If you’ve ever opened up Google Search Console and thought, “This looks important, but what am I actually supposed to do with it?” – you’re definitely not alone.

It’s very easy to check clicks, maybe impressions, and then… leave. Which is a bit like opening your bank app, glancing at your balance, and never looking at where the money’s actually going.

But actually, there’s a lot of genuinely actionable insight in there – things that can improve your traffic without a lot of time or effort.

Here are my favourite five things you can actually do with Google Search Console data that are both practical and worthwhile.

1. Find keywords you’re almost ranking for

    This is probably the easiest win sitting right under your nose.

    Look for queries where you’re ranking somewhere between positions 5 and 20. These are keywords where Google already sees you as relevant – you just need a small push to break into the top results.

    How to find the results

    Select “Search results” from the left hand menu, and make sure the “Average position” box is ticked (the big orange one above the graph). Then in the table of results below, look at the “position” column to find the ones currently between 5 and 20.

    How to work the magic

    Once you’ve found your pages to improve:

    • Improve the page content (clearer structure, better explanations, more depth)
    • Add a few internal links pointing to that page
    • Tweak your title to better match what people are searching for

    2. Turn impressions into clicks

    Sometimes you’ll see pages getting loads of impressions, but hardly any clicks. That’s not a ranking problem – that’s a conversion problem.

    If you’re in this boat, you don’t need to rank higher to get more traffic – you just need more people to choose you from the results they see.

    How to find the results

    Look at the “Search results” graph again, make sure you’ve got the green “Average CTR” box ticked, and look for terms that are getting you high numbers of impressions, in the top 10 results on Google, but a really low CTR (click through rate). These are results that are showing in Google, but people just aren’t clicking on them.

    How to work the magic

    • Rewrite your page title so it’s more compelling – your title tag is typically (although not always) what Google shows as the heading of your search result.
    • Make your meta description actually sell the click – make it work harder at explaining why people really want what’s on that page!

    3. See what Google thinks your page is about

      One of the most underrated things in Search Console is the query data itself.

      You’ll often find your pages ranking for things you didn’t explicitly target – sometimes in a good way, sometimes… not so much. But what you’ve got is a direct line into how Google is interpreting your site.

      How to find the results

      Look at that same “Search results” graph and run your eye down the table of search terms you’re coming up for in Google.

      How to work the magic

      • If the queries are relevant: expand your content to cover them better
      • If they’re slightly off (and so aren’t things you actually want to rank for): tighten up your content so it’s clearer what the page is actually about
      • Use these insights to guide new content ideas

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      4. Fix keyword cannibalisation

      If multiple pages on your site are competing for the same keyword, you can end up diluting your own rankings. (Have you seen my hilarious Reel with 2 of me talking about Duplicate Content? Insert cringe emoji here…)

      Search Console can help you spot this by showing different URLs appearing for the same queries.

      How to find the results

      Firstly, on the Search results table, click Add filter > Query:

      Now scroll down to the table of results, and click on the “Pages” tab:

      There’ll you’ll see all the pages that rank for that keyword.

      How to work the magic

      • Combine similar pages into one stronger piece of content
      • Redirect weaker pages to the main one
      • Or clearly differentiate them if they’re meant to target different intents

      You’re consolidating your efforts instead of spreading them thin.

      5. Understand what’s working, where

        Search Console lets you break things down by device, country, and individual pages – which is incredibly useful for spotting patterns.

        Try and answer these questions:

        • Are you performing worse on mobile than desktop? (Or vice versa.)
        • Are certain countries showing unexpected traction?
        • Do blog posts outperform other types of content?

        How to find the results

        These filters are all just different tabs along the top of that same “Search results” table.

        How to work the magic

        • Fix obvious gaps (like poor mobile experience – super important for Google’s March ’26 core update – book your free ticket to my upcoming masterclass all about the March updates)
        • Double down on what’s already working
        • Adapt content for audiences that are already finding you

        It helps you prioritise based on real data, not guesswork.

        A quick bonus: technical issues that really matter

        This isn’t the most fun part for easy wins, but it’s important. Search Console will flag things like:

        • Pages that aren’t indexed
        • Crawl errors
        • Performance issues

        These things can all be found in the other options in the left hand GSC menu. Overall:

        • Make sure your key pages are indexed
        • Fix broken or redirected pages
        • Keep an eye on site performance

        Sometimes the biggest gains come from simply removing blockers.

        If you want to keep an eye on the general health of your key pages, and how your website is performing in general, then do check out our SiteVitals tool too, designed to do just that.

        And if you’re in love with everything Claude can do, use SiteVitals’ MCP server to let Claude get direct access to the site health data that SiteVitals collects for you so Claude can guide your strategy going forwards. You can even use something like mcp-gsc (by AminForou), or Windsor.ai if you want a self-hosted option, to dial into Google Search Console and get Claude looking at a great overview of your site’s health and standing with GSC and SiteVitals data combined. I’m going to be writing a step by step guide to this another time.

        Final thoughts…

        The real value of Google Search Console is in how directly it points you to opportunities. You’re not guessing what might work, you’re looking at:

        • where you’re close to ranking,
        • where you’re being seen but ignored,
        • and where things aren’t quite lining up yet.

        And from there, it’s just a case of making small, focused improvements that add up over time. If you use it that way, it quickly goes from “something you check occasionally” to one of the most useful tools in your SEO toolkit.