Since Google swapped out Google Webmaster Tools for Google Search Console, the search giant has been adding features to its analytics dashboard. The latest upgrade is Search Console Insights, designed to answer questions around the search terms that bring users to publisher content.
Takeaways
- Google first introduced Search Console Insights in August last year with the objective of providing content creators ‘the data they need to make informed decisions and improve their content’. After over a year of testing, it is now out of closed BETA and available to anyone with a verified Google Search Console property.
- Search Console Insights brings together data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics to create a measurement dashboard with a focus on content performance. From a single interface, content managers can get a sense of how content resonates with readers.
- The dashboard will deliver insight into how content is performing, including top content, search queries, page view duration, referring links, and social performance. All are designed to help publishers understand how audiences discover their site’s content and what resonates.
Informed decisions
- The default view for Search Console Insights displays a timeline visualization of page views over a 28 day period. Page views and average page duration are shown with an increase or decrease comparison against the previous 28 day period.
- As well as page view and duration data, users are also shown a series of cards highlighting new and popular content, ranked according to page views.The panel can also display top traffic channels and referring links, ranked by page views and average session duration.
The free SEO tool will help answer questions like:
- What are your best performing pieces of content?
- How are your new pieces of content performing?
- How do people discover your content across the web?
- What people search for on Google before they visit your content?
- Which article refers users to your website and content?
Great content
- Judging the quality of content is key to a publisher’s success. In the developer’s blog accompanying the release Google emphasised the need for strong content in building loyal and engaged audiences and acknowledged the effort required to create it.
- But it also acknowledged that ‘Great content comes in many shapes and forms, such as an inspiring blog post, helpful guide or a fun questionnaire. Search Console Insights will make it easier for a creator to be “highly attentive to what your audiences appreciate”.
- “No matter if you are responsible for content creation or website development, Search Console Insights will come in handy to provide a quick overview on content performance while on the go,” wrote Pierre DeBois, founder of a small business digital analytics consultancy Zimana.
Users can access Search Console Insights from the Search Console Overview page in their account or set up a bookmark to access their insights report directly. There are also plans to add access to the iOS Google App and android Google App support.
