Connect Google Search Console
Monitor search visibility. Track keywords, rankings, and indexing status for your job board.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console shows how your website performs in search results. For job board operators, it reveals which keywords bring visitors, how your pages rank, and any issues blocking Google from indexing your jobs.
Cavuno connects directly to Search Console so you monitor search performance without leaving your dashboard.
What Search Console shows
Search Console provides data you cannot get anywhere else:
- Search queries: The exact keywords people type to find your board
- Ranking positions: Where your pages appear in search results
- Click-through rates: How often searchers click your listings
- Index coverage: Which pages Google has indexed and which have errors
- Mobile usability: Issues affecting mobile visitors
Connect Search Console
Cavuno handles the entire setup: property creation, site verification, and sitemap submission.
- Go to Board settings in the sidebar, then click the Analytics tab
- Find the Google Search Console section
- Click Connect
- Sign in with your Google account and grant access
Cavuno then automatically:
- Creates a Search Console property for your board
- Verifies site ownership using a meta tag
- Submits your sitemap to Google
- Enables the Google Indexing API (if your board has a custom domain)
You may see a Setting up status while this completes. Once finished, search performance data appears in Cavuno.
If you already have a Search Console property for your board's domain, Cavuno connects to it and enables the Indexing API.
Requirements
Before connecting Search Console:
- Custom domains need a primary domain configured. Set your primary domain in domain settings before connecting.
Disconnect Search Console
To remove the connection:
- Go to Board settings in the sidebar, then click the Analytics tab
- Find the Google Search Console section
- Click Disconnect
Monitor your search performance
Performance report
The performance report shows your search visibility across four dimensions:
- Queries: What people search to find your board
- Pages: Which pages appear in results
- Countries: Where your visitors search from
- Devices: Mobile vs desktop breakdown
Key metrics
- Impressions: Times you appeared in search
- Clicks: Visits from search results
- CTR: Click-through rate
- Position: Average ranking
Index coverage
Index coverage shows whether Google can find and index your pages:
- Valid: Pages Google has indexed successfully
- Warnings: Pages indexed but with potential issues
- Errors: Pages Google cannot index (fix these first)
- Excluded: Pages intentionally or unintentionally left out
Improve your search performance
Use Search Console data to find opportunities
- Find pages ranking 5-15: These are close to page one and worth optimizing
- Fix index coverage errors: Resolve blocking issues so Google can crawl your pages
- Improve low-CTR pages: Rewrite titles and descriptions that searchers skip over
- Track winning keywords: Double down on queries already bringing traffic
Common issues and fixes
| Issue | What to do |
|---|---|
| Pages not indexed | Check robots.txt for blocks and review index coverage errors |
| Low click-through rate | Rewrite page titles and meta descriptions |
| Dropping rankings | Review content freshness and check competitor changes |
| Mobile usability errors | Test pages on mobile and fix layout issues |
Manually submit your sitemap
Cavuno submits your sitemap automatically when you connect Search Console. If you need to submit it manually:
- In Search Console, go to Sitemaps
- Enter your sitemap URL:
yourboard.com/sitemap.xml - Click Submit
- Check back in 24-48 hours for any errors
Cavuno generates your sitemap automatically. You only need to submit it once.