Item: Google Search Console
Rating: 10
Author: Josh Bender

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The Google Search Console dashboard provides easy access to crucial reports which identify organic search rankings for specific keywords and pages. It also helps to identify potential problems, such as slow pages, lack of responsive design and broken pages. This is the only truly reliable source of data for performance in Google's organic search - from search impressions to a breakdown of countries where search users come from. This allows a site owner to better optimize their site's content and structure to improve organic rankings, and increase click-thru rates.

Pros and Cons

Easy-to-read graphs and reports
Supports multiple sites/domains
Free to use
Easy to setup (especially in conjunction with Google Analytics)
Easily identify best performing pages on a site

Doesn't show ALL backlinks to each page - only a selection
Mobile usability errors are sometimes inaccurate - giving a false positive
Data is delayed by a few days

Return on Investment

Boosted website traffic by identifying areas for improvement.
Track and measure content marketing campaigns.
Better understand customer interests by seeing what other keywords they searched for.
Improved accountability within the internal marketing team.

Key Insights

Do you think Google Search Console delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Google Search Console's feature set?

Yes

Did Google Search Console live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Google Search Console go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Google Search Console again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Google Analytics

Likelihood to Recommend

This is an essential tool for every website owner/manager. It's crucial to understand your site's performance in Google's organic search, and there's no more reliable source than directly from Google itself. Unlike other competing tools which might use estimates, this data is 100% verified. At the very least, you can keep track of your organic rankings, and then take things to the next level and drill down to identify under-performing pages which could result in a significant boost to your traffic with small, simple changes.

There are few cases where this type of tool isn't useful - such as for managers of internal websites and intranets - anywhere where organic search is not a factor.

There's a reason why everyone uses this

Overall Satisfaction with Google Search Console