Is there a beginner tutorial for Google Search Console?

Yes. Google has its own getting-started guide and, since October 2026, a beginner video playlist; this page is a shorter route through the same ground. Verify your site, then learn the reports in the order you will need them: Performance first, because it shows what you already rank for, then Page indexing and URL Inspection, which explain missing pages, then sitemaps, page experience, enhancements and the two reports you want to stay empty.

Step 1: Add and verify a property

Choose a Domain property if you can edit your DNS: it covers every subdomain and both http and https. Otherwise add a URL prefix property, which offers more verification methods but covers only one exact address. One account can hold up to 1,000 properties, and data starts to appear within a few days. See adding your website, Domain vs URL prefix and verification methods.

Step 2: Learn the reports in this order

1. Overview and Insights. The Overview summarises the property's health, including any manual actions or security issues. Insights gives a quick read of clicks, impressions, top pages, queries and countries.
2. Performance. Clicks, impressions, CTR and position by query, page, country, device and date. Start with the last 28 days against the previous period (using the Performance report).
3. Page indexing. Which pages are indexed, and why the others aren't (pages not indexed).
4. URL Inspection. One URL in depth, with a live test and a request-indexing button (the URL Inspection tool).
5. Sitemaps. Submit yours once and check its status from time to time (submitting a sitemap).
6. Core Web Vitals and HTTPS. Real visitors' loading speed, responsiveness and layout stability, and whether pages are served securely (Core Web Vitals).
7. Enhancements. The rich result reports, one per type of structured data, showing which items are valid (rich results).
8. Security issues and Manual actions. Both should stay empty (security issues, manual actions).
9. Links. Samples of the sites linking to you and of your internal links (backlinks).
10. Settings. Users and permissions, the robots.txt report, crawl stats, change of address and the bulk data export to BigQuery (permission levels).

Step 3: Settle into a routine

You don't need to log in every day. Google emails you when it finds new issues, and its guide suggests checking about once a month and after you change your site's content. A monthly pass through Performance (against the previous period), Page indexing and your messages catches most problems early.

Where to learn next

• SEO fundamentals explains the ideas behind the metrics, starting from how search works.
• Week 1 quick wins turns the reports into a task a day.
• The glossary defines the terms you will meet.
• Google's new learning paths, published on 6 October 2026, are two YouTube playlists: one for beginners that includes setting up Search Console and reading its performance reports, and one on technical SEO.

How AutoPSEO helps

When the reports start to make sense, connect Search Console to AutoPSEO. It turns the same data into reports Search Console doesn't have, such as content decay and pages competing for the same query, and its content engine finds the searches your site should win and writes the articles for them.