Google Webmaster Tools vs Search Console: what's the difference?
Getting Started
Google Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console are the same service under two names, so there is nothing to choose between. Google dropped the Webmaster Tools name on 20 May 2015 because the people using it were no longer only webmasters, then rebuilt the interface between 2018 and 2019. Today you sign in at search.google.com/search-console. Bing still uses the Webmaster Tools name, but for a separate product of its own.
When did Webmaster Tools become Search Console?
It happened in two stages: a new name first, then a new product behind the name.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 20 May 2015 | Google announced the rebrand so the name would include everyone who cares about Search: hobbyists, small business owners, SEOs, marketers, designers and developers as well as webmasters. |
| 8 January 2018 | A rebuilt Search Console began rolling out in beta, with a Search performance report holding 16 months of data, plus Index Coverage, AMP and Job posting reports. The old version kept running beside it. |
| 4 September 2018 | The new version graduated from beta and gained the Manual Actions report and a live test in the URL Inspection tool. |
| 9 September 2019 | Google retired most of the old reports, including the old home page and dashboard, which now redirect to the matching pages of the new Search Console. |
What changed for site owners
The 2015 step changed the name and the branding, not the reports. The 2018 rebuild is what changed day-to-day work:
- Longer history. Search traffic data moved into the Performance report, which shows clicks, impressions, CTR and average position going back 16 months.
- Page-level debugging. The URL Inspection tool shows whether one address is indexed, which canonical Google chose and when it last crawled, and can test the live page.
- Issue tracking. The 2018 Index Coverage report showed which pages were indexed and what stopped the rest. Today the Page indexing report does that job, grouping unindexed URLs by reason and letting you ask Google to validate a fix.
If you are following a tutorial that tells you to open "Webmaster Tools" or a menu you cannot find, it was written for the old interface. Most of those tasks still exist in the current Search Console, sometimes under a different name, while a few old tools have been retired, so search the Search Console Help Center for the task rather than the old menu label.
Where do I sign in now?
Open search.google.com/search-console and sign in with the Google account that owns the site or was added to it. If the property list is empty, you either used a different Google account or nobody has added the site yet; How do I log into Google Search Console? walks through both cases.
Is Bing Webmaster Tools the same thing?
No. Bing Webmaster Tools is Microsoft's own service for Bing search, at bing.com/webmasters. You add your site to it separately, and it reports how your site does in Bing, not in Google. When an agency, a developer or a plugin asks for "Webmaster Tools access" today, check which of the two it means: for Google it needs a Search Console user, for Bing a Bing Webmaster Tools one.
How AutoPSEO helps
AutoPSEO reads Search Console through your Google sign-in and imports every property that account can see (Connecting Search Console). Add a Bing Webmaster Tools API key and Bing's queries and pages appear beside Google's (Bing Webmaster Tools in AutoPSEO), so you can compare the two engines without switching between the two consoles. New to the tool itself? Start with What is Google Search Console?.
Put your SEO content on autopilot
Connect Search Console and your site. AutoPSEO scans it and plans the first topics right away. No credit card needed.