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What the New Google Search Console Means for Law Firm Marketers

by Good2bSocial • January 19th, 2018 • Digital Marketing | Blog

What the New Google Search Console Means for Law Firm MarketersGoogle Search Console is important for a law firm’s website in that it can tell you about your site, show how it appears in search results, alert you to technical issues, and much more.

This past July, Google announced a beta version of Search Console and gradually released it to select users. On January 8th, they announced that this new Search Console would become available to all users. The shift from old to new will be slow – both the old version and beta version will exist in tangent throughout 2018 until the new Search Console is complete.

So what does this change include and how will it affect your firm’s usage of Google Search Console? In this post, we discuss some of the innovative features and new reports available through the beta version.

New Features

The beta version of Google Search Console adds a few useful features to the traditional version. Overall, there will be a greater variety of data available comparable over a more expansive period of time. With the updated Search Analytics, users can view and compare data going 16 months back instead of just a year.

One of the more practical new features is the ability to share reports. A share button on each report will allow users to share search issues amongst team members to ensure it can be solved by the right person, in the most efficient way. As we’ve spoke about before, collaboration is becoming necessary, and the new Google Search Console is adapting to this.

New Reports

Four enhanced reports that feature increased data and sharing capabilities in the new Search Console include:

  • Index Coverage Report – The Index Coverage Report shows indexed URLs on your website, potential issues, and reasons why some URLs aren’t being indexed by Google. The updated report confirms that an issue is resolved by “Validate Fix” which lets users know which URL issues were resolved successfully and which failed.
  • AMP Report – As mobile optimized websites become increasingly important, it’s fitting that the new Search Console has enhanced their AMP Report. This report identifies and diagnoses issues regarding your firm’s accelerated mobile pages.
  • Search Performance Report – The Search Performance Report is an evolved form of Search Analytics. This report gives you metrics like clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. It also allows you to use a variety of filters on searches such as searching just image, video, or text results or searching by geographic location.
  • Job Posting Report – The entirely new Job Posting Report is helpful for law firms with job listings featured on their sites. This report takes eligible listings and permits them to be shown through Google For Jobs.

What this means for Search Console users

For now you’ll be able to use both the old and new Search Console side by side. The beta version adds more transparency, faster resolutions, and collaborative abilities to the old version. The simplified process of optimizing your website for Google search results will only make it easier for your law firm to rank for your keywords and be found by the right audience.

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