Reading Search Console properly
It is the only free source of truth about how search sees your site, and most teams look at exactly one number in it.
Impressions move before clicks, so read them first when judging new content. In the indexing report, "crawled, not indexed" and "discovered, not indexed" point at content quality. "Alternative page with proper canonical tag" and "excluded by noindex" are usually intentional and need no action.
Search Console answers three questions: can Google reach the pages, what is it showing them for, and what does it think of them. Most reporting uses only the second, and only the clicks column.
Impressions before clicks
A new page earns impressions before it earns clicks. Filter to the page, look at impressions by query over the first eight weeks, and you will know whether it is being considered for the terms you wanted long before traffic shows up. Judging new content on clicks at week two tells you nothing.
Indexing statuses worth acting on
- Crawled, currently not indexed. Google saw it and declined. Usually thin, duplicative, or not clearly better than what ranks.
- Discovered, currently not indexed. Crawl budget or perceived low value. Improve internal linking to it first.
- Soft 404. The page looks empty or error-like to a crawler even though it returns a 200.
- Redirect error or server error. Fix immediately; these block indexing outright.
Statuses that are usually fine
"Alternative page with proper canonical tag" means a duplicate URL exists and the canonical was honoured, which is the system working. "Excluded by noindex" means you asked for it. "Page with redirect" is a redirect doing its job. These generate notification emails and almost never need action, though redirecting the duplicate is tidier than leaving it.
Queries you did not target
The most useful screen in the tool. Sort by impressions, filter out brand, and look for queries where you appear on page two with a decent impression count. Those are pages that nearly rank, which is the cheapest content work available.
What it will not tell you
Why a competitor outranks you, whether a page is worth having, or how much a ranking is worth. For the first of those, the search results themselves are better evidence than any tool. For the last, see how to measure share of search.
Questions we get asked
What does "crawled, currently not indexed" mean?
Google fetched the page and chose not to index it. It almost always points at content quality or duplication rather than a technical fault.
Should I worry about "alternative page with proper canonical tag"?
No. It means a duplicate URL was found and your canonical was respected. Redirecting the duplicate is tidier, but nothing is being lost.
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