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What Numbers Should a Contractor Watch in Google Search Console?
Short answer: Google Search Console is a free Google tool that shows a contractor how often their website appears in Google results and how often people click it. A contractor only needs five numbers: clicks, impressions, click-through rate, average position, and how many pages are indexed. Check them once a week, for about 10 minutes.
- Google Search Console is free and reports how your site performs in Google Search.
- It is not Google Analytics: Search Console covers what happens before people reach your site.
- Setup takes about 15 minutes: sign in, add your site, verify ownership, submit a sitemap.
- Google says it takes a few days after you add the property for data to show.
- Leave the DNS verification record in place, because Google says that keeps the site verified.
- Compare the last 28 days with the 28 days before, and write the numbers down weekly.
Most contractors never open it. That is a shame, because it is the only place where Google tells you, in your own data, what people typed before they found you.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free service that reports how your site performs in Google Search. It shows which searches brought people to your site, which of your pages Google has added to its index, and whether Google found any problems. You sign in with a Google account and prove you own the site.
It is not Google Analytics. Analytics counts what people do on your site after they arrive. Search Console covers what happens before they arrive: whether Google can find your pages and where they show up.
You need it for the same reason you need a phone number on your truck. Without it you are guessing.
How do you set up Google Search Console in five steps?
Plan on 15 minutes. If someone else built your site, ask them to do steps 2 and 3 with you.
Step 1: Sign in with a Google account you control
Use an account that belongs to the business, not to the web designer or a former employee. If the account leaves with them, you lose your history. Write the login in a safe place.
Step 2: Add your site as a property
Google offers two kinds. A domain property includes data for every http or https version and every subdomain of your address, and can only be verified with a DNS record. A URL-prefix property can also be verified with an HTML file, an HTML tag, Google Analytics or Tag Manager (Google Search Console Help: Verify your site ownership).
If you are not sure what DNS is, choose URL prefix and type the full address of your home page, for example https://yourroofing.com.
Step 3: Verify that you own it
Google needs proof that the site is yours. Options include uploading an HTML file, adding a meta tag to the home page, using your existing Google Analytics or Tag Manager code, or adding a DNS record at your domain company. If you use WordPress or Wix, Google suggests checking that platform's own instructions first, since it may offer an easier way (Google Search Console Help).
Do not remove the DNS record afterward. Google says that to stay verified, you should leave it in place.
Step 4: Submit your sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site so search engines can find them. Google says a site of about 500 pages or fewer may not need one, and that in most cases a site benefits from having one (Google Search Central: Sitemaps overview). Many site builders create it for you at an address like yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. In Search Console, open Sitemaps, paste that address and submit it.
Step 5: Wait a few days, then open Performance
Google says data collection starts as soon as the property is added, but it takes a few days for data to show (Google Search Console Help). Do not panic if the charts are empty on day one.
What are the five numbers to watch?
Open the Performance report. Google defines the first four numbers there like this: clicks are the times someone clicked your site in Google results, impressions are the times your site appeared, click-through rate is clicks divided by impressions, and average position is the average position of the topmost result from your site (Google Search Console Help: Performance report). The default view covers the last three months.
| # | Number | Where to find it | What a contractor should read from it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clicks | Performance | Real visits from Google. The number that turns into calls |
| 2 | Impressions | Performance | How often you appear. Rising impressions with flat clicks means you show up but nobody picks you |
| 3 | Click-through rate | Performance | Whether your title and description make people click |
| 4 | Average position | Performance | Roughly where you sit. Lower is better |
| 5 | Indexed pages | Pages (page indexing) | How many of your pages Google can show at all |
Here is how to use each one.
1. Clicks
This is your scoreboard. Compare the last 28 days with the 28 days before. Write the number down each week. For a roofing or tree business, expect swings by season and after storms, so compare to the same weeks last year once you have a year of data.
2. Impressions
Impressions show reach. A page that shows up 2,000 times and gets 10 clicks has a different problem from a page that shows up 40 times. The first needs a better title. The second needs more reach, usually through a better page, more reviews or a clearer service area.
3. Click-through rate
Click-through rate is clicks divided by impressions. Do not chase a magic percentage. Compare your own pages to each other. If your water heater page has a far lower rate than your drain page at similar positions, rewrite its title and description so they say what the page offers and where. "Water Heater Replacement in Tulsa, Same-Day Install" beats "Services".
4. Average position
Average position is the average spot of your topmost result. Treat it as a direction, not an exact rank. A query can show you at 3 for one person and 12 for another, because local results change with where the searcher stands. Watch for a page that sits between 8 and 20. It is close to page one, and a stronger page often moves it up.
