Google Search Console helps website developers monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot any website errors that can affect their presence in Google Search results. While you don’t necessarily need to sign up on Google Search Console for your website to be crawled and indexed by Google. This tool can help you further understand how Google sees your website and find ways to improve it to boost your current search ranking result.
Why is Google Search Console Important?
Google Search Console can track your website and see if there are any errors. It allows you to quickly fix the issue before it can further affect your website ranking. This tool also helps confirm if Google can crawl your website.
You can also use Google Search Console to view your search traffic data from your website. This data includes information on how often your website appears in Google Search, which search queries show your website, and how often searches can click through for those queries.
More importantly, Google Search Console can help you fix any indexing problems and request re-indexing of new or updated content.
How Can You Use Google Search Console
To use Google Search Console, sign up using your Google account. The next thing you do is to add your website as a property in your Search Console account. Keep in mind that you must need to prove that you own the website to add it to your account. Add a property that includes an entire domain or a property that is limited to a single branch.
Here are the two types of website properties that you can add to Google Search Console:
#1 – URL-prefix property
This includes URLs with a specified prefix like HTTP or HTTPS. Remember that URLs under the URL-prefix property will only accept the same protocol. Any elements added to the URL will not be accepted.
For example:
Property – https://website.com/
Accepted URLs:
https://website.com/products/123
Unaccepted URLs:
https://www.website.com/products/123
#2 – Domain property
The domain-level property can include all the subdomains (WWW, M, etc.) and multiple protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP). If you need to limit the data by URL path segments or protocol, it’s best to select the URL prefix property instead.
For example:
Property – website.com
Accepted URLs:
https://website.com/products/123
https://www.website.com/products/123
https://support.m.website.com/products/123
How to Add Property to Google Search Console
To add your website as a property on Google Search Console, follow the steps below:
Step 1 – Go to Search Console and open the property selector dropdown.
Step 2 – Select + Add property on the dropdown menu.
Step 3 – Choose the property type you want to add:
1 – URL-prefix property (https://website.com)
Make sure to specify the URL of the property exactly as how it appears in the browser bar, including everything from the final / mark. Any URLs starting with this prefix will be included in the property.
2 – Domain property (website.com)
Specify the website domain when declaring a Domain property. Make sure that you know the supported syntax to understand which URLs are included in the property.
When choosing Domain property, you will need to verify its ownership using DNS record verification, unless the property is under Google like Blogger or Google Sites.
3 – Google-hosted property (Sites, Blogger, Workspace)
When adding a Google-hosted site, or websites built on Blogger or Google Sites, you can create a URL prefix or Domain property. Your site will automatically be verified if you’re using the same account managing the website.
Step 4 – Once you have added your property, Google will ask you to choose a verification method. After choosing one, follow the required verification steps for your chosen method. You can verify the property immediately or save the setting and resume the process later.
Here are the several verification methods you can use:
- Google Analytics tracking code
- Google Tag Manager
- Google Sites, Blogger, or Domains account
- HTML tag
- HTML file upload
- Domain name provider
Check this link for instructions to learn how to verify your property domain using one of the methods above.
Step 5 – Wait for a few seconds to get your website verified. Data will begin to appear on your property after a few days. Your property’s data collection will start as soon as it is added to the Search Console account. It will continue as long as the property is in the account, whether verified or not.
If the property does not show any data after several days, your website likely hasn’t been indexed or crawled by Google. Talk to a professional website developer to help you check this issue.
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Follow our blog for more tips on improving your website’s presence on Google Search Console. Cybertegic is a marketing agency in Pasadena that offers website maintenance and website development to help business owners focus on things that bring in conversion.
