Google Search Console Not Showing Data? Here’s Fix
Did you log into your Google Search Console account, and didn’t see any data for your website?
The absence of data on GSC is a cause of concern for many website owners, as understanding your site’s behavior on search results is vital to continue improving.
There are multiple reasons why this happens, and now, you’ll learn how to fix Google Search Console not showing data by following nine quick solutions.
GSC Not Showing Data: 9 Most Common Issues
Unlike Google Analytics, which shows us real-time data about the hits your website is getting, Google Search Console’s website data takes between 24 and 72 hours to be gathered.
However, if the data is taking longer to accrue, you might be missing some valuable insights to grow your organic traffic through Google. These are the 9 most common issues that cause GSC not showing data and solutions for each of them.
1. It’s Too Early To See The Data
If you just added a new property in the last 48 hours, it might be too early to see GSC data.
It typically takes a few hours, or even days, before GSC shows website performance data for your new website.
If you see an error message that says, “Processing data, please check again in a day or so,” then give GSC some time before it can get valuable insights for you.
Solution:
The only solution here is to wait for one or two days. This is the most common reason why GSC is not displaying data - all other websites you see online had to go through this, so you are not alone.
However, Google says that, “It can take up to a week to generate data for a newly created site, or a site newly added to Search Console.”
If, after a couple of days, you still can’t see GSC’s data for your site on organic search, then your best course of action is to try another solution.
2. Website Ownership Hasn’t Been Verified
All site properties need to be verified on GSC before Google starts showing data details and other information.
Verification issues are more common than you might think, and it’s up to you to address them.
To solve this problem, you need to ensure that you have successfully verified the property and have owner access to it.
Solution:
Step 1 - Go to GSC and Add a Property: Go to Google Search Console and select “Add Property.” Type in your website’s domain, and proceed with the following step;
Step 2 - Select a Verification Method: Select the verification method that better suits you. Some alternatives include implementing a Google Analytics tracking code, adding a HTML tag, and Domain name provider verification;
Step 3 - Confirm Verification in GSC: Once you’ve selected the desired verification method, follow the on-screen steps, and ensure that the process has been successfully completed.
Google says it takes a few more days for data to accrue after verifying ownership, which doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll experience missing data, but a delay in the information gathered.
Keep in mind that failing to verify your domain can hinder Google from indexing your website pages, meaning that your site won’t rank and be served to users on the SERPs.
3. Misconfigured Site URL
There are two ways to verify your website on GSC: Domain verification and URL prefix verification.
If you selected URL prefix verification, Google Search Console will only gather data under specified protocols.
In this case, the two following URLs will act differently in the eyes of Google, even if they look the same for your visitors:
It’s recommended to use the Domain Verification Method as it allows Google Search Console to display data for all protocols and subdomains under your site, ensuring that the most important pages are indexed without problems.
Solution:
Since using the URL prefix will cause GSC to only show data for the exact protocol that has already been verified, the easiest solution to using the wrong protocol is to verify the site as a domain property instead of as a URL prefix property.
To do this, access GSC, select your list of websites, and click on “Add Property.” Here, type in your site’s domain in the following format under Domain: website.com.
Select continue, choose a verification method, and wait for a while. URL prefix verification allows for more granular control, but this method is only recommended if you need to analyze and manage specific sections of your website independently.
4. Your Website Is Not In The Index
Google Search Console only shows data that comes from Google’s SERPs as the main traffic source.
GSC’s Page Indexing Report shows you the pages Google indexes (index coverage) of your website content and pages.
If your website is experiencing indexing issues, the Page Indexing Report in Google Search Console will not display any data, hindering your ability to assess the indexed status of your website’s content and pages.
Solution:
If Google Webmaster Tools are not showing indexing data, you can check what sections of your website are indexed manually by using Google Search Operators.
To do this, go to Google’s search page, and use the following operator: site:website.com.
This will reveal all the pages that have been indexed by Google. If no pages are showing up, and you are completely sure that the property has been verified, then you have two options:
Submit each page link by link: Go to GSC, open your verified property, go to URL inspection, paste the link to the new page you want to index, and select “Request Indexing.” Do this for all links you want to index;
Submit an XML sitemap: XML sitemaps are crucial for crawling and indexing, as they allow Google to quickly index your website’s pages. Check out the next solution to learn how to submit it.
5. You Haven’t Submitted an XML Sitemap
XML sitemaps consist of a comprehensive list of all your site’s URLs that Google uses for crawlability and indexing purposes.
If you are facing indexing problems, which are hindering GSC’s ability to show data, then submitting a sitemap can fix this issue.