5. Indexed pages
Open Pages in the left menu. Google says an indexed page is in its index and may be eligible to appear in results, and "Not indexed" is not necessarily bad, so check each reason (Google Search Console Help: Page indexing report).
Reasons Google lists include a robots.txt block, a noindex tag, duplicate pages, server errors, missing pages and redirects. For a small contractor site, the ones to chase are:
- A service page or town page you want found that shows as not indexed.
- Pages blocked by robots.txt or marked noindex by mistake.
- A page that returns an error.
A page that is not indexed cannot show in Google at all. Google also says a page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet to appear in its AI Overviews and AI Mode (Google Search Central: AI features and your website). So this number is the floor for everything else.
How do you find out what people searched to reach you?
In Performance, click Queries under the chart. You see the searches that showed your site, with clicks, impressions, click-through rate and position for each.
Split them into two piles:
- Brand searches. Your business name. These come from people who already know you, from a truck, a yard sign or a referral.
- Everything else. "Roof repair Boise", "emergency plumber near me". These are new customers who did not know you.
Growth in the second pile is the goal. If every query is your own name, Google sends you people who knew you already and few new ones.
Then click Pages in the same report to see which of your pages get the traffic. Click a page, then Queries, to see the searches for that one page.
What should you do with what you find?
Use a simple weekly routine.
- Check clicks for the last 28 days against the 28 before.
- Check indexed pages. Did any key page drop out?
- Open Queries. Sort by impressions. Find one query where you appear a lot and get few clicks.
- Fix the title and description of the page that gets that query.
- Write down what you changed and the date.
Do one change at a time. If you edit ten pages in a week, you will not know which edit helped.
Quick wins that often show up
| What you see | Likely meaning | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Many impressions, few clicks, position 4 to 8 | Your listing is not tempting | Rewrite the title and description to name the service and town |
| Position 9 to 20 for a service you sell | Close to page one | Make the page more complete: photos, price info, licence, FAQs, town names |
| A key page not indexed | Google can't or won't show it | Open URL Inspection for that page and fix the reason listed |
| No impressions for a town you serve | No page about that town | Add a page with real local detail. Our guide on service area pages covers it |
| Brand searches only | Few new customers from Google | Build pages for what people search before they know you |
Does Search Console show AI results?
Google says traffic from its AI Overviews and AI Mode is counted in your overall search traffic in Search Console, under the Web search type (Google Search Central: AI features and your website). You will not see a separate AI line. To test whether ChatGPT and Google's AI name you, see how to check if ChatGPT recommends your business.
What Search Console cannot tell you
It does not show calls, form fills or jobs won. It does not tell you how you rank on the map pack, which comes from your Google Business Profile. For that, use the Performance numbers inside your profile and our guide to local SEO for home service businesses.
It also will not tell you why someone chose a competitor. For that, read your reviews and the sites that show up above you.
A trade-by-trade note on seasons
Search demand moves with the calendar, and your numbers will too.
- Roofing: spikes after hail and wind storms.
- HVAC: air conditioning repair in summer, furnace repair in the first cold snap.
- Plumbing: burst pipes when temperatures drop below freezing.
- Tree service: storm cleanup after high wind.
- Concrete and masonry: busy in warm months, quiet in the cold.
So do not read one bad week as a problem. Compare the same period last year when you can, and the 28 days before when you cannot.
Common questions
Is Google Search Console free?
Yes. Google offers it at no cost, and you need only a Google account and proof that you own the site. You do not pay to see your data or to submit a sitemap.
How long does it take for data to appear?
Google says data collection starts when you add the property, and that it takes a few days for data to begin showing. Expect a thin first week. Give it a month before you judge.
Can my web designer set it up for me?
Yes, but keep ownership in your own Google account. Add the designer as a user if you want, and never hand over the only login. If they leave, you still own the data.
What is the difference between Search Console and Google Business Profile?
Search Console covers your website in Google's regular results. Business Profile covers your listing in maps and local results. They use different data. Check both, and see our guide on setting up a Google Business Profile.
Do I need Search Console if I already have Google Analytics?
Yes, they do different jobs. Analytics shows what visitors do after they arrive. Search Console shows how you appear in Google before they click. One without the other leaves a gap.
If you would rather have the site, the sitemap and the Search Console setup done for you, see a free demo site.
Sources
- Google Search Console Help: Verify your site ownership (2026)
- Google Search Console Help: Performance report (2026)
- Google Search Console Help: Page indexing report (2026)
- Google Search Central: Sitemaps overview (2026)
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website (2026)
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