Short answer: after verification, first check that you have selected the correct website. Then open Overview or Diagnostics to review alerts, the indexing area to inspect a URL, Search performance to view query data, Notifications to read messages, and Settings → Access rights to review collaboration permissions. Having verified management access does not mean that the site has been crawled, indexed, or ranked.
After this article, you will be able to choose the right area for each question, record a verifiable result, and recognize when an empty report means only “no data yet.” You need a verified Yandex ID or an account that has been granted access, the website’s official URL, and, if you are checking a URL, a real publicly accessible page.
The example workflow uses SaibABC.Com, a WordPress website in this series. This is only the working context; the article does not claim that this website actually has a sitemap, search data, impressions, clicks, or an indexing status.
Check the correct website before reading the data
Where to work — browser and Yandex Webmaster: open the website in a private window, wait for it to finish loading, and record the final address shown in the address bar. In Yandex Webmaster’s website selector, choose that exact address.
- Check the protocol:
http://orhttps://. - Check the prefix: with
wwwor without it. - Check the domain name and address scope.
- Do not use a post URL or subdirectory in place of the root website.
Yandex may treat versions such as https://example.com and https://www.example.com as different addresses in its management workflow; therefore, the URL in the selector must match the address you want to monitor (according to yandex.com).
Expected result: the website name, protocol, and prefix in the selector match the official URL you checked. If they do not match, stop and identify the correct address; do not read data for another version or change DNS or redirects yourself.
Choose an area based on the question you need to answer
Menu names may vary by interface language or version. Focus on what each area is for rather than memorizing a fixed navigation path.
| What do you want to check? | Area to look for | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| How is the system viewing the website? | Overview, Diagnostics, or Optimization recommendations | Status, alerts, check date, and related URLs |
| Can the bot access and process the URL? | Indexing, page inspection, or crawl statistics | URL, response, status, and check time |
| Which pages could appear in search results? | Indexing or Known pages | Included and excluded pages, with reasons where available |
| Which queries does the website appear for? | Search performance or Search queries | Date range, queries, pages, impressions, and clicks if data is available |
| What warnings has Yandex sent? | Notifications or Notifications | Topic, website, date received, and next action |
| Who has management access? | Settings → Access rights or Access rights | Account, role, and reason the access is needed |
This is a practical map, not a complete list of every feature. Some areas show data only after the website has been crawled by the system or when the account has sufficient permissions.
Read the main groups of functions
Overview, Diagnostics, and Optimization recommendations
This area is useful for quickly reviewing the website’s status and issues Yandex wants you to address. Alerts may concern accessibility, server errors, redirects, bot directives, or issues affecting the site’s appearance in search results.
Do not treat an alert as evidence that the website has been penalized. Record the following four details before making changes:
- What issue does the notification describe?
- Does it affect the entire website or a group of URLs?
- What evidence or specific URLs has Yandex provided?
- How will you check again after making the change?
If there are no warnings or data, record “no data yet” rather than “the website has no issues”. These are two different conclusions.
Indexing and checking a URL
The indexing section helps you understand how the bot has discovered, accessed, or processed URLs. A URL that has been accessed is not necessarily appearing in search results; indexing and ranking are separate questions to examine next.
Where to work — Yandex Webmaster: select a real, publicly accessible URL, such as [URL bài viết công khai], then use the URL inspection section or an equivalent area if the current interface provides one.
Record:
- The URL entered and the final address after any redirects.
- The date and time of the check.
- The status displayed by Yandex.
- The response code or access information, if the tool provides it.
- Next step: monitor the issue, fix it, or check another report.
Expected result: the log shows which URL you checked and what evidence you relied on. Do not fill in the URL of a SaibABC.Com article unless you have the actual address; the bracketed placeholder indicates where a replacement is required.
Search performance
Once data is available, the performance or search-query section may show which queries the website appeared for, along with metrics such as impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), or average position. This is Yandex Search data, not a consolidated report covering all search engines.
If the report is empty, check the following in order:
- Have you selected the correct website?
- Is the date range appropriate?
- Does the website have search data for that period?
- Are filters for queries, pages, devices, or regions excluding the data?
