Your SEO Blog's Monthly Report: What to Check in Search Console (2026)
If you pay for a done-for-you SEO blog, you'll get some kind of monthly report: usually a list of the posts that went live. You don't have to take that list on trust. With Google Search Console, which is free and owned by Google, a business owner can check in about twenty minutes whether each post is live, whether Google has indexed it, and whether it's starting to appear in search. This guide walks through those checks using Google's own Search Console documentation (checked 2026-10-11). It also explains what not to read too much into in the first months. It ties in with the “what will I see each month?” question in our done-for-you SEO blog checklist.
Before you start: get Search Console access
Search Console data belongs to whoever verifies the site. Make sure you, the business owner, are a verified owner or a full user of your property, not just your provider. If a provider leaves, your access and history should stay with you. Google's setup steps are in its guide to adding a property.
The monthly check in four steps
Step 1: open every URL in the report
Start with the most basic check: click each URL in your monthly report. It should load, show the post, and sit on your own domain. Note anything that returns an error, redirects somewhere unexpected, or looks unfinished. This takes a couple of minutes and catches the most important problems.
With PilotaSEO, the monthly report is a list of the URLs published that month. On the Growth plan it also includes the verified live URLs of any editorial backlinks placed. Every one of those links should open.
Step 2: run URL Inspection on each new post
Paste each URL into the inspection bar at the top of Search Console. Google's URL Inspection tool documentation explains the results:
- URL is on Google means the URL has been indexed and is eligible to appear in Search results. Google stresses that this doesn't guarantee it will appear.
- URL is not on Google means it can't currently appear. Expand the Page indexing section for the reason. Two key fields are Crawl allowed? (is robots.txt blocking it?) and Indexing allowed? (is there a noindex tag?).
- URL is unknown to Google means Google hasn't seen it yet. Google suggests requesting indexing. Its documentation says indexing typically takes a day or so but can take longer, and that requesting it doesn't guarantee inclusion.
Also look at the Google-selected canonical. If it's a different URL from the post, ask your provider why. That can point to duplicate content.
Note that the indexed result reflects the last crawl, not the live page. If something has been fixed since, use Test live URL. There's a daily limit on inspections per property, which is plenty for a monthly batch of posts.
Step 3: glance at the Page indexing report
The Page indexing report shows which of your pages Google can find and index. Google's Page indexing report help is candid: if your site has fewer than 500 pages, you probably don't need this report, and simple site: searches plus URL Inspection are enough. It also says most sites have at least a few unindexed pages, and duplicate URLs shouldn't be indexed. So for a small business, a quick look is enough: is the overall number of indexed pages growing as posts are added?
Step 4: Performance, filtered by page
Google's Performance report documentation defines the metrics:
- Clicks: the number of times someone clicked through to your site from Google Search results.
- Impressions: how many times your site appeared in Search results.
- CTR: clicks divided by impressions.
- Average position: the average position of your topmost result.
Open the Performance report, add a filter for Page with a URL from your report, and check the Queries tab to see what people searched to find it. Compare the last 28 days with the previous period. Over months, you're looking for more pages earning impressions and for queries that match your business.
What not to over-read in the first months
- Small numbers are normal. New posts on a young blog often show few impressions at first. Week-to-week swings in a handful of impressions aren't a trend.
- Not every page gets indexed right away. Google's documentation says outright that indexing isn't guaranteed, and that it can take time.
- Average position jumps around. With few impressions, one appearance on page one or page five moves the average a lot.
- Search data isn't real-time. Expect some lag before recent days show up.
What is worth asking your provider about
- A URL in the report returns an error or redirects off your site.
- URL Inspection shows Indexing allowed? No (a noindex tag) on blog posts.
- Crawl allowed? No, meaning robots.txt is blocking posts.
- The same topic published twice, or a Google-selected canonical pointing at a different post.
- Posts that are thin, inaccurate about your business, or off-topic. Our guide to Google's guidance on AI-written content includes a monthly spot-check for quality.
A good provider should be able to explain any of these in plain language. No provider can promise rankings, and a report that only shows published URLs is honest about that: it tells you what was done, and Search Console shows you what Google did with it.
A simple log to keep
Keep a spreadsheet with one row per post: URL, publish date, the date you inspected it, its status (on Google / not on Google / unknown), and impressions and clicks after 30 and 90 days. After a few months this tells you more than any single report, and it's yours whichever provider you use.
How long to wait before judging
Business owners often ask how soon a blog should show results. There's no fixed timeline, and any provider that promises one is guessing. A reasonable approach is to judge the basics monthly (posts live, indexed, no technical blockers) and judge traffic over a longer window, comparing three-month periods once you have them. If posts are live and indexed but none earn impressions after several months, that's a fair point to review topics with your provider.
FAQ
How do I know if my blog post is indexed?
Inspect the URL in Search Console. “URL is on Google” means it's indexed. You can also search Google for the exact URL.
Should I request indexing for every post?
It's optional. A sitemap lets Google discover new posts, and there's a daily limit on requests. Request indexing when a post is unknown to Google after a reasonable wait.
Why does a post show no impressions?
It may not be indexed yet, or it may not rank for searches people make yet. Check URL Inspection first, then give it time.
Do I need technical skills?
No. Opening URLs, pasting them into the inspection bar and filtering Performance by page are point-and-click tasks.
Sources
- Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool (checked 2026-10-11)
- Search Console Help: Page indexing report (checked 2026-10-11)
- Search Console Help: Performance report (checked 2026-10-11)
More guides: the PilotaSEO blog.