If your Technical SEO Audit recommends setting up Google Search Console (GSC), follow these steps to begin the setup process.
You need to have a Google account to use Search Console. If you don’t have one, learn how to create one here.
Connect Your Site
Sign in to Google with your business account, and go to Google Search Console.
You’ll have two options:
- Connect a domain property
- Connect a URL prefix
Which you choose will depend on where you want to pull data from. If you want to see all aggregated data for your domains and subdomains, then you’ll want the first option.
If you want to only see data from particular domains or subdomains, or if you’re unable to complete DNS verification, you’ll need to add and verify each URL you want to see data for individually. Add the URL exactly as it appears in the browser bar of your site. If you support multiple protocols (http:// and https://), or multiple domains (example.com, m.example.com, and www.example.com), make sure to add each as a separate entity.
Because not all features are available with the domain property connection, we recommend using both setups to get the most functionality and accurate reporting.
Note: Search Console begins collecting data as soon as your site is added.
Find the GSC Header Meta Tag
Google requires site admins verify ownership of their website to complete the GSC setup process. We recommend verifying your site by adding an HTML tag to the header code of your site. However, there are other ways to verify your site.
To find the GSC header meta tag, select ‘Settings’ from the left-hand menu.
Select ‘Ownership Verification.’
This will open a list of ways to verify ownership of your website.
Expand the ‘HTML tag’ section to find the GSC header meta tag and have your developer add it to the <head> section on your site’s homepage.
Complete GSC Verification
Once the meta tag is on your homepage, navigate back to the above screen and click ‘Verify.’ As long as the meta tag has been implemented properly, you should now be a verified owner.
For additional information, check out Google’s documentation.
