Start by adding your property in Google Search Console—choose either domain-level verification (covers all subdomains and protocols) or URL-prefix (one specific version like https://www). Domain verification requires a DNS TXT record through your registrar; URL-prefix can use an HTML file upload, meta tag, Google Analytics tag, or Tag Manager container. DNS is cleanest for most commercial sites because it survives migrations and doesn't clutter your code. Once verified, submit your XML sitemap under Sitemaps. For WordPress that's usually /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml depending on your plugin. This tells Google which pages you want indexed. Within 48–72 hours you'll start seeing data populate. The Performance report shows impressions, clicks, average position, and CTR for every query and page. Filter by date range (last 28 days, last 3 months, or year-over-year) to spot ranking drops or gains. Compare periods to diagnose traffic changes—if impressions hold but clicks fall, your meta descriptions or titles probably need work. If impressions drop, you lost rankings or Google deindexed pages. The Coverage report flags indexing errors: pages blocked by robots.txt, noindex tags, redirect chains, soft 404s, or server errors. Fix critical errors first—excluded pages marked "Discovered – currently not indexed" often mean thin content, duplicate issues, or crawl budget waste. Request indexing for new pages via the URL Inspection tool, but don't spam it; Google crawls high-authority sites naturally within hours. Core Web Vitals under Experience show LCP, FID, and CLS scores at the URL level. If you see red or yellow clusters, run PageSpeed Insights on those URLs and prioritize image optimization, server response time, or layout-shift fixes. Mobile usability errors appear here too—fix viewport tags and touch-target spacing before they hurt rankings. At Ottawa SEO we check Search Console weekly for every client property. The Manual Actions section is critical—if you see a penalty there, organic traffic is already tanking. The Links report reveals your strongest backlink sources and internal link distribution, useful for identifying orphaned pages or finding link-building opportunities you didn't know existed.