
Loading summary
Client Testimonial
I was like this. I found it. I found it. This is what I've been looking for, I can honestly say has genuinely changed the way I run my business. It's changed the results that I'm seeing. It's changed my engagement with clients. It's changed my engagement with the team. I couldn't be happier. Honestly. It's the best investment I ever made.
Marketing Representative
What you just heard was a testimonial from a recent graduate of the Duct Tape Marketing Certification Intensive program for fractional CMOs, marketing agencies and consultants just like them. You could use our system to move from vendor to trusted advisor, attract only ideal clients, and confidently present your strategies to build monthly recurring revenue. Visit DTM World Scale to book your free advisory call and learn more. It's time to transform your approach. Book your call today. DTM World slash scale.
Jon Jantz
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.
Marketing Representative
Let me ask you a few things. You feel like you know what differentiates your business from every other business out there? Can you confidently charge a premium for what you offer? Are you working from a plan, a marketing roadmap that allows you to know precisely what to do next? Look, don't worry if you can't answer yes to any or all of these questions. You're not alone. See, marketers today get so focused on the tactic of the week staring them right in the face that they forget to look at the big picture. The overarching strategy needed to consistently grow their business. Over the years, I've worked with thousands of businesses helping them do just that. Create the perfect marketing strategy and plan that gives total clarity about what to do next, confidence to charge ahead and charge more, and complete control of the marketing tactics they choose. I would love to help you and your team do the same. Look to find out if our strategy first program is right for you. Visit DTM World Grow and request a free consultation. That's DTM World Grow.
Jon Jantz
All right. Number Three, use Google Search Console to measure the right metrics, not rankings, trust and visibility. So get away from ranking and, and think in terms of search visibility. Click through rates and your top converting pages. So if I'm an agency, I'm going to start showing clients their overall presence is growing because to me rankings bounce around every time there's some update to the algorithm because of the way people try to manipulate them. But your overall presence growing, the total number of queries that are appearing in the top 10, your average click through across all branded and non branded terms. It really shows you how well your content earns trust quite frankly in the search engines. And then your impression growth on new pages or sections. Really overall presence is something that, that, that needs to be the new metric. It, it maybe sound kind of fuzzy because it's like what does that all add up to? But it's the growth of it getting that number to go in the right direction, direction I think is what's really key. There are technical aspects that, that Google Search Console can help you fix. So indexing, crawlability issues, load time for your website. So you definitely want to, to take a look at. Are there pages that Google's excluding? Why in some cases you've told it to exclude those, but I'm finding that in a lot of cases they can't get to pages or entire sections of websites. Or are there URLs that really are the wrong URLs like you've updated pages and you've changed names. I mean people do things like that all the time. Is the site map updated? Is mobile performance solid? That is a huge, huge one. It is. They never tell you what the ranking factors are. But I, I, I've seen it myself every time a site slows down because we haven't been paying attention or we haven't updated something or they've uploaded, somebody's uploaded a giant image that makes the homepage take forever to load. Rankings tank. So, so there's clearly a, a, a direct tie. All right, the last one I want to talk about is guiding Google Search Console will help guide your AI content or at least your AI content optimization. Right. So you can, you can do the, you know, you can feed actually the data from Google Search Console right into chat GPT and then type in something like based on these queries from Google Search Console, give them a list of your top 10. Right. Help create content briefs that, that un, that addresses these questions clearly and builds trust for a small business offering whatever service you offer. That kind of thing is going to give you such a head start, not into just produce what content that you produce, but the right content. And that's the best starting point. And so again, I've just scratched the surface on what I think are some of the key things that you ought to be thinking about from this highly underutilized tool. This is a part of what we call a search visibility system that we've created as part of the strategy work that we do for clients to help them really develop that whole content roadmap, to help them be focused on the right content to. To really be focused on intent. And I think that, that you take nothing else away from. From today, we need to be spending most of our content information around intent, around searches, branded searches for the things that people are looking that clearly does determine. That we can determine probably means they're trying to buy something. Spend our time and effort there on conversions. Don't worry about traffic, worry about visibility and overall impressions. All right, that's it for today. Again, if you want any help, I want to learn more about this. It's just JohnTape Marketing.com I'd love to show you what we do and hopefully keep tuning in to the Duct Tape Marketing podcast podcasts and I'll keep talking about the new SEO, among other things, and hopefully we'll see you one of these days out there on the road.
Marketing Representative
Let me ask you a few things. You feel like you know what differentiates your business from every other business out there? Can you confidently charge a premium for what you offer? Are you working from a plan, a marketing road map that allows you to know precisely how what to do next? Look, don't worry if you can't answer yes to any or all of these questions. You're not alone. See, marketers today get so focused on the tactic of the week staring them right in the face that they forget to look at the big picture. The overarching strategy needed to consistently grow their business. Over the years, I've worked with thousands of businesses helping them do just that. Create the perfect marketing strategy and plan that gives total clarity about what to do next, confidence to charge ahead and charge more, and complete control of the marketing tactics they choose. I would love to help you and your team do the same. Look to find out if our Strategy first program is right for you, visit DTM World Grow and request a free consultation. That's DTM World Grow.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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:
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.