reasons. Anything important marked with a noindex tag, or stuck in “crawled – currently not indexed,” is a priority to fix.
Is Google Search Console enough for a full SEO audit?
It covers Google’s view — indexing, performance, and page experience — but pairs best with an automated audit tool that crawls your site’s technical details and gives a single prioritized score.
How often should I check Search Console?
Glance at the Performance report weekly for trends, and do a fuller review monthly or whenever you run an audit or publish major changes.
Pair Search Console with a full scan
Search Console shows what Google sees; a crawl-based audit shows the technical detail underneath. Run a free SEO audit to combine both into one prioritized list. New to the process? Start with the complete SEO audit guide, or get the full method in SEO em Ação.
Written by Mariana Yamakawa, SEO specialist and author of SEO in Action. Last updated August 2026.