Get ready for a major change in how you use Google Search Console (GSC), especially if you manage a website with multiple team members. Google’s about to give you an insider view of who made what changes and when, giving you added insight and better control over your site’s search presence.
What’s Changing?
Google Search Console is getting a new “History” feature. This will show a log of significant actions taken within your GSC account by different users. Think things like:
- Setting Changes: See if someone fiddled with your Search Console settings or changed how they affect your website.
- Property Validation: Keep track of when new users gained access to your GSC data or a site validation method changed.
- Sitemap Submission: Know exactly who submitted a new sitemap, and when, to help with indexation troubleshooting.
Why Does This Matter?
- Accountability: Larger teams now have clear insight into who did what and when. Making a major GSC change without authorization? Not anymore!
- Easier Troubleshooting: Something wonky with your search performance? The history log can reveal if anyone made recent changes in GSC that might be the culprit.
- Streamlined Workflows: Teams can see when a task has been completed (sitemap submitted, issue resolved) without endless Slack pings or emails.
What This Doesn’t Do
It’s important to remember these history reports won’t show everything. Here’s what they likely WON’T include:
- Content Edits on Your Website: It tracks GSC actions, not changes to your actual site.
- Minor Interface Tweaks: Things like adjusting a table view probably won’t be logged.
When’s the Rollout?
Google hasn’t given an exact date, but they mention this feature is coming “soon.” Keep an eye on the official Google Search Central Blog for the announcement! (https://developers.google.com/search/blog)
Get Ready for Greater GSC Insights
This change shows Google’s continued commitment to making Search Console a valuable tool for collaboration and understanding your site’s presence in search results. The added transparency is a giant win, especially for websites managed by several people or agencies.
Let me know if you have questions about how to access these history reports once they’re live, or how you can start using them more strategically within your team.