Google Search Console Complete Guide 2023 Series – Part- 2

Google Search Console Complete Guide 2022 Series – Part 1 taught you some important things about it. As a result, you learned about the things you can use it for. More importantly, you understood two ways to carry out the website ownership verification process.

You must have read the complete post. Furthermore, you must have learned about the following steps of website verification ownership:

• HTML file upload.
• Meta Tags.

Another important thing you learned is the benefit of you linking the website with it. Therefore, it is important to realize the value Performance Tab and its features add to your overall SEO campaign.

Similarly, today’s post is also for adding to your knowledge about it. You will learn about some topics. For instance

• Coverage 
• Sitemap
• What to do if you submit a wrong Sitemap?

All things considered,  Google Search Console Complete Guide 2022 Series – Part – 2 is an extension of the first part. We suggest you read the full post in order to learn about the topics mentioned above.

Also read: How to Generate More Leads Through Your Digital Marketing Campaigns – A Complete Guide For Beginners

Let’s get started without any further delay.

Introduction To Coverage Tab

What does it tell you? It is one of the points most digital marketers have often overlooked. It is a tab found in the Index section. The tab tells you about many important things. For example:

• The way Google is viewing your website.
• The number of web pages Google has indexed (Your website). 
• The count of web pages with errors on your website. 
• How many web pages have received warnings. 
• The reason for errors or warnings.

Given these points, understand the value of knowledge about it. Your knowledge about it impacts the performance of your website in SERPs significantly.

Benefits Coverage Tab Offers

Login and click the tab. The first thing you will notice is the Export button. It is like the Export button you found in the Performance tab.

The functionality of this button is comparatively different. The difference is between the data the two allow you to access. Again, you can download the data in the form of Google Sheets, Excel File, or a CSV file.

The Last Updated feature below the Export button is equally important for you. Regular attention to this feature is equally important. This feature tells you the date when you last changed, edited, or updated anything on your website.

The next you will see is the Primary Crawler Information feature. You may see the PCI (Primary Crawler Information) Indicating Smartphone option.

What does it mean? In other words, your website is being crawled on smartphones. For this reason, make sure you design and optimize your website for smartphones. The display of Smartphones term by Primary Crawler information feature is compelling evidence of it.

You will see four more equally important boxes. One of them is the Errors box. This box shows the following:

• The number of web pages having errors. 
• The count of web pages Google has not indexed. 
• The exact counting of web pages Google has not even seen. 
• The types of errors in the web pages.

The additional graph below the box displays the errors in all web pages.

Valid With Warning is the second box in this list. The box shows the counting of web pages with warnings.

Also read: 2022 SEO Trends: Are These Trends Important For Your Business?

Google does not know whether you committed these errors by mistake or unknowingly. You ought to fix all errors in these pages instantly. Taking everything into account.

As can be seen, the color of this tab is Yellow for you.

Valid Tab is another tab for you. The tab appears in Green color to indicate to you the number of error-free web pages. Therefore, Google has seen as well indexed these web pages.

Google is displaying these web pages in SERPs at the present time. Hence, you do not need to do anything with those web pages. Remember, these pages can be outside the sitemap as well. 

Meanwhile, pay some attention to the Excluded tab. The tab offers information about additional information in the form of numbers. The numbers in this tab refer to the number of web pages Google has not indexed.

Either Google has not indexed these web pages deliberately or due to some error. You can check these web pages again and resubmit for the purpose of indexing. Google tells you the reason for not indexing these web pages at the instant.

Time To Throw Some Light On The Errors Tab

What Does Errors Tab Show?

Google Search Console may show you some fluctuation in the bar chart below the tab. Big bars refer to more errors whereas small bars refer to less number of errors. Don’t you see any bars? Great! Everything is alright.

An additional thing you will notice below is the list of errors. The list informs you about multiple things.

• The number of errors and the type of errors. 
• The counting of pages with errors. 
• URLs to pages of your website with errors.

Do you want to access links to pages having errors? You will have to click the error type option for this purpose. Finally, you will be able to see the list of web pages with errors.

Since you have accessed the list of web pages with errors, it is time to check them. Click the error you want to fix using one of the following options:

• Inspect URL
• Test Robot.txt Blocking.

Selecting the second option will check if your URL is blocked by Robot.txt or not. On the other hand, the Inspect URL option will retrieve data from the search console. The data retrieved shows the error affecting the selected web page.

The same offers you access to some more invaluable information as well. For instance:

• Is the web page in the sitemap or outside of it?
• Information related to crawling as well as indexing.

Click on the Performance tab and paste your URL in the search so that you can inspect the URL of your choosing.

What Does Excluded Tab Show?

Check this on priority after working errors in the web pages of your website. It provides you access to all excluded web pages after you click on this tab. 

Do not worry if the list presented before you shows errors in web pages. It is because you may not have to work on all web pages. Instead, you can check the URLs. The check will help you determine whether a page selected needs rework or not.

