Google Play Console is Google's web dashboard for publishing and managing apps on Google Play, where store listings, experiments, acquisition reports, reviews and Android vitals all live.
Play Console is where an app's Google Play presence is built and run. A developer account costs a one-time US$25 registration fee and requires identity verification, and personal accounts created after November 13, 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers, opted in continuously for 14 days, before applying for production access. From there the console handles releases and testing tracks, pricing, policy status and the store listing itself. It is the Google Play counterpart to Apple's App Store Connect.
Most ASO work happens under Grow users. Store presence holds the main store listing, custom store listings, store listing experiments and promotional content, with an Asset Library for reusing icons, screenshots and feature graphics. Store performance shows listing visitors, install clicks and click-through rate, which replaced the old conversion rate metric in mid-2026, broken down by traffic source and search term. Note that "Google Play search" counts only searches for the app's name or brand; category searches fall under "Google Play explore". Android vitals and ratings and reviews, with one public reply per review, sit under Monitor and improve.
Example
A budgeting app's team sees in Play Console that brand searchers, reported as Google Play search, click Install readily while Google Play explore visitors rarely do. It tests new first screenshots in a store listing experiment, then rechecks click-through rate for explore traffic before applying the winner.