Solution:
Step 1 - Build an XML Sitemap: Create your website’s sitemap before submitting it to GSC. You can easily build a sitemap by using free plugins, such as Yoast SEO;
Step 2 - Go to GSC and Select “Sitemaps:” Open GSC, go to your property, select Index, and click on Sitemaps;
Step 3 - Submit the Sitemap and Wait: Paste the link to the sitemap of your site, which typically looks like “example.com/sitemap.xml,” and select Submit.
GSC will process the sitemap and periodically index all the URLs contained in it. This might take a while, so have some patience.
6. Robots.txt Issues or Crawl Errors
Robots.txt and crawl errors will prevent your site from appearing on Google Search, which causes the “GSC Not Showing Data” error.
If you suspect that your site’s Robots.txt file is preventing Google from crawling your pages, or if too many crawl errors are popping up, then let’s do something about it.
Solution:
First, start by using Google’s Robots.txt Tester to ensure that the file is not blocking important sections of your website.
You may also manually check your Robots.txt to see if the file is currently preventing successful indexing. For example, if you go to your site’s Robots.txt (website.com/robots.txt), and see if you find something like this:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /blog/
In this example, the Robots.txt file is preventing Google Crawlers from crawling and indexing pages under the /blog/ section, which is harmful to your site’s rank and can prevent you from getting more traffic.
On the other hand, if your website pages are indexed, but GSC is still not showing data, do this:
Go to GSC, open your property, and under Indexing, select Pages;
Scroll down to “Why pages aren’t indexed;”
Check out the different Statuses and Crawl Errors. Some common errors include “Alternate page with proper canonical tag,” “Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag,” and “URL not found.”
GSC’s indexing report shows you exactly what pages have problems. Check your site’s indexing report, and address all errors as instructed in the interface.
7. DNS or Hosting Issues
Another reason that might cause missing data on Google Search Console is related to hosting or DNS issues.
Attempt to open your site’s homepage - is the site online and accessible, or is it down?
If the website is down, then this means that users won’t be able to access it from search results either.
Solution:
First, use a DNS checker to see the current status of your site’s DNS. Sometimes, changing your DNS can cause propagation errors, leading to temporary inconsistencies in accessing your website.
Likewise, use third-party tools to monitor your website’s uptime - sometimes, it’s possible to manually track whenever your site goes down, which creates the need to monitor the real uptime of the website.
Contact your host provider if your site is down and ask them for help. They should be able to identify the root cause of the issue and address it properly.
Once the site starts running normally, Google Search Console data will be gathered and shown on GSC’s report interface.
8. The Website is Not Getting Impressions and Clicks from Google
Have you considered that Google Search Console might not show data simply because your site hasn’t received visitors from organic search results?
Some GSC reports only start to show up once your website receives enough traffic.
If, for example, you are not getting data on your website’s performance, then give it time, as there might not be enough visitors from the SERPs.
This means that your site needs more usage data to generate a performance report in Google Webmaster Tools.
Other possible reasons include a lack of focus on search engine optimization. For instance, if your site’s content targets highly competitive keywords, or if your web pages have unhelpful content, then they will not appear on search engines, resulting in a general lack of traffic data.
9. Google Search Console Data Bugs & Outages
Google Search Console is not a perfect tool - it can fail without further notice, preventing you from accessing valuable traffic data.
To check if there’s an ongoing outage with Google Webmaster Tools, including GSC, go to the Google Search Status page.
Check if there are current indexing or crawling issues and wait for Google’s team to resolve them.
Summary: How to Fix Google Search Console Not Showing Data
There you have it - if GSC is not showing any data, follow the aforementioned solutions to solve this error. This is a quick summary (with solutions) of the most common reasons behind GSC data reporting errors:
It’s Too Early To See The Data: Wait for one or two days, as it takes time for GSC to generate data for a new site;
Website Ownership Hasn’t Been Verified: Verify ownership by adding your website property on GSC and completing the verification process;
Misconfigured Site URL: Choose domain verification over URL prefix to ensure GSC displays data for all protocols and subdomains;
Your Website Is Not In The Index: Check indexing manually using Google Search Operators or submit an XML sitemap to facilitate crawling and indexing;
You Haven’t Submitted an XML Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap through GSC to aid Google in indexing your site’s pages;
Robots.txt Issues or Crawl Errors: Use Google’s Robots.txt Tester to ensure proper configuration and address crawl errors in GSC’s indexing report;
DNS or Hosting Issues: Check the site’s DNS status, monitor uptime, and contact the hosting provider to resolve any issues affecting accessibility;
The Website is Not Getting Enough Hits from Google: Improve site visibility through SEO strategies, including content optimization and targeting relevant keywords;
Google Search Console Data Bugs & Outages: Check Google’s status page or webmaster forums for information on ongoing bugs or outages affecting GSC data.
