How to Add a New Website to Google Search Console: Step-by-Step Guide

December 15, 2024

If you’ve just launched a new site, one of the first steps to improve its online presence is to connect it with Google’s tools. Adding your New Website to Google Search Console is crucial for understanding how your site performs in search results and ensuring it meets Google’s standards. By setting up your site in this tool, you can monitor how Google interacts with your site, address errors, and improve visibility in search engines. This tool also offers insights into search performance, helping you optimize your website for higher rankings and increased traffic. Following are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Sign in to Google Search Console

Go to the Google Search Console website: https://search.google.com/search-console/
Log in using your Google account. If you don’t have one yet, create a Google account first.

Step 2: Add a Property (Your Website)

Once you’re logged in, you’ll land on the Search Console Dashboard.
Click the “Add Property” button. This is typically found in the top-left corner of the dashboard.Google provides two options for adding your website:
- Domain Property (covers all URLs across all subdomains, both http and https).
- URL Prefix Property (covers a specific URL with a certain protocol and subdomain, like https://www.yoursite.com).
Choosing the Right Option:
- If you want to track all versions of your website (like http://example.com, https://example.com, and subdomains like blog.example.com), choose Domain Property.
- If you want to track only a specific URL (e.g., https://example.com), choose URL Prefix.
Enter the appropriate website URL in the field and click Continue.

Step 3: Verify Your Website Ownership

To prove that you own the website, you’ll need to complete one of Google’s verification methods. Below are the most common methods in more detail:

1. HTML File Upload (Recommended)

Download the HTML file provided by Google.
Upload the file to the root directory of your website via FTP, cPanel, or your web hosting file manager. (The root directory is the main directory where your site’s files are stored.)
- Example: If your website is https://www.yoursite.com, the file should be accessible at https://www.yoursite.com/googlefile.html.
Verify the upload: Return to Search Console and click the Verify button.
If successful, Google will verify your ownership and add your property.

2. HTML Tag

Copy the provided HTML meta tag.
Add the tag to the <head> section of your website’s home page. This can be done directly in your website’s HTML, or if you’re using a platform like WordPress:
- Go to Appearance > Theme Editor > choose the header.php file.
- Paste the tag in the <head> section.
Return to Google Search Console and click Verify.
Google will check for the presence of the tag and confirm ownership if it’s added correctly.

3. Google Analytics

If you already have Google Analytics set up on your site with the same Google account, you can verify it easily.
Ensure that Google Analytics has the global site tag (gtag.js) implemented and that you have full Administrator access to both Google Analytics and Search Console.
Select Google Analytics from the verification methods and click Verify.

4. Google Tag Manager

If you’re using Google Tag Manager to manage tags on your website, you can use this method.
You’ll need to ensure that the container snippet for Google Tag Manager is installed on your website.
Like with Analytics, make sure you have Administrator access to the Tag Manager account.
Select Google Tag Manager and click Verify.

5. Domain Name Provider

For domain-level verification, Google will ask you to add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings.
This requires you to log in to your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost) or wherever you purchased your domain name.
Google will give you a TXT record value, which you will need to copy.
Go to your domain’s DNS settings, add the new TXT record, and paste the value provided by Google.
After adding the TXT record, return to Search Console and click Verify.
It may take some time for the DNS changes to propagate, so if verification doesn’t happen immediately, try again after a few hours.

Step 4: Check Verification Status

After you complete the verification process:

Google will display a success message if the verification is successful.
If the verification fails, recheck the steps for the method you chose (make sure the HTML file is in the correct directory, or the DNS settings are properly updated).

Step 5: Submit Your Sitemap (Recommended)

Once your website is verified, you should submit a sitemap to help Google crawl your site more efficiently.

In Search Console, go to the Sitemaps section.
Enter the URL of your sitemap (most websites have their sitemap located at https://www.yoursite.com/sitemap.xml).
Click Submit.

This tells Google where to find all of your website’s pages so it can index them properly.

Step 6: Monitor and Analyze Your Site’s Performance

After your site is added and verified, Google Search Console provides tools to:

Monitor how your site appears in Google Search results.
Identify potential indexing errors.
Track search traffic and keywords.
Understand mobile usability issues.

Check back periodically to review data such as total clicks, impressions, average position in search results, and CTR (Click-Through Rate).

Common Issues to Be Aware Of

Verification Failure: If you have issues with verification, ensure the HTML file is uploaded correctly, the DNS changes have propagated, or the Google Tag is in the right place in the HTML.
Multiple Website Versions: If you have different versions of your website (e.g., http, https, with/without www), make sure you add all versions in Search Console and then set a preferred version (usually the https:// version).

By setting up your new website to google search console, you can monitor how Google interacts with your site, address errors, and improve visibility in search engines. This tool also offers insights into search performance, helping you optimize your website for higher rankings and increased traffic.

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