In more detail
Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster Tools) is the most direct line you have to how Google sees your site. Google's getting started guide walks through verifying ownership and the main reports. The ones used most in SEO are:
- Performance: clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, by query, page, country and device
- Page indexing: which pages are indexed, and the reasons others aren't (for example "Excluded by noindex tag" or "Crawled – currently not indexed")
- URL Inspection: detail on a single URL, including the canonical Google selected and the last crawl
- Sitemaps: submission and status of your XML sitemaps
- Core Web Vitals and HTTPS reports
- Manual actions and Security issues, where Google tells you about penalties or hacking
Performance data covers Google Search only, including traffic from AI features. It doesn't include other search engines. Bing offers a similar tool, Bing Webmaster Tools.
Why it matters when hiring an agency
Search Console is free, so every site should have it set up, owned by the business. Google's hiring advice specifically suggests giving an SEO only read access to Search Console while they're doing an audit, and not write access at that stage (source).
Ask agencies to base their findings on Search Console data where possible. It's Google's own information, unlike third-party estimates. If an agency reports traffic or ranking numbers that don't line up with Search Console, ask why. Our Google Index Checker is a quick way to check a single page, but Search Console is the authoritative source for your own site.