Do you know what is more important for you to know about the tab? You can use it for troubleshooting some web pages as well. You can resubmit the page to Google for the purpose of indexing once you fix the errors found in it.

Google has disabled the Request Indexing Feature for some time. However, you need not worry about anything as there are some other ways as well.

Filter Dropdown Option

This is another specialty of the topic being discussed. Click the dropdown menu and select All Known Submitted Pages in order to check the pages you submitted through your sitemap.

Did you submit multiple sitemaps? Do you want to check the information of all of them? Fine! Just click the dropdown menu and select the sitemap of your choosing. The feature is amazing for websites having millions of web pages.

Sitemaps Option

This is another key concept related to the topic of discussion. What exactly is it? Does it matter? Many such questions must be arising in your mind.

You need it so that you can inform Google about pages, videos, and other files available on your website. At the same time, it makes Google understand the relationship between all files. How can you underestimate its value then? All in all, the file has importance for your business.

Its Types

There are two different types of it. One of them is the XML Sitemap whereas the second is HTML Sitemap.

Link only XML Sitemap. Google does not process HTML Sitemap at the present time. The option is available under the Index menu.

Click the option. Enter the URL under Add A New Sitemap option. Always remember to add the .XML extension to the URL entered. You are all set to submit your sitemap after this.

At times, you may see some part of your website URL already typed there. What if you do not see the initial part of your website’s URL already typed there?

Does that make some difference? Well, the difference is only in Property type. We have already discussed the types of properties in Google Search Console Complete Guide 2022 Series – Part-1 for you.

Domain property is a naked domain name. Anything added to the naked domain falls in the category of URL Prefix Property. Anything can be added before the URL. You deserve full space to accomplish the task.

On the other hand, the initial part of the URL is pre-written for you. It falls in the category of URL Prefix Property. Finally, click the submit button after you have entered your website’s URL.

You may encounter a “Couldn’t Fetch Error” during the processing. Don’t worry! The issue can be solved immediately. It just means that the Search Console has not been able to access the Sitemap.XML.

It happens due to the reasons mentioned below:

• First of all, your Sitemap file is missing or unavailable. 
• Secondly, something is wrong with your Sitemap file.

It is easy to check the issue. Open a new tab in your browser. Just copy and paste the Sitemap URL after this. See if it opens or not. In case you are short of luck, check for errors in your sitemap file.

Your sitemap file may refuse to open. Furthermore, it may not open properly. A corrupt Sitemap file is another reason for it. Try another method if everything is fine according to the first method.

Again, make sure you have not blocked your Sitemap.XML file for the search engine via Robots.txt. In case it is blocked, Google will not be able to reach it and fetch it then. In this case, you are bound to face this issue.

Temporary is another reason for it. Since it is a backend issue from Google, you are left with no choice but to play the waiting game. You should wait at least 4 to 5 hours. The search engine will fix the issue in the meantime.

However, this feature allows you to submit multiple sitemaps too. It is also a way to check all types of information relevant to the sitemaps submitted. The information available for you includes the following:

• The date of submission.
• The previous reading of Sitemap.
• Sitemap access status. 
• The total number of URLs found on the site?

The last option available is the Coverage option. Again, clicking the option will redirect you to the Coverage tab.

Also read: 15 Simple Tips For Becoming An SEO Expert – A Complete Guide For Beginners

What Happens If You Accidentally Submitt The Wrong Sitemap?

You may want a solution to this problem as soon as possible. Do you wish to remove the sitemap related to an old plugin? Don’t you know what to do? Most first-time website owners usually face this issue. Google does not offer any direct solution to this problem at the present time.

We suggest you read Google Search Console Complete Tutorial 2022 further to get rid of this problem. The solution suggested here is indirect. Follow the steps given below:

• Click the Sitemap file first. You will access the following information after this:
• Last read information. 
• Total number of URLs discovered. 
• Index Coverage Direct Button.
• You will then access information about the following:
• Information of all URLs mentioned in the sitemap
• Information about links to internal Sitemaps.
• Then you will access an XML file. This file may not have any link to your website. Instead, the list of links available in the file may be related to multiple Sitemaps submitted. This is what is more important for you to understand. 
• Since it contains an index of other sitemap files, it is called the Index. 
• Another key information you will find in it is the list of URLs submitted in all sitemaps. 
• Finally, select the sitemap you want to remove. 
• Click the three dots available at the top of your screen.
• At last, click the Remove The Sitemap option.

Finally, your sitemap is removed. Submitting a sitemap is an important thing. It affects your website’s ranking in SERPs in a positive way. It indicates the growth of your web pages and website positively.

This is not the end of the Google Search Console Complete Tutorial 2022. Instead, it is merely the tip of the entire iceberg. Keep coming back to learn more about it through this series.

The list includes but is not limited to a drop in total indexed pages without corresponding errors, more excluded than valid pages, increase in error spikes, errors related to the server, 404 errors, missing pages or websites, submitted errors, and exclusions only.