HELP HUB · ~10 MINUTES

How to set up Search Console

Around 10 minutes. This one’s the easier of the two Google tools to set up.

Search Console is Google’s window into how your website is performing in search results. It shows what people are searching for when they find you, which of your pages rank well, and whether Google has any complaints about your site. Everyone with a website should have this set up, it’s free, and it gives you data you can’t get anywhere else.

First time doing this? Read me first

Why bother? Analytics tells you what people do on your website. Search Console tells you what they did before they got there, which keywords they searched, which results they saw, and whether they clicked through to you. The two tools answer different questions, which is why we use both.

Before you start, you'll need:

Step 01

Open Search Console

Head to search.google.com/search-console and sign in with your Google account. Click “Start now”.

Step 02

Add your website as a property

Google will give you two options: Domain and URL prefix. Pick Domain if you can, it covers every version of your site (with www, without www, http, https, subdomains). Pick URL prefix if Domain feels too complicated, or if you only want to track one specific version.

My recommendationGo with Domain. It’s slightly fiddlier to verify but you only do it once, and it captures everything.

Step 03

Verify you own the website

Google needs to confirm you’re actually the owner of the site (not just someone trying to spy on a competitor). There are a few ways to verify. The easiest depends on what you already have set up.

Easiest: Google Analytics. If you’ve already set up Google Analytics on the site (using the same Google account), verification is instant. Just click the Analytics option and Google handles it.

Domain verification (DNS record). If you chose the Domain option in the previous step, this is your method. Google gives you a TXT record to add to your domain’s DNS settings. If your domain is with GoDaddy, Crazy Domains, Namecheap or similar, you’ll log into that account and add the record. It can take a few hours for the record to take effect.

HTML file upload. If you have access to your site’s files (via cPanel, FTP or a developer), you can upload a small file Google provides. Works for most setups.

HTML tag. Google gives you a small piece of code to paste into your site’s <head>. Most website builders (Squarespace, Wix, Shopify) have a section in settings for adding this kind of code. WordPress has it via plugins.

Step 04

Submit your sitemap

A sitemap is a list of every page on your site, written in a format search engines can read. Submitting it helps Google find and index your content faster.

Most modern websites generate a sitemap automatically. It usually lives at yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml. Try visiting that URL in your browser, if you see a page of links, you’ve got one.

In Search Console, click “Sitemaps” in the left menu. In the “Add a new sitemap” field, type sitemap.xml and click Submit.

If your site doesn’t have a sitemap, drop me an email. We’ll get one set up, it’s usually a 10-minute job depending on your platform.

Step 05

Wait a few days

Unlike Analytics, Search Console takes a few days to start showing meaningful data. Google needs to recrawl your site and process the information. Give it a week before you start poking around the reports.

Common questions

It says my site can't be verified. What now?

Nine times out of ten, this is a DNS issue (the record hasn’t propagated yet) or you’ve pasted the verification code into the wrong place. Wait an hour and try again. If it still fails, send me an email, I’ll take a look.

Does Search Console work for brand-new websites?

Yes: in fact, setting it up the moment your site goes live is one of the best things you can do. It tells Google “this site exists, please crawl it” and gives you visibility into the indexing process from day one.

Do I need both Analytics and Search Console?

Yes. They’re free, they answer different questions, and they’re much more useful together than either is on its own.

What if my site was already verified by someone else?

No problem: Google Search Console allows multiple owners on the same property. You can add yourself as a separate owner using any of the verification methods above.

Done?

What's next?

Add me as a user so I can start working with the data. If you haven’t already, set up Google Analytics too, they’re much more powerful together.

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