GeoIs my website working? For a contractor, the fastest honest answer is in Google Search Console, Google's free tool for site owners. Look at four things for the last three months: impressions, clicks, average position and the queries people typed. If people who don't already know your name are finding you for your services and your towns, and those numbers are climbing, the site is working. If nearly every click comes from people typing your business name, it's an online business card, not a lead source.
You don't need an agency to read it. Here is the 15-minute version.
Before you start: get into Search Console
If nobody has set it up, Google's guide to adding a property walks you through it. Pick a Domain property if you can. It covers every version of your address, but it needs a DNS record, so you need access to your domain settings. Google says data usually shows up within a few days.
If your web company already set it up, ask them to add your Google account as an Owner. Google's page on owners, users and permissions explains the roles: owners have full control and can add or remove users, while full and restricted users can only look. You want to be an owner of your own data. If they won't do that, read do you own your contractor website before your next renewal.
Minute 0 to 3: open the Performance report
Click Performance, then Search results. Google's Performance report help says it defaults to the past three months, which is a good window. Click all four boxes at the top so the chart shows clicks, impressions, CTR and average position together. Then use the date filter to compare against the previous three months.
Is my website working? The numbers that answer it
Google defines these in its help on impressions, position and clicks. In plain terms:
- Impressions: how many times a link to your site appeared in Google results, whether or not anyone scrolled to it. This is "are we even showing up."
- Clicks: how many times someone clicked through to your site from Google.
- CTR: clicks divided by impressions. Of the people who saw you, how many picked you.
- Average position: where your highest link sat in the results, averaged across every search. Position 1 is the top.
Average position fools a lot of owners. Google counts only your highest link for each search, then averages across all searches. If your business name puts you at 1 and "roof repair [town]" puts you at 30, the average can look fine while the search that brings new customers is buried. Always read position query by query.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lots of impressions, few clicks on a service query | You show up, but low on the page or with a weak title | Check that query's position. Improve that page's title and description, as Google's common tasks guide suggests for low CTR |
| Very few impressions overall | Google barely shows your site | Check page indexing (below) and whether your pages name your services and towns |
| Almost all clicks from your business name | Only people who already know you are finding you | You need pages that answer "service + town" searches |
| Service and town queries in the 20s or 30s | You're in the race, well back | Add proof: job pages in those towns, a solid service page |
| Impressions and clicks rising month over month | It's working | Keep doing what you're doing |
Minute 3 to 8: read your queries
Click the Queries tab and sort by impressions. Sort what you see into three piles:
- Your name. "Smith Roofing," "smith roofing reviews." Good to see, but these people already know you.
- Service plus town. "Water heater replacement Spokane Valley," "AC repair near me," "paver patio cost." These are new customers. This is the pile that tells you if the site is earning its keep.
- Junk. Searches that have nothing to do with your work. Ignore them.
Search Console can sort piles 1 and 2 for you. Google's Branded queries filter is in the Query filter: choose Branded or Non-branded. Google says it's AI-assisted, may misclassify some searches, and isn't offered for sites with low impressions or for subdomain properties. If you don't see it, use the Query filter to hide searches containing your business name.
Don't expect the rows to add up to your total clicks. Google's dimensions guide says some queries are left out to protect privacy but still count in the chart totals.
Minute 8 to 11: check which pages get found
Click the Pages tab. If almost every impression lands on your home page, Google has nothing else on your site worth showing. A healthy contractor site has service pages and job pages pulling their own impressions. That's the case for job pages and service-area pages: each one is another door into your site for a specific search.
Minute 11 to 15: make sure Google can index your pages
Open Pages under Indexing. Google's Page indexing report help says it shows which of your URLs are indexed and the reason others aren't. Some "not indexed" pages are normal, such as duplicates, so read the reason before you worry.
Then paste your most important service page into the search bar at the top. Google's URL Inspection tool tells you whether that page is on Google. If it isn't and the live test passes, you can request indexing. Google says that doesn't guarantee the page gets indexed, and there's a daily limit.
What Search Console doesn't tell you
Search Console covers your website in Google Search. It doesn't count phone calls, calls and direction requests from your Google Business Profile, or what people do once they're on your site. Look at those in your Business Profile and in Google Analytics if you have it. Put them side by side once a month. For the bigger picture of how Google ranks local businesses, see local SEO for contractors.
If you've paid for a site and SEO and still aren't getting seen, you're not alone. One HVAC owner with more than 28 years in the trade described exactly that on the Jobber community forum. Search Console is where you can see it for yourself instead of taking anyone's word for it.
Do this this week
- Get owner access to Search Console for your site, or set it up
- Write down last three months' clicks, impressions and average position
- List your top 10 non-branded queries and their positions
- Note which pages get impressions besides the home page
- Inspect your top service page and fix it if it's not on Google
- Put a reminder on the calendar to check again in a month
GeoUP's monthly report pulls these same Search Console numbers, including branded versus non-branded searches, into a PDF for owners who connect Search Console, so the check happens even in a busy month.
Common questions
How long does Search Console take to show data?
Google says data usually appears within a few days of verifying your site. The newest days can be preliminary and may change over the next few hours, so judge trends over weeks and months, not yesterday. If someone already set up Search Console for your site, ask to be added as an owner and you can see the history right away.
What is a good average position?
Lower is better: position 1 is the top result. But the site-wide average mixes every query together, including your business name, where you should be near the top. Look at the position for each service and town query instead. A service query sitting in the 20s means you show up, but well below the first results.
Why don't my query numbers add up to my total clicks?
Google leaves some queries out of the table to protect searchers' privacy. Those clicks and impressions still count in the chart totals, so the rows in the Queries table will usually add up to less than the total. That's normal and doesn't mean anything is broken.
Turn every finished job into proof
If you connect Google Search Console, GeoUP's monthly report shows your clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, top queries and pages, new keywords and branded versus non-branded searches in a PDF in your inbox.