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Google Search Console

search.google.com

Free plan WebAPI
Visit search.google.com
Spec score 8.5 #28 of 245 in SEO tools

What it is

Google Search Console helps site owners monitor and troubleshoot how their sites appear in Google Search. It indicates whether Google can find and crawl a site, helps address indexing problems, and supports requests to re-index new or updated content. Its Performance report groups clicks, impressions, click-through rate, and average position by queries, pages, countries, devices, search appearance, or dates. URL Inspection shows crawl, index, and serving information from Google's index. Alerts flag indexing, spam, and other site issues, and the service shows which sites link to a website. Reports also cover AMP, Core Web Vitals, and structured-data rich results. The free web service includes API access for management, testing, performance and sitemap data, filtering, sorting, and aggregation; the API does not support freeform SQL queries. Performance API data is limited to 50K rows per day per type per property, and API use has a quota. A valid Google account and a recent supported browser with cookies and JavaScript enabled are required.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Google Search Console helps monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot a site's presence in Google Search results.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Intended users
Google identifies business owners, SEO specialists or marketers, site administrators, and web developers as Search Console users.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
API
The Search Console API supports management, testing, performance-data and sitemaps-data downloads, filtering, sorting, and aggregation, but not freeform SQL queries.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Integrations
A Search Console property can be associated with Google Analytics, Google Ads, Merchant Center, Android and Play Store apps, Chrome Web Store, Google Assistant Actions, and Vertex AI Agent Builder.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Support
Google provides a Search Console Help Center, Help Forum, and Webmaster Academy resources.Read 1 Oct 2026 · search.google.com
Alerts
It sends alerts when Google encounters indexing, spam, or other site issues.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
API access
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
API limit
Performance report API data is limited to 50K rows per day per type per property, and the API has a usage quota.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Backlink analysis
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
Browser requirements
Search Console requires a recent Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari browser with cookies and JavaScript enabled, plus a valid Google account.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Crawling and indexing
It confirms whether Google can find and crawl a site, helps fix indexing problems, and supports requests to re-index new or updated content.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Keyword research
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
Links
It shows which sites link to a website.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Performance metrics
The Performance report provides clicks, impressions, click-through rate, and average position, grouped by queries, pages, countries, devices, search appearance, or dates.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Rank tracking
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
Search traffic
It reports how often a site appears in Google Search, which queries show it, and how often searchers click through.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Security monitoring
Site administrators can monitor and sometimes resolve server errors, site-load issues, and security issues such as hacking and malware.Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com
Site audit
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · search.google.com
Site enhancements
Search Console reports can monitor AMP pages, Core Web Vitals on mobile and desktop, and structured-data rich results.Read 1 Oct 2026 · search.google.com
URL Inspection
The URL Inspection tool provides crawl, index, and serving information directly from the Google index.Read 1 Oct 2026 · search.google.com

Plans and prices

Free Free Web-based · valid Google account required · API usage quota Read 1 Oct 2026 · support.google.com

Every Google Search Console plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free web access
  • Reports clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position
  • URL Inspection shows crawl and index information
  • Alerts flag indexing, spam, and other issues
  • API supports performance and sitemap data

Limits

  • Requires a valid Google account
  • Requires a recent supported browser with cookies and JavaScript
  • API has usage quotas
  • Performance API data has a daily row limit

Who it suits

Google identifies business owners, SEO specialists or marketers, site administrators, and web developers as users. It is useful to people monitoring search visibility, crawling, indexing, and site issues.

Verdict

Search Console brings search performance, crawling, indexing, and site-issue information together at no cost. API users should account for its quota and row limit, and all users need a valid Google account.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to Google Search ConsoleAll alternatives →