- Does the account have sufficient permission to view this section?
An empty report does not, by itself, prove that the website has no impressions or is experiencing an error. Possible causes include a new website, data that is not yet available, unsuitable filters, or insufficient permissions.
Notifications
Where to work — Yandex Webmaster: open Notifications or the equivalent section. Yandex allows you to view notifications in the service and configure email delivery; some topics may support other channels depending on the account and current interface (according to yandex.com).
Do not read only the title. For each notification, record:
- Which website the notification concerns.
- The event or change mentioned.
- The related URL, page group, or report.
- Whether the notification requires action or merely provides information.
- The date checked and the status after checking.
If you have fixed the issue, the notification may not disappear immediately because the system still needs to access and reassess the website. Changing a configuration does not, by itself, prove that the warning has been resolved.
Access rights and collaboration
Where to work — Yandex Webmaster: open Settings → Access rights or the equivalent section. Roles may include owner, editor, viewer, or partial permissions, depending on the section. According to Yandex documentation, only a user with the Owner role who has verified management rights can manage other users’ permissions (according to yandex.com).
- The website owner’s or organization’s account holds the Owner role.
- Technical collaborators receive only the level of access required for their work.
- People who only read reports do not need editing permissions.
- Do not share a Yandex ID password.
- Revoke access when a collaborator is no longer responsible for the work.
Granting access is not the same as handing over a password. Each person should sign in with their own Yandex ID so access can be revoked separately and responsibilities can be distinguished more clearly.
Practice: Create a website check sheet
Copy the table below into your project log. Enter only data you have actually verified; do not treat the name SaibABC.Com or a placeholder as evidence.
| What do you want to check? | Which section should you open? | What should you record? | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correct website | Website selector or Overview | URL, HTTPS, and www/non-www | Checked / Not checked |
| Technical warnings | Overview, Diagnostics, or Recommendations | Notifications, related URL, date viewed | Action required / Monitor / No data available |
| A public URL | Page inspection or indexing | URL, response, status, evidence | Checked / Not checked |
| Search data | Search performance or search queries | Date range, filters, available data | Data available / No data available |
| Notifications | Notifications | Topic, website, next action | Read / Action required |
| Collaborators | Settings → Access rights | Account, role, reason access is needed | Correct / Needs adjustment |
Check passed: you can identify the correct website, open the appropriate area for each question, and explain whether each entry represents actual data, unavailable data, or a status that requires monitoring.
Misconceptions to avoid
- “Verified” means the site has been indexed. Incorrect. Verification only proves that you have management rights; crawling and indexing are separate processes.
- “Being in Yandex Webmaster” means the site has a ranking. Incorrect. A website can be managed in the service without having search data or achieving the desired position.
- “An empty report” means the website has an error. There is not enough evidence to conclude that. Check the website, date range, filters, and data status first.
- “A warning” means the website has been penalized. Do not draw that conclusion. Review the scope, evidence, and remediation guidance.
- “Collaboration” means giving someone else your password. It should not. Use Yandex Webmaster’s access-control mechanism instead.
- “It is safe to remove the verification code after verification succeeds.” You could lose the verified status if Yandex can no longer detect the evidence during a later check. Keep the verification method in place or document how to restore it.
Exercise and next steps
Answer the following three questions for the website you manage:
- Which URL am I viewing in Yandex Webmaster?
- If I want to know how the system processed a URL, which area should I open, and what evidence should I record?
- Who has the Owner role, and who needs only viewing or partial access?
The exercise is complete when your answers are based on the URL, check date, displayed status, or actual access list—not on assumptions drawn from an empty report.
The next article in the series identifies the actual sitemap and submits it in Yandex Webmaster. A sitemap provides additional information about URLs, but it does not guarantee that every URL will appear in search results.
How to Find Your WordPress Sitemap and Submit It to Yandex WebmasterReference source
- Getting started — Yandex Webmaster.
- Verifying the site rights — Yandex Webmaster.
- Managing access rights — Yandex Webmaster.
- Notifications — Yandex Webmaster.
- Tips for using Yandex Webmaster — Yandex Webmaster.
