How Google’s New Search Console Insights Can Take Your Content to the Next Level

Google recently released a new tool and experience – Search Console Insights! And let us just say, we are very excited about this one! 

For anyone who creates content online, owns and operates a site, or has a love for SEO (we are all of the above!), you’ll be thrilled to discover Google’s new Search Console Insights. 

We know what you’re thinking, “doesn’t Google already have Search Console.” Yes, it does, but this is a whole new experience for content creators, and it’s everything you want an analytical tool to be – simple, easy, and insightful. 

Are you as intrigued as we are? Then let’s get into it so you can begin taking your content to the next level!

What is Google’s Search Console Insights?

Search Console Insights is an easier alternative for analyzing your website’s content. It is targeted towards content creators and publishers, giving them one simple interface to discover how their content is resonating with their audience. 

The data from Search Console Insights is taken from Google Analytics and Google’s already-existing Search Console. It collects this data and essentially compiles it together for you, making it extremely user-friendly. 

Thanks to Search Console Insights, you can now spend less time collecting data and more time targeting your content to your audience to increase your SEO. You’re going to start killing it!

How Search Console Insights Works 

Search Console Insights is not it’s own separate entity but rather a tool associated with Google Search Console. You must have a verified Google Search Console property already to get access. You can click here to learn more about the verification process and requirements.  

In terms of how this tool works, it’s fairly simple. The dashboard is extremely user-friendly, straightforwardly presenting data. This allows you to easily collect data without being an SEO expert (because everyone deserves to understand and collect data about their own content!). 

The main dashboard shows you generic data for your site as a whole. If you want in-depth, page-specific data, you can find six pages in Search Console Insights in the “Recent Sections” or “Most Popular Content” sections. The pages include Page Views, New Content, Most Popular Content, Top Traffic Channels, Link Referrals, and Social Media.

The “Overview” Pages

• Page Views graphs out your page views over the past 28 days, showing your users’ average time spent on that page over that time. There are percentages under each, showing how these numbers have changed from the first day to the last. If you hover over any point on the graph, you can see the specific page views for that date.

• New Content shows you all the content you have created in the past 28 days. This is where you can see how your newest content is performing. It shows the total views, average time spent viewing the content, if this duration is high or low, and that post’s top search queries (what drove people to that content from Google’s search engine results page [SERP]).

• Most Popular Content shows a list of your most favoured content. It will show, in order by page views, your 15 most popular pages over the last 28 days. Each popular page has the same insights as your new content. You can also click on each one for more detailed analytics specific to that page. These analytics will show you these next three pages on “How People Find You.”

The “How People Find You” Pages

• Top Traffic Channels shows you where your traffic is coming from, highlighting your top traffic channels. There are three possible channels. Organic search is where traffic can come from any search engine. Next is direct, where traffic comes from links sent directly to someone or have been bookmarked, anything not from search engines, other sites, or social media. And lastly, referral traffic, where people click on links from other sites. This page also shows the top 50 keywords or search queries that direct people to your site from Google’s search engine. These are ranked by number of clicks.

• Link Referrals breaks down the link referrals to your site. You can either choose to show your “Top Referring Links” or your “Newest Referring Links” over the last 28 days. This breakdown will show you how many page views this link got you and the page it linked to.

• The Social Media Page shows you insights on how people got to your page from social media. It ranks each social platform based on how many page views it generated for your site and the average time people viewed that page through socials.

Taking Your Content and SEO to the Next Level

Now that you know exactly how Search Console Insights works, let’s discuss how it has the power to take your content to the next level!

So, we know this new experience helps content creators, bloggers, and site owners understand their content’s performance more clearly through a ton of easy-to-read data, but what questions can it answer for you? And how do these answers help you create quality content that performs at top-notch? We’ve got you!

Search Console Insights will answer the following questions for you:

1. What kind of content on my site is performing best? 
2. What are my top-performing pieces of content?
3. Which content pieces are trending?
4. How are my most recent pieces of content performing compared to my previous ones?
5. How is my content discovered across the web?
6. What are people searching on Google before they find my content?
7. Which article best refers users to my website and content?

That’s a lot of questions answered! Before Search Console Insights, it would take quite some time to collect data and answer those questions – now it’s so easy!

Once you have these questions answered, you can cater your content to how it’s been performing. You essentially now have the road map to top-performing content at the touch of a button! 

So, if you find out that blogs about cats are trending, then you can focus more of your blogs on cats instead of pushing out blogs that readers are not that interested in. The same goes for keywords. Once you know what people are searching for before they find your content, then you know exactly what keywords to use – yeah, it really is that easy! 

Search Console Insights gives you a purpose and allows you to use your time wisely. Work smarter, not harder!

Search Console Insights Compared to Google Analytics and Search Console

So, we know that Search Console Insights is an extension of Google’s already-existing analytical tools. You may be wondering what the significant difference is? Well, let’s take a look!

• Google Analytics closely tracks everything from your website and app activity to all your content and social media in great detail. It also measures advertising ROI.
• Google Search Console measures the organic traffic of your site and social media pages, bringing forward any performance issues and aiding in your SEO efforts.
• Google Search Console Insights presents your data on a simple interface, informing you on how people are discovering your content/website and what your top-performing content is. This way, you can improve your SEO and target your content to what your audience wants.

Search Console Insights is just a simpler way for content creators and website owners to collect data about their content. It’s simplicity and specificity are where it truly shines. You don’t have to have an SEO degree to understand the data, and that’s what people need!

We don’t suggest relying solely on Search Console Insights but rather, using it along with the others. Google Analytics and Google Search Console will give you better in-depth data and analytics, so we don’t suggest scraping those for Search Console Insights. We suggest using them all to get the most valuable information possible. We believe Search Console Insights is such a great tool to use in addition to the rest, especially when you want quick data. It’s truly what takes your content to the next level!

Accessing Search Console Insights

There are a few easy ways to access Google’s new Search Console Insights.

1. Click this link to take you directly to Google’s Search Console Insights page 
2. Go to Google Search Console’s overview page and select “Search Console Insights” from the top of the screen 
3. Select the “Search Console Insights” option in the iOS Google App under the account menu (click on your profile photo). 

After choosing any one of those options, you’ll get directed to the Google Search Console Insights overview page. You may notice that not all your data is showing. If that’s the case, there should be a message at the bottom of your screen that says, “You might be able to get better data and insights about your site’s content,” with a button that says learn more. 

Most of your data might be missing because your Google Search Console property and your Google Analytics property need to be linked. 

To associate or link the two, go to Google’s Search Console’s Association settings, hit the “Associate” button, and choose the Google Analytics property you want to connect.

After this, you will have full access to all the wonderful and insightful data that Search Console insights provides (and trust us, you want all the info you can get!). It’s so easy to see your data from now on!

Contact UV Designs

Not only can Google’s new Search Console Insights help you understand how your content is resonating with readers, but it allows you to take your content to a new level and reach more people. Here at UV Designs, we can guide you through this new tool or do your content creation and analytics for you! 

We help your business capitalize and succeed in the digital world, delivering a world-class experience for you and your clients. Contact us today at 647.478.4938 and stay tuned for our next blog!