Most website owners know their site should be bringing in traffic, but few understand how that traffic happens or where to find the answers. Two free tools, Google Search Console and Google Analytics give you the data that reveals how people find and use your website. Learning to read that data (understanding Google Search Console and Google Analytics) separates businesses that grow steadily from those that stay invisible.
Why Search Console and Analytics Matter
Google Search Console focuses on visibility and how Google sees your website. It shows which search terms trigger your pages, how often your site appears in results, and how many people click. Google Analytics focuses on engagment and what visitors do once they land on your site.
Together, they’re the story of your online presence. Search Console shows whether you exist in the search world. Analytics shows whether people care when they find you.
What to Look for in Google Search Console
Search Console tells you how Google views your site. It’s less about traffic numbers and more about discoverability.
1. Performance Overview
Start with the Performance report. It gives you four main metrics:
- Total Clicks: How many people visited your site through search results.
- Total Impressions: How many times your site appeared in search.
- Average Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that became clicks.
- Average Position: Your typical ranking in Google’s results.
If your CTR is low, it’s not a ranking problem, it’s a presentation problem. Rewrite titles and descriptions so people want to click.
2. Search Queries
Look at the keywords that trigger impressions. This shows how Google categorizes your content. For service-based businesses, location-specific searches matter most (for example, “life insurance Bakersfield” instead of “life insurance California”).
3. Top Pages
These are your performing pages which earn visbility. Even if they’re not converting yet, they’re where you should focus optimization. Add calls-to-action, internal links, or updates to keep those pages fresh.
4. Indexing
Every page Google lists is “indexed.” If certain pages aren’t indexed, don’t panic. Not all should be. You can ignore admin, login, or search-result URLs. Focus on ensuring all public-facing pages (services, blogs, contact, about) are indexed and clean.
We set our “thank-you” landing pages to “no index,” “no follow,” and “no archive.”
A Note About Thank You Pages and Indexing
We set our “thank-you” landing pages to “noindex,” “nofollow,” and “noarchive.” Noindex prevents a page from appearing in search results. Nofollow tells search engines not to follow links on a page. Noarchive stops search engines from storing a cached copy of the page.
These are directives we use in a robots meta tag to help us control how search engines index and present content. We can think of no good reason to index a landing page that says “thank you” to a customer after they take some sort of action like opting-in to subscribe. We also want the customer to be able to bookmark and return to the page because it might contain pertinent information.
That’s enough nerd talk.
5. External Links
Links from other credible sites act like votes of confidence. Building a few genuine external links helps Google trust your site faster. That’s something agencies spend time cultivating through partnerships, press, and guest content.
What to Look for in Google Analytics
Analytics is about behavior. It tells you how real users interact once they land on your site.
1. Traffic Acquisition
This report shows where people come from. Did they come from search, social media, referrals (linked from another site), or direct (where you type in the website address directly)? For most small businesses, organic search will outperform social media over time (operative word). If you see 70% of traffic coming from direct or social media, it may be time to build more SEO-driven content.
SEO-driven content begins with understanding your own business goals and your target audience.
A Note About SEO-Driven Conten
SEO is a long-term play that involves a number of important factors. These are on-page, technical, and off-page tactics that, when well-employed and properly executed, give your website authority and trust which lead to more business. It’s kind of like a retail shop or restaurant in a strip mall. Over time the reputation builds and that little shop or eatery becomes an anchor and a go-to within the community.
SEO-driven content begins with understanding your own business goals and your target audience. This is step 1 of The Foundation Factor framework I created last year which is set for release in 2026. But it comes down to these three core components:
- Research and planning: Knowing who your target audience is, conducting meaningful keyword research, and auditing your existing content,.
- Creating and optimizing content: Writing high-quality content (like this blog), incorporating afformentioned keywords, structuring your content (the OWL at Purdue is my go-to reference), and optimizing images.
- Maintenance and promotion: Internal and external links (as seen on this very page), mobile responsiveness (this alone is massively important), routine monitoring and updating (read the reports from search console and analytics), and promoting your content.
2. Engagment Rate
An engaged session means someone stayed long enough to scroll, click, or interact. For new websites, a 30-40% engagment rate is healthy. As your content improves, you want that number rising past 50%.
3. Top Pages and Screens
This shows where users spend time. If your homepage dominates but other pages trail far behind, it’s time to create pathways. These include internal links, navigation tweaks, and clear next steps (calls to actions). Blogs often perform surprisingly well. They attract organic traffic and build authority when written around focused topics (like this one).
4. Conversions and Events
Every business should define what counts as success. Are you looking for a form submission? Do you want someone to download something? Do you want someone to call you? GA4 (Google Analytics 4) allows you to track “conversion” events. Without tracking these, you are flying blind.
5. Location and Device Insights
Use the demographics and tech sections to confirm where visitors come from and how they browse. If you see most users on mobile, your design choices must support smaller screens first.
Why Business Owners Hire Agencies
Understanding Google Search Console and Google Analytics is Our Are of Expertise
Learning these tools takes time. More importantly, interpreting them takes experience. It’s not enough to know what your CTR is, you have to know why it’s low. You need to understand whether a blog’s high traffic means success or just window shopping. Are these tire kickers or real buyers?
Agencies like Gogo Marketing bridge the gap. We connect data with strategy. We don’t just read numbers; we translate them into actions that grow revenue.
SEO, analytics, and paid ads all work together. Paid ads bring quick traffic. SEO builds authority. Analytics ensures bother efforts remain efficient.
For most small businesses, setting aside part of your ad budget for ongoing SEO and analysis brings better long-term returns that spending everything on short-term clicks.
How Much Does SEO Cost
If you were to type the above question into Google, the AI Overview would say $1,500-3,500 per month. The cost of SEO will vary depending on the agency, their level of marketing expertise (not just digital marketing), your company goals, the competitive nature of your business, and the target audience. Check out the Gogo Marketing SEO Plans.
Small businesses can expect to pay a monthly retainer over a period of time. SEO takes time. We won’t take a client for less than 90 days, and we encourage a 1 year relationship to start. Anyone who promises rank 1 on Google should be eliminted from bid process no matter how deep your pockets.
A complete website overhaul might be required to bring the website up-to-date with modern standards, mobile responsiveness, AI-optimized SEO, and ADA standards (WCAG 2.1 – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) which are becoming increasingly mandatory. Expect a project-based fee before any monthly retainers kick-in. Compare Gogo Marketing Website Plans.
Hourly rates are generally in the neighborhood of $75 to $200+ depending on experience and technical know-how.
How to Keep Your Website Performing
You don’t need to obsess over data daily, but you should review it monthly. Here’s a simple rhythm:
- Open Search Console and check impression, clicks, and average position.
- Open Analytics and look at your top pages and traffic sources.
- Note whether your blog or service pages are improving over time.
Over months, you’ll see trends (not days and not even weeks) as to what Google values, where people linger, and which topics drive leads. That’s how smart entrepreneurs guide their marketing, whether they manage it in-house or with an agency partner.
If this feels overwhelming, that’s normal. Most business owners focus on serving clients, not deciphering analytics dashboards. That’s why hiring professional help isn’t a luxury; it’s a force multiplier.