Lately, I’ve been getting notifications from Google Search Console — warnings, errors, and a flood of information I didn’t fully understand (to be honest, I still only grasp about half of it). One specific issue that stood out was with my recipe shortcode block: I had set the cook time as cooktime="10–12 mins", but Google’s structured data doesn’t allow ranges like that. It has to be a single, exact time. After fixing it, I started to realise just how much goes on behind the scenes when it comes to your blog’s SEO health.
Of course, this only became clear after going in circles trying to follow the WordPress recipe shortcode instructions — which, as it turns out, don’t fully align with what Google expects. For example, Google wants fields like “author” included, but WordPress doesn’t always require or display that by default. I’ve decided not to get too caught up in the technical rabbit holes. At the end of the day, I just want to publish posts that are helpful to my readers — and I’m hoping that’s what matters most.
Still, I’m pressing on. Google Search Console (GSC) is clearly a powerful, free tool that gives detailed insight into how your blog performs in Google search. It shows which pages are indexed, what errors or warnings exist on your site, how people discover your content, and which search queries bring them in. But it can feel overwhelming at first, with all its technical terms and graphs.
What I’ve learned is that good SEO isn’t just a one-time setup — it’s something you need to maintain. By regularly checking GSC, fixing issues, and making small improvements to your content, you help Google better understand your site, which can improve your search rankings over time.
For example, while writing a blog post, small decisions — like choosing a clear, keyword-rich title or adding descriptive alt text to images — can really help (I keep reminding myself to do this). After publishing, using the URL Inspection Tool in GSC lets you ask Google to index your post more quickly, which can speed up its appearance in search results.
Once a month, I try to check the Performance Report to see which posts are getting clicks and which might need a better title or image to attract more attention. I also look at the Pages report under “Indexing” to catch anything important that Google has skipped or excluded.
Some issues — like broken links or redirect errors — are worth fixing promptly to keep your blog user-friendly and search-friendly. Others, like pages marked “Crawled – currently not indexed” or social sharing links with ?share=, are normal and usually nothing to worry about.
Overall, taking a simple, structured approach — focusing on a few SEO best practices while writing, publishing, and maintaining your posts — can help your blog grow steadily in Google search, without needing to know it all at once.
While Writing a Blog Post
- Use a clear, searchable title
Example: “No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake” (not “Yummy Treats”) - At the top of your blog post, write a clear, helpful sentence that:
- Describes what the post is about
- Uses keywords someone might search for
- Stays under about 160 characters (roughly 1–2 short sentences)
- Break your content into sections using H2 and H3 headings
Google uses headings to understand the structure of your post.
- Add internal links to other posts you’ve written
Link to 1–2 related recipes or guides naturally in the content. - Include at least one image
When adding the image, make sure to write a clear alt text (e.g. “No-bake lemon cheesecake in a white dish”).
After You Publish
- Use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console
Paste your blog post URL in and click “Request Indexing” if it’s new or recently updated.
🔗 How to Use URL Inspection Tool – Torro.io - Share your blog post on social media
This helps Google discover the link faster, especially for smaller sites.
Fix These Manually If You See Them
Log in to Google Search Console and go to the “Pages” report under the Indexing section. This is where Google explains why some of your pages aren’t showing up in search results.
Click on each issue to view the affected URLs, then try the following fixes:
- Redirect errors or pages with redirects
Sometimes your blog post hyperlinks might be pointing to old URLs or causing a redirect loop. Update your links to go directly to the correct page — no detours. After fixing, go back to Search Console and use the URL Inspection Tool to request reindexing. - 404 errors (Not Found)
These happen when a link leads to a page that no longer exists. Go through your blog posts and either remove or update those broken links. Once you’ve fixed them, use the URL Inspection Tool in Search Console to ask Google to re-crawl the updated page. - Duplicate content or canonical issues
If Google sees the same content on more than one URL, it can get confused. You can fix this by setting a canonical URL (a way to tell Google which version to keep). Many WordPress themes let you set this under page/post settings — no code needed. - Blocked by robots.txt
Sometimes important pages are blocked from Google by accident. You can check this by looking at your site’s robots.txt file (ask your host or web builder for help if you’re not sure how). You’ll want to remove the “Disallow” rule if it’s hiding a page you want shown in search. - ⚠️ Important pages marked ‘noindex’
This often happens when WordPress settings or your theme are telling Google to ignore a page. Go to Settings → Reading and make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unchecked. Then head back to Google Search Console, use the URL Inspection Tool, and click Request Indexing to get it back into Google’s system.
🔗 Learn more about noindex tags
❌ It’s OK to Ignore These
Some issues may look alarming, but they’re totally normal — and don’t need fixing:
- “Crawled – currently not indexed”
Common and not usually a problem. Google just hasn’t indexed it yet — especially if the page is new or low-priority. - Pages with
?share=in the URL or ending in/print
These are just social sharing or print versions of your blog post. They’re not meant to show up in search, and Google skips them on purpose. - Tag or archive pages not indexed
Also totally fine. These pages group your posts but don’t need to appear in search results — and usually won’t rank well anyway.
Google only allows a limited number of URL reindexing requests each day, so I keep a list in Google Sheets and tick off each URL when I request indexing to avoid using up my quota too quickly. I try to work through a few each day when I have time. It’s a bit of a “don’t know until you know” situation — for example, I only recently learned that adding links to other posts helps SEO. So, do I go back and add them everywhere? Who knows! I’m just plugging along and trying not to get stuck going backwards too much.
Monthly Maintenance (Quick Checks in Google Search Console)
Once a month, I do a quick health check of my blog using Google Search Console. It only takes a few minutes and helps me spot any issues early. Here’s what I do:
- Open the Performance Report
This shows how your posts are doing in Google Search:
If a post has clicks, it’s doing well.
If a post has impressions but no clicks, it means people are seeing it in search but not clicking. Try updating the title or featured image to make it more appealing.
🔗 Beginner GSC Guide – Productive Blogging - Check the Pages tab under “Indexing”
Look for pages that aren’t indexed and see the reason listed (like “noindex,” redirect, or 404 error).
Click into any listed as “Excluded” and review whether any important blog posts are being skipped by Google. If so, take a look at the cause and fix where needed.
Sources & Further Reading
Noindex Explained – Google Support:🔗Google’s official docs on noindex tags
Simple GSC Tips – Productive Blogging:🔗Productive Blogging’s beginner guide
Thanks for sticking with me through these SEO tips! If you found this helpful, why not give your blog a quick audit today? Start small, keep learning, and watch your site grow. Got questions or want to share your own tips? Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear from you!
Get Your Own Blog SEO Checklist
Want to stay on top of your SEO tasks? Click the link below to enter your name and email to get my free SEO Checklist and make optimisation simple.
👉 Click here to download your FREE Blog SEO Checklist
Once you click Make a copy, the checklist will be saved straight to your Google Drive. You can then edit and customise it as you like.
Happy blogging! 🚀 – ♡ Janet
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