Google Search Console (GSC) is an essential tool for website owners, marketers, and SEO specialists. It offers valuable insights into how your site performs on Google Search, helping you identify successful pages, troubleshoot issues, and improve your overall search engine presence. If you want to find the *best-performing pages* on your site, GSC provides all the tools you need to uncover this data and leverage it for growth.
Why Identify Best-Performing Pages?
Knowing which pages perform well is crucial for allocating your resources effectively. These pages might already be driving significant traffic or conversions, meaning they can serve as a model for improving underperforming content. Additionally, optimizing your top-performing pages can ensure they maintain their leading positions.
Step-by-Step Guide to Use Google Search Console
Here’s how you can use GSC to easily locate the best pages on your website:
1. Accessing Performance Report
Once you log in to Google Search Console, navigate to the Performance report. This report is your starting point to analyze how your website is appearing in Google Search. It provides key metrics like clicks, impressions, average click-through rate (CTR), and average position.
To narrow down your analysis, make sure to set specific parameters:
- Date Range: Select a period, such as the past 28 days or the last 3 months, to ensure you’re analyzing recent performance trends.
- Search Type: Choose between Web, Image, or Video traffic, depending on the type of content your website offers.
2. Click on the “Pages” Tab
In the Performance report, switch to the Pages tab from the top navigation. This tab allows you to see a ranked list of URLs on your site based on the number of clicks they’ve received from Google Search.
Within this section, pay attention to these key metrics:
- Clicks: The total number of times users clicked on your page from search results.
- Impressions: The number of times your page was displayed to users in search results.
- CTR: The click-through rate, which shows how often users clicked after viewing your page in results.
- Position: The average position of your page for the keywords it ranks for in Google Search results.
3. Identify the Top Pages
Sort your pages by the Clicks column to see the pages generating the most traffic. These are your primary drivers of user engagement and likely your best-performing assets. You can also sort by Impressions or CTR to get a more nuanced view of performance.
Here’s what to look for:
- Pages with high clicks but low CTR may benefit from better meta tags or descriptions to increase their relevance.
- Pages with strong performance can serve as inspiration for future content strategies.
- High-impression pages that receive few clicks may need optimization to improve their click-through rate.
4. Drill Down Into Specific Pages
Click on any page URL in the Performance report to drill further into its data. This action shows you that page’s associated queries, offering insight into the keywords driving traffic. Reviewing these queries is an excellent way to uncover new ranking opportunities or refine your existing content.
Pro tip: Pay special attention to queries with high impressions but low clicks. These may indicate missed opportunities to attract users’ attention in search results.
5. Export Data for Deeper Analysis
If you’d like to conduct more advanced analysis, GSC enables you to export the performance data as a CSV file. Once exported, you can use tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to manipulate the data further, such as identifying trends or filtering underperforming pages.
6. Compare Performance Over Time
To see how your top-performing pages are evolving, use the Compare feature under the date filter in GSC. This will enable you to analyze data over two periods. For example, you can observe whether a page’s traffic has improved or declined compared to the previous month.
Next Steps: Optimizing Best Performers
Once you’ve identified your best-performing pages, consider these strategies to maintain or enhance their performance:
- Update Content: Add fresh information or visuals to keep the page relevant.
- Optimize for Keywords: Refine copy to target more high-ranking keywords that already resonate with the audience.
- Improve UX: Enhance the user experience by reducing page load time or improving navigation.
- Internal Linking: Link to other parts of your website from these pages to distribute link equity and boost SEO.
Final Thoughts
Google Search Console is one of the most powerful tools to understand your website’s performance. By exploring the Performance report and focusing on your top-performing pages, you can strategically build on your successes and address areas requiring improvement. Regularly leveraging GSC insights ensures you stay on top of search trends and maintain a competitive edge in search rankings.
Written by real humans 😉