Google Search Console
Pull and interpret Google Search Console performance, indexing, and technical SEO signals so you know what to fix on a live site.
Overview
Google Search Console is an agent skill most often used in Launch (also Grow) that guides analysis of GSC performance, indexing, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, and API exports for actionable SEO decisions.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --skill google-search-consoleWhat is this skill?
- Covers performance (clicks, impressions, CTR, position) plus Insights-style top/trending views
- Guides indexing and Coverage diagnosis (indexed vs not indexed, reasons)
- Includes sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, and Enhancements/rich-result checks
- Documents Search Console API usage including searchanalytics.query for exports
- Points title/meta rewrites to sibling skills (title-tag, meta-description) instead of blending copy work
Adoption & trust: 1.3k installs on skills.sh; 586 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You have a site in Google’s index but no clear read on which queries drive traffic, what is blocked from indexing, or which technical SEO issues matter first.
Who is it for?
Solo builders who own SEO on a live domain and want agent-guided GSC interpretation plus monitoring habits.
Skip if: Teams that only need title or meta rewrites without performance/index analysis—use title-tag or meta-description instead.
When should I use this skill?
User mentions GSC, Search Console, indexing report, Core Web Vitals, search performance, URL inspection, CTR, Search Console API, or searchanalytics.query.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a structured GSC readout with prioritized fixes and optional API export steps, with copy rewrites routed to title-tag or meta-description skills when needed.
- Structured performance and indexing analysis with recommended actions
- API-oriented export guidance when programmatic access is needed
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Search visibility and query performance are canonical Launch/SEO work, even though GSC also supports ongoing Grow monitoring. GSC maps directly to SEO subphase: queries, CTR, rankings, coverage, and enhancements—not generic product analytics.
Where it fits
After shipping pages, you pull top queries and CTR gaps to decide which URLs need title or content fixes.
You run a monthly GSC review to spot trending queries and declining impressions before they hit revenue.
You correlate Core Web Vitals and Enhancement reports with recent deploys to catch regressions.
You watch index coverage drift after infrastructure or redirect changes.
How it compares
Use for Google-native search analytics and coverage—not as a replacement for rank trackers or full technical crawl suites.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is google-search-console for?
Indie founders and solo marketers shipping websites who need to interpret Search Console data, indexing status, and Core Web Vitals without hiring an SEO agency.
When should I use google-search-console?
At launch when validating indexation and query visibility; during grow when reviewing monthly search performance; anytime you need URL inspection, coverage reasons, or searchanalytics.query exports.
Is google-search-console safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page for the upstream package; the skill guides analysis and API usage and does not require you to paste production secrets into chat.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Google Search Console
# Analytics: Google Search Console Guides analysis of Google Search Console (GSC) data: performance metrics, indexing, sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, and rich results. Covers best practices for monthly monitoring and actionable insights. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1-2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Scope - **Performance**: Clicks, impressions, CTR, average position; API for export - **Insights**: Simplified overview; top/trending content and queries - **Indexing**: Pages indexed, pages not indexed, reasons (Coverage) - **Technical**: Sitemaps, Core Web Vitals, Enhancements - **API**: searchanalytics.query for programmatic access - **Methodology**: How to read charts, avoid common mistakes, correlate with releases ## Analysis Best Practices ### Chart Reading | Practice | Why | |----------|-----| | **Focus one metric at a time** | Stacked bar charts hide fluctuations; toggle off other metrics to see each clearly | | **Don't compare just two points** | End-of-month vs prior month misses mid-month drama; examine full trend | | **Check beyond top 10** | Many reports default to top 10; scroll or paginate for more rows | | **Screenshot charts** | GSC retains limited history; save images for future reference | | **Record in spreadsheet** | Export at month-end; use formulas to track correlations over time | | **Track release dates** | Join dev standups, read release notes; correlate GSC shifts with deployments | ### Investigation Workflow 1. **Pinpoint date**: When did the metric change? 2. **Correlate**: Any releases, CMS changes, server maintenance, third-party code? 3. **Decide**: Investigate, correct, overlook, or monitor closely 4. **Loop in**: Product or dev team for root cause ## Key Reports & Metrics ### 1. Performance (Search Results) **Location**: Performance ? Search results | Metric | Use | |--------|-----| | **Clicks** | Traffic from Google Search | | **Impressions** | How often site appeared in results | | **CTR** | Whether users think page answers query | | **Average position** | Ranking trend | **Dimensions**: Query, page, country, device, date. Filter by search type: web, image, video, news. Use to find low-CTR high-impression pages (title/meta optimization opportunities). **Search appearance**: AMP, blue link, rich results (filterable in UI and API). #### CTR Benchmarks by Position Use to compare actual CTR vs expected. Benchmarks vary by SERP features (AI Overviews, featured snippets). **Zero-click**: When SERP features satisfy intent without a click, organic CTR drops; factor into expectations. See **serp-features** (Zero-Click section), **featured-snippet**. Clean SERPs: | Position | Expected CTR (baseline) | With AI Overviews (lower) | |----------|-------------------------|---------------------------| | 1 | 25-35% | ~19% | | 2 | 12-18% | ~12% | | 3 | 8-12% | ~7% | | 4-5 | 5-7% | ~5% | | 6-10 | 2-5% | 2-5% | **Interpretation**: If actual CTR is below expected for your position, prioritize title/meta optimization. Over 90% of first-page results have CTR below 10%; significant upside exists. #### Low CTR, High Impressions: Optimization Workflow 1. **Identify**: Sort by i