What is Google Webmaster Tools/Google Search Console?

[Gabriel7979]

This thread already covers what GSC is, so here's what I'd add: the real value isn't knowing it exists, it's the habit of checking it. Two reports do most of the work for a new site.

First, Performance. Sort by impressions and look at queries where you're ranking on page two, roughly positions 8 to 15. Those pages usually need a better title or a clearer, more direct answer to the query, and small improvements there often move you up faster than writing new content. It's the closest thing to a priority list Google hands you for free.

Second, the Pages indexing report. If Google is discovering pages but not indexing them, that's worth investigating before anything else, because no index means no traffic. The URL Inspection tool shows you exactly what Google sees on a specific page, which settles a lot of arguments about whether a change actually took effect.

One setup tip: verify with a Domain property so both the www and non-www versions are tracked together. Otherwise you end up with split data and missing history, which is annoying to discover months later.