Search Console for Marketers: Free Course (2026)

#01What's in the track?

#02How is the track organised?

Part 1: Foundations (lessons 1–3). How Search Console works in 2026, properties, verification and permissions, and the Performance report.

Part 2: Queries and demand (lessons 4–6). Filters, regex and comparisons, the branded queries filter, and the Insights report with query groups.

Part 3: AI search (lessons 7–8). The generative AI performance report and the Search generative AI control.

Part 4: Indexing and site health (lessons 9–15). Page indexing, sitemaps, URL Inspection, Core Web Vitals, links, crawl stats and removals, and multimodal and platform properties.

Part 5: Connect and automate (lessons 16–19). GA4 linking, Looker Studio reporting, bulk export to BigQuery, and the API with Claude and ChatGPT.

Part 6: AI visibility and routine (lessons 20–21). Search Console next to AI visibility beyond Google, and a monthly routine.

#03Who is it for?

Marketers, content leads and founders who need Search Console without being technical SEOs.

Our view: the generative AI report and the branded filter make Search Console more useful for marketers in 2026 than ever.

#04Related tracks

• GA4 for Marketers
• ChatGPT for Marketers
• Claude for Marketers
• Google Ads for Marketers

#05Which lessons answer which question?

Most people arrive with a specific question rather than a free afternoon. Use this table to jump in.

#06What changed in Search Console between 2025 and 2026?

If you last used Search Console a couple of years ago, these are the additions that matter most for marketers. Each is covered in a lesson and checked against Google's own documentation.

Some of these only appear for properties with enough data, or roll out gradually. If a lesson describes a feature you can't see, check the eligibility notes in that lesson before assuming you're doing something wrong.

#07What do you need before lesson 1?

• Access. At least a full user on a Search Console property for your site. Lesson 2 covers how to get it and what each permission level allows.
• Ideally a Domain property. It covers every subdomain and protocol. If your company only has a URL-prefix property, lesson 2 explains how to add a Domain property with a DNS record.
• A GA4 property if you want lesson 16 onwards. The GA4 for Marketers track covers setup.
• A spreadsheet. Many exercises export data and ask you to keep a simple monthly sheet. Lesson 21 turns it into a routine.
• Optional: a Google Cloud project with billing for lesson 18, and access to Claude or ChatGPT for lesson 19.

#08How the track uses Ledgerline

Every lesson includes a worked example from Ledgerline, a fictional accounts-payable software company. Ledgerline has a product site, a blog, a glossary, a help centre and a YouTube channel, which covers most situations a B2B marketing team meets. The examples show the decision process and the clicks involved. They never include real figures, because Ledgerline doesn't exist.

#09Three principles that run through every lesson

1. Trends over totals. Search Console counts clicks and impressions differently from GA4, Data Studio and BigQuery. Different tools will rarely agree on totals, but they should agree on direction. Every lesson compares periods rather than chasing exact numbers.
2. Key pages first. Sites have thousands of URLs that don't matter. Lessons 9 to 12 teach you to filter health reports to your most important pages, usually through a key-pages sitemap.
3. Google is one AI surface among several. Search Console now shows AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover AI features, but nothing about ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity or Copilot. Lesson 20 connects the pieces.

#10How long does the track take?

Reading time varies by lesson, but plan on an evening for lessons 1-6, which cover the reports you'll use every week. Lessons 7-8 are short and decision-heavy. Lessons 9-15 are reference material you'll come back to when something breaks. Lessons 16-21 involve setup work with GA4, Data Studio, BigQuery or AI assistants, so budget time for permissions and waiting for data to arrive.

#11A suggested four-week plan

Lessons 12-15 are best read when you need them: speed problems, link work, crawl incidents or visual and social content.

#12How the track relates to other MentionX guides

Some topics here also appear in shorter guides elsewhere on MentionX. Those guides go deeper on one angle; this track shows how the pieces fit in Search Console.

• AI Overviews data: what the Search Console AI Overviews data shows and forecasting traffic loss from AI Overviews.
• Crawling and indexing: how websites get crawled and indexed and XML sitemaps for AI discovery.
• Controls: Google-Extended and robots.txt for AI crawlers.
• Measurement beyond Google: tracking AI traffic in GA4 and measuring AI share of voice.

#13Which lessons should you start with for your role?

#14What you need before starting

Owner or full-user access to Search Console, access to your analytics, and a shared sheet for notes. Analysts will also want a Google Cloud project for lessons 18-19.

#15What should you check before the next lesson?

• Confirm you can access Search Console.
• Start lesson 1.

Next: How Search Console works in 2026.

#16Common questions

Is this course free? Yes, with no sign-up.

Does it cover AI Overviews and AI Mode? Yes. Lessons 7 and 8 cover the generative AI report and control.

Does Search Console show ChatGPT data? No. Lesson 20 explains how to measure other assistants.