5 Ways Google Search Console Can Help Your SEO Strategy

Thu May 01 2025

Summary

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast: Episode Summary

Episode Title: 5 Ways Google Search Console Can Help Your SEO Strategy
Host: John Jantsch
Release Date: May 1, 2025

In this insightful episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, hosted by renowned marketing expert John Jantsch, listeners are guided through the transformative potential of Google Search Console (GSC) in enhancing SEO strategies. Without a guest, John delivers a solo deep-dive into the modern landscape of SEO, emphasizing that while traditional methods may no longer suffice, tools like GSC remain indispensable when utilized effectively.

Introduction: Debunking the Myth—SEO is Not Dead

John begins the episode with a passionate assertion that SEO is far from obsolete. Instead, he argues that the traditional "playbook" has evolved, necessitating a fresh approach to harness SEO's full potential. He states, “SEO is still a very, very valid channel. We just have to think about it completely differently” (01:02).

The Underutilized Power of Google Search Console

John highlights a common oversight in the SEO community—the underuse and misunderstanding of Google Search Console. He points out that many marketers receive vague reports focusing solely on rankings and keyword movements without actionable insights. According to John, “the Google Search Console is actually the tool that tells you what to do if you know how to mine it” (01:55).

Five Ways Google Search Console Enhances Your SEO Strategy

1. Discovering Intent and Content Opportunities

John emphasizes the importance of understanding what users are searching for when they land on your site. By leveraging the Performance section in GSC, marketers can identify queries that generate impressions but have low click-through rates (CTR). He explains, “It shows you the content you're showing up for but not converting on... it just gives you a road map to things you ought to be improving” (03:10). This insight allows businesses to refine their titles, metadata, and content to better match user intent, thereby increasing conversions.

2. Mining for Long-Tail Searches

Long-tail keywords, though often lower in search volume, hold high intent and can drive qualified traffic. John notes, “people today have gotten really good at searching exactly what they want... these very detailed searches” (04:20). By identifying and optimizing for these specific queries, businesses can capture niche audiences more effectively. Implementing blog posts, FAQs, and Q&As tailored to these long-tail searches can significantly enhance search visibility and lead conversions.

3. Measuring the Right Metrics: Trust and Visibility Over Rankings

Moving away from the traditional focus on keyword rankings, John advocates for tracking search visibility and trust metrics. He advises, “get away from ranking and think in terms of search visibility. Click through rates and your top converting pages” (07:00). By monitoring the total number of queries appearing in the top 10 and the average CTR across branded and non-branded terms, marketers can gauge how well their content is performing in earning trust from search engines and users alike.

4. Addressing Technical SEO Aspects

GSC is invaluable for identifying and resolving technical SEO issues that can impede site performance and rankings. John underscores the necessity of ensuring proper indexing, crawlability, and mobile performance. He mentions, “technical aspects that Google Search Console can help you fix... are there pages that Google's excluding” (08:30). Regularly auditing these elements helps maintain a healthy website that search engines can efficiently navigate and rank.

5. Guiding AI-Driven Content Optimization

In the era of AI, integrating GSC data with AI tools like ChatGPT can streamline content creation. John suggests, “you can feed... the data from Google Search Console right into chat GPT and then type in something like based on these queries... give me a list of your top 10” (10:15). This synergy allows marketers to generate content briefs that address specific queries, ensuring that the produced content is both relevant and optimized for high intent searches.

Building a Search Visibility System

John introduces the concept of a Search Visibility System (SVS), a comprehensive approach that integrates GSC insights into a cohesive SEO strategy. This system focuses on intent-driven content creation, branded search optimization, and overall impression growth, moving beyond mere traffic generation to foster meaningful conversions. He concludes, “from today, we need to be spending most of our content information around intent... that clearly does determine... they're trying to buy something” (11:50).

Conclusion: Embracing a Data-Driven SEO Future

Wrapping up the episode, John reiterates the critical role of Google Search Console in modern SEO strategies. He encourages listeners to adopt a search visibility mindset, prioritize high-intent content, and utilize GSC’s comprehensive data to drive informed decision-making. For those seeking further assistance, John invites them to connect with Duct Tape Marketing for expert guidance in implementing these strategies effectively.

Notable Quotes:

“SEO is still a very, very valid channel. We just have to think about it completely differently.” – John Jantsch (01:02)
“It shows you the content you're showing up for but not converting on... it just gives you a road map to things you ought to be improving.” – John Jantsch (03:10)
“Get away from ranking and think in terms of search visibility. Click through rates and your top converting pages.” – John Jantsch (07:00)
“You can feed... the data from Google Search Console right into chat GPT and then type in something like based on these queries... give me a list of your top 10.” – John Jantsch (10:15)
“From today, we need to be spending most of our content information around intent... that clearly does determine... they're trying to buy something.” – John Jantsch (11:50)

This episode serves as a valuable resource for marketers, small business owners, and SEO professionals seeking to refine their strategies and harness the full potential of Google Search Console. By adopting John Jantsch’s recommendations, listeners can elevate their SEO efforts, drive higher-quality traffic, and achieve sustainable business growth.

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Transcript

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Marketing Representative (0:16)

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Jon Jantz (1:02)

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is Jon Jantz and no guest today. I'm doing another solo show kind of on a rant here about new SEO. SEO is not dead. The old playbook is dead. SEO is still a very, very valid channel. We just have to think about it completely differently. So in this segment of this series on the new SEO, I want to talk about a tool. And I know this is gonna, for some people this is gonna be hard and dry and boring, but trust me, I'll first off try to make it not boring. But also secondly, this is important, this is something that you need to pay attention to because one of the challenges frankly in, in SEO is a lot of the reporting that you get or that agencies give is really doesn't tell you much. It may be tells you rankings or some movement in keywords, but it doesn't really tell you what to do. And the Google Search Console is actually the tool that tells you what to do if you know how to mine it, how to actually improve intent, how to improve click through the things that are actually going to lead to conversion. And let's face it, that's the point of all of this right now. Some of you old school folks have been listening to me forever. Remember that this, this data that's in Google Search Consult used to be in Google Analytics. We used to be able to see what we were ranking for and how much volume each of these searches were sending us. Now that's just a big nothing. It doesn't tell you what you, they took it all out of there and but it's, it still lives in Google Search Console. So I find that it is one of the least understood and Most ignored tools. And here's the beauty, it's free. There are a whole lot of tools that are built on the back of this that they charge $199 a month for. If you just figure out how to actually tweak it and use it, it is a tool that can give you even better data, can inform decisions going forward so that you can improve your conversion, improve your business. So I'm going to go through five different things that I think ways that you ought to be thinking about using Google Search Console. And don't worry if you're listening to this and you're like, oh my head hurts, I don't want to learn another tool. This is something that we do as part of our strategy. First engagements as part is built of part of building a search visibility system rather than SEO. I'm calling it SVS Search Visibility because that's what really matters. That tool or that system is something that, that we can do for you. So fear not, if you hear something today and you're like that's brilliant, I don't want to do it, just contact us duct tape marketing and we will help you find the answers to making this work for you. So number one, use Google Search Console to discover intent and content opportunities. So you want to understand what people are actually searching for when they find your site first of all and align your future content with those real queries. So there is, there are a number of sections in Google Search Console. I won't do a tutorial on it. I want to focus on the, the, the high impact things I think you can do today. But one of the sections is called performance. So if you go to performance search results queries, you're going to be able to filter in pages, filter your, your pages that have impressions but low click through rate. Those are just things that are on there. It'll be very obvious to you what those are. It shows you the number of impressions that that page got in the last whatever period. But it also shows the people that saw that page that clicked on it. So it shows you the content you're showing up for but not converting on. And often that means because your title or your metadata or maybe the content itself showed up for Google interpreted the intent but the user didn't think that it met what they were searching for. So it just, it basically it just gives you a road map to things you ought to be improving. You're already showing up for those. But now know how do you improve that? You can mine for long tail searches. One of the things That I find happens all the time is that people today have gotten really good at searching exactly what they want. I mean an AI is making this even worse because you can write a book into AI and it'll give you the results. But people are, are doing longer searches these, these very detailed searches. Well, a lot of times they, they pretty much show their intent in that search. And even though there may be very little volume for that, one of the things that I have found is sometimes when you look at pages that are getting traffic, what they're ranking for, it might be 30 or 40 different search terms that you're ranking for for that page. There just isn't much volume in it. But, but the intent is so high that Even if it's 10amonth, capturing those 10 and really optimizing your page for those with blog posts, FAQs, even Google business page Q&As, you, you start to actually capture more of that in more places. And that's high intent. Leveraging Google search for local and branded visibility signals so one of the things that you want to be paying attention to is are there searches for your name, your competitors names, plus reviews or plus type of service. And what that does is it tells you that, that people are trying to validate businesses, types of businesses. So you create branded FAQs around those searches, testimonials, reviews that, that actually address those. So mine all of your, your reviews and look for, put those on your website getting those kind of search terms in there.