Google Search Console for ecommerce - what actually matters
Search Console (GSC) is the closest thing to a direct line into Google: which queries your store appears for, which pages get clicked, and which pages Google can't or won't index. It's free, it's first-party, and most ecommerce teams barely open it. Here's the ecommerce-manager's reading of it.
Performance: queries and pages are two different stories
The Performance report shows impressions (you appeared in results), clicks, position, and click-through rate. The mistake is reading it as one list. Read it twice:
By query: the language of demand. Filter to queries containing your category words - "linen shirt," "wool coat" - and you're looking at real search demand your store already touches. Queries with high impressions and low clicks are demand you're visible for but not winning: often a page ranking on position 8–15, one good improvement away from traffic. This report is also where your taxonomy work (Phase 2) gets validated - if customers search in words your categories don't use, GSC is where you find out.
By page: which URLs earn their keep. Filter to /collections/ to see how category pages perform; filter to /products/ for products. A collection page with impressions across dozens of queries is a workhorse. A product page with zero impressions in three months is invisible - the question is why.
Indexing: is your catalog even in the game
The Page indexing report shows what Google has indexed versus found-but-skipped. For ecommerce, the numbers to watch: how many product and collection URLs are indexed, versus how many exist. A store with 2,000 products and 900 indexed product pages has a structural problem before any optimization discussion makes sense. The "why not indexed" reasons (crawled, currently not indexed; duplicate without canonical) each have meanings we unpack in the Technical Data phase - for now, know that this report is where catalog-scale problems surface first.
The habit that makes GSC useful
GSC rewards rhythm over binges. A monthly pass: top queries by impressions (any new demand appearing?), collection pages by clicks (any workhorses declining?), indexing count (stable or dropping?). Fifteen minutes, and you'll catch in weeks what most stores discover in year-end reviews.
One setup note: verify the domain property (not just a URL prefix), so you see all subdomains and protocols in one place - and if you run Shopify Markets subfolders, remember each market's performance is visible by filtering pages by /en-de/ and